They can store thousands of books, have a battery life that is measured in weeks and you can read them peacefully even in the sunlight. E-readers were born as reading screens, containers of words designed for a specific user who knows what wants.
This is also why they apparently seem to be the most impermeable device to innovation. From the outside, when they’re off, they all look the same: gray tablets, with black-and-white screens, light enough to be held in one hand for long periods of time.
In reality, a lot has changed since 1996 when e-ink technology was born. Ebook readers have become more resistant and lighter devices, they have opened up to audiobooks and in some cases have adopted the stylus to be able to write on them. They are environmentally conscious and make no concessions to audio-visual entertainment. Over time they have become the most radical chic consumer electronics product.
The latest addition, presented a few days ago, is the second generation of Canadian Rakuten Kobo’s e-reader. Let’s say that the strongest competitor of Kindle that today controls this market. Kobo Elipsa 2E is larger (10.3-inch display), has a new stylus (Kobo Stylus 2) that attaches magnetically, and also lets you access Dropbox, Google Drive (coming soon), and import documents and export notes personal to share them.
It is billed as the most environmentally conscious e-reader ever. It’s made with over 85% recycled plastic, with 10% plastic sourced from the oceans. The novelty is that they have created a new cover of recycled plastic (97%) to make the e-reader fall asleep when it is closed. It is sold separately and is not cheap (69 euros).