Many patrons ask us what mobile device they should buy to check-out the thousands of eBooks, streaming movies and digital audiobooks in the library's collection. That choice is always a personal one, and dependent on many factors that are different for each patron. But, in general, we can recommend that patrons consider purchasing a tablet or smartphone, instead of an eReader, if all other choices are equal.
Why do we make this recommendation? Because increasingly, the digital titles being added to the library's collection are not available for check-out on eReaders. Whether it is criterion collection films from Kanopy, always available audiobooks from hoopla or the cloudLibrary, or full color digital magazines from RBDigital, none of these amazing titles can be utilized from an E Ink eReader.
We also think that digital collections added to the library's virtual shelves in the months and years to come will increasingly be app based, and not available for E Ink eReaders like Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite, Barnes & Noble's Nook GlowLight, and Kobo readers.
Luckily, app based tablets, smartphones and other comparable devices are available at many different price points. Which means, if you are someone who only likes reading eBooks on an E Ink eReader, but you don't want to miss out on the other great content available at the library, you could pair a cheaper tablet with an inexpensive E Ink eReader and have the best of both worlds.
And don't forget about devices for your TV. Both hoopla and Kanopy offer connectivity for Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, Fire TV and more.
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