If you don't want an eReader as big as 8-inch or larger, but you're not satisfied with the smaller 6″ ones either, the best option you have is a 7-inch eReader model.
Undoubtedly a smart choice to have a panel higher than the 6-inch, but without subtracting too much mobility compared to it. And to find out if one of these suits you and which one suits you, here is this complete guide:
Best 7-inch eReader models
As for best 7 inch eReaders, the following should be highlighted:
Kobo Libra 2
The Kobo Libra 2 is one of the best eReaders with a 7″ screen that you can find. It has an E-Ink Carta type touch panel, with anti-glare. In addition, it includes a front light that allows adjustment of brightness and warmth. It also has blue light reduction to improve visual comfort, plays audiobooks, has 32 GB memory and is waterproof. Of course, it has WiFi and Bluetooth technology.
PocketBook e-Book Reader Era
PocketBook e-Book Reader Era is also another great alternative, with a 7″ e-Ink Carta 1200 size screen, touch panel, Smartlight technology, backlight, storage space up to 16 GB, WiFi technology, and also Bluetooth for wireless headphones to listen to audiobooks.
Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
You can also choose one of the best-selling models, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. An upgraded version of the Paperwhite with a 6.8-inch touch panel and comes with a self-dimming front light. In addition, it surprises with its large capacity of 32 GB internally and for supporting wireless charging and fast charging.
How to tell if it's a good 7-inch eReader
An eReader is a complex thing, and it is not chosen lightly. There are several points or technical characteristics in which you should pay special attention:
What is the most important thing when choosing your eReader?
The most important thing when choosing an eReader is its screen, since it is the reading interface with which you will have to deal on a day-to-day basis. And the user experience will largely depend on it. To choose a good screen you should look at different parameters that are important:
Panel type
There are several types of screen for an eReader. They can be grouped according to various criteria. For example, if we take technology into account from the panel we can find:
- LCD: These are conventional screens that we should avoid when choosing a good e-book reader, since they tend to cause more discomfort while reading and make your vision more fatigued. And to have an eReader with LCD, for that you already have a tablet.
- e-Ink or e-Paper: They offer a hassle-free experience, much more comfortable for your vision, without glare or as much eye fatigue. And this is due to its electronic ink technology using microcapsules with black and white pigments that by applying positive and negative charges can be made to move closer to or further from the screen surface to display text and images as desired. This technology allows an experience more similar to reading on paper, and also consume much less battery, being more efficient. They were created by former members of MIT, who founded the company E Ink and patented this brand.
Now, if we take into account that almost all eReaders already have an e-Ink screen, or electronic ink, then another category can be made taking into account the e-Ink technology used:
- vizplex: It appeared in 2007, and it was the first generation of electronic ink screens.
- Pearl: It would arrive in 2010, becoming quite popular and with an improvement compared to the previous one in terms of the purity of the white of the pages.
- Mobius: Similar to the previous one, but added a layer of plastic to protect the screen.
- Triton: There are two versions of this color electronic ink technology. One is the Triton I from 2010 and the other is the Triton II from 2013. These screens have 16 shades of gray and 4096 colors.
- Menu: is one of the most popular technologies, even today, for black and white eReaders. The Letter appeared in 2013, with a resolution of 768×1024 px, 6″ in size, and a pixel density of 212 ppi. Later, an improved version called Carta HD would arrive, with a resolution of 1080 × 1440 px and 300 ppi, maintaining the same 6 inches.
- Kaleido: It would hit the market in 2019, and it is nothing more than an improvement on the Triton color screens. Thanks to an additional color filter, improvements in the color gamut were achieved. In 2021 Kaleido Plus also appeared with better sharpness, and in 2022 Kaleido 3 that considerably improved the color gamut, with a color saturation 30% higher than the previous generation, 16 levels of grayscale and 4096 colors.
- Gallery 3: This panel technology based on ACeP (Advanced Color ePaper) arrives in 2023. These are color panels where the response time has been improved, something that was still to be polished in the Kaleido. The new Gallery 3 allow you to switch between black and white, or vice versa, in just 350 ms. Instead, switching from one color to another is done in 500 ms for low quality colors and in 1500 ms for high quality. In addition, they all already come with a ComfortGaze front light that reduces the amount of blue light that affects sleep and eye fatigue.
considering the panel handling type, we can also differentiate between:
- conventional panel: they are normal LCD screens that need buttons or a keyboard to operate them. These eReaders are no longer available, but they were popular years ago.
- Touch panel: have multi-touch touch screens to manage the functions and menus in an easy and fast way. Within these panels, in turn, we also have to differentiate between:
- conventional touch screen: are touch screens to be operated with the finger.
- Touchscreen with writing capability: are touch screens prepared to use electronic pencils or pointers such as the Kobo Stylus or the Kindle Scribe Basic or Premium. Thanks to this you can enter text, as well as draw in some cases.
Resolution / dpi
On the other hand, not only the type or technology of the panel matters, as we have seen previously, the resolution and pixel density also matter, since the quality and sharpness of the image and text. Therefore, when choosing a good 7-inch eReader, always make sure that the density is high, 300 dpi.
Other important features
In addition to the screen, there is also other secondary factors that can also help you opt for one model or another. These are:
audiobook compatibility
If your 7-inch eReader supports audiobooks, it will allow you to enjoy your favorite stories narrated by voice, so you can listen while you do other activities, without the need to read. Also, this can be perfect for people with vision problems.
Processing and memory
The processor and RAM will depend on the fluidity and performance of the 7-inch eReader. In general, for it to work, you should look for models that have at least 2 processing cores and 2 GB of RAM.
And within the hardware, we must not forget another important factor, and that is the internal memory. That is, the storage capacity. In this case, it would be important for the 7-inch eReader to have between 8 and 32 GB, which translates into an average of between 6000 and 24000 titles. Don't expect these eReaders to have larger capacities like 64 or 128 GB. Also, with that capacity it would be more than enough for most cases.
On the other hand, some include a slot for microSD memory cards to be able to expand the capacity, which is also a great idea. And, if that is not the case, you can always count on cloud storage services.
Operating System
Today's 7-inch eReaders are often based on Android versions. This operating system offers a lot of features and customization, which is also a positive.
Wireless connectivity
The vast majority of 7-inch eReaders offer WiFi connectivity, to be connected to the Internet without the need for network cables and thus manage your online library, download books, upload them to the cloud, make purchases, etc.
On the other hand, those 7-inch eRaders that support audiobooks also usually include Bluetooth connectivity. In this way, you can connect wireless headphones via BT to listen to your favorite audiobooks without the need for cables, while doing other tasks near your eReader.
Autonomy
Depending on the size of the screen, the type of screen, and the efficiency of the hardware, the autonomy may be higher or lower for the same battery capacity (mAh). However, these devices are currently quite efficient, with autonomies of up to three and four weeks on a single charge.
Design
The finish, case materials and design they can also be another factor to take into account when buying a robust device. Also, it should be an ergonomic design. As for weight and size, they are also important when it comes to taking them with you if you travel with it, although 7-inch eReaders tend to have compact sizes and light weights.
Library and compatibility
Do not forget that the function of having an eReader is to be able to read books. And so that this is possible and you don't have problems when it comes to finding titles, you should think about the eReader having a large bookstore. For that, the Amazon Kindle and the Kobo Store are the best, with 1.5 and 0.7 million titles respectively.
On the other hand we have the number of formats that we can have, the more support, the more files we will be able to add to our 7-inch eReader to play them. For example:
- DOC and DOCX documents
- plaintext TXT
- Images JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF
- HTML web content
- eBooks EPUB, EPUB2, EPUB3, RTF, MOBI, PDF, etc.
- CBZ and CBR comics.
- Audiobooks MP3, M4B, WAV, AAC, OGG,…
In addition, some eReaders also support content management through Adobe DRM, among others, which allows rent books from your library municipal…
front lighting
eReaders also have additional light sources, such as the front LEDs that will also allow you to choose the level of illumination of the screen and also the warmth in some cases. In this way, they adapt perfectly to the light conditions of each moment, allowing you to read even in the dark. As for the warmth, it can serve to get a more pleasant reading for your eyes.
Waterproof
Some premium eReaders have IPX8 certified water resistance. That indicates that you can even submerge your eReader under water without damaging it. This allows you to enjoy reading while taking a relaxing bath, in the pool, etc.
Dictionary
If your eReader has built-in dictionary, it will also be fantastic to consult your doubts about vocabulary or for students, since you will not have to depend on external books or other devices. Some even have them in several languages, in case you read in more than one language.
Price
Finally, we must also take into account the price of these eReaders, depending on the brand and model, you can find them between €180 and €250 approximately. Less than that or more than that might not be optimal. Below that because it might be of questionable quality, and above that because it would be overpriced for a 7-inch eReader.
Best 7-inch eReader brands
Between best 7 inch eReader brands Three of them are particularly noteworthy:
Kindle
Kindle Amazon's brand of eReader. It is designed by Amazon itself, and made in Taiwan, so it has good quality and competitive price. Besides, It is among the most sold and successful of all. Therefore, this brand can be trusted. And it not only stands out for this, something must also be taken into account, and that is that it has one of the largest bookstores in the world, with more than 1.5 million titles of all categories in its Kindle store.
Kobo
Kobo is a Canadian firm dedicated to the world of electronic book readers. Currently, this company was acquired by the Japanese Rakuten, although the design continues to be done from Kobo's headquarters in Canada. In addition, they are also made in Taiwan, with a truly amazing quality. And, when it comes to biggest rival and alternative to Amazon's eReader, you could not miss a great book store such as the Kobo Store, which is positioned after the Kindle with more than 700.000 titles.
PocketBook
Finally, there is also PocketBook, the third in contention. Another of the best-known and most demanded brands for its fantastic quality/price ratio and its technology. In addition, it has many functionalities and customization capacity, as well as services such as its PocketBook Cloud and the PocketBook Store with many titles. You can even access books from your municipal library with OPDS and Adobe DRM.
Advantages and disadvantages of an 7-inch eReader
When buying a 7-inch eReader, you should consider the pros and cons of this type of e-book readers to analyze if it compensates you or not:
Advantages
- It has a screen larger than those of 6″, so it allows you to view the content with a larger size.
- They're still more compact and lighter than larger eReaders, so you can take them with you wherever you go.
- They can be a smart, middle-of-the-road choice for those tossing between a smaller or larger eReader.
- Its power consumption is balanced, neither as little as 6″ nor as much as large screens.
Disadvantages
- By having 7″, an inch more, it can have a consumption somewhat higher than that of 6 inches.
- Its larger panel size also adds to the size and weight.
Is it a good option for children?
Yes it is a good choice for kids or not is another of the most popular questions when choosing a 7-inch eReader. And the truth is that if you have little ones at home, the 7-inch eReader can be perfect, since its size and weight are perfect so that the little ones do not get tired when holding the reader for long periods of time. Likewise, being compact, you can take it wherever you need it, for example, so that the little ones are distracted during car trips.
Also, it can be a good eReaders for the whole family, and not only for the little ones, so it could be a perfect shared device where you can read your favorite novels or for the little ones to learn with educational books, stories, etc.
Where to buy a cheap 7-inch eBook
Finally, when it comes to buying a 7-inch eBook at a good price, the best stores to find them are:
Amazon
On Amazon you can find more variety of 7-inch eReaders. In addition, you will always have the purchase and return guarantee provided by this platform. And if you are a Prime customer, now you can enjoy fast shipping and no fees.
Media Markt
In the German technology chain you can also find a 7-inch eReader model. In this case, you can count on the online purchase modality so that they can send it to your home or also go to any of the nearest points of sale.
PCComponentes
At PCComponentes you will also find good quality 7-inch eReaders at good prices. They have good service, fast shipping and all guarantees. The Murcian platform allows online shopping, or you can also go to its headquarters if you live in the province.