The best e-book readers from Amazon, Thalia & Co.

Reading books on the go – e-book readers are ideal for this. But there are many models, also for different price ranges. In our overview, we show you which e-book readers are worth a look.

With the Kindle series, Amazon has known e-book reader in program. But Thalia offers an interesting counterpoint for the German-speaking market with the Tolinos. Stiftung Warentest looked at numerous e-book readers and chose several winners, with the Prices from 140 euros to over 400 euros pass. We introduce you to the test winners and explain which models are exciting alternatives to the Kindle and Tolino.

Tolino Vision 6: Easy handling

GIGA tip In addition to the Amazon Kindle, Thalia holds the flag high with its Tolino models when it comes to e-book readers. At Stiftung Warentest, the Tolino Vision 6 (look at Thalia) one step ahead. Especially when it comes to image quality, it can compete with the Top grade 1.0 convince. With a typical screen diagonal of 7 inches, the device fits comfortably in the hand and displays content in 1,680 × 1,264 pixels.

Another advantage is that the e-ink display is illuminated and you can control the light color manually. So you can make a setting that is comfortable for you, whereby the battery can be used up to 23 hours endures. The Tolino Vision 6 has almost 12 GB of internal memory, so loose over 10,000 e-books watch out – despite the lack of memory expansion, it shouldn’t get boring. By the way, you can also take the e-book reader with you to the beach. Thanks to the certified waterproofness according to IPX8, it is even protected from prolonged submersion (which of course should not be exhausted).

A few more sentences about the controls: Thalia’s e-book reader has one left-handed mode. This means that you can scroll forwards with a left click and back with a right click. In addition, mechanical page turning keys installed on the right side, which you can use next to the touchscreen for operation. In the reviews at Thalia, the fast response time is also praised.

Advantages:

• convincing image quality
• left-handed mode
• mechanical page turning keys
• IPX8 waterproof rating

Disadvantages:

• no audio book function
• Memory not expandable

Kindle Paperwhite 2021: clear winner in terms of battery life

price tip Amazon offers another robust e-book reader with the Kindle Paperwhite 2021 (view at Amazon), which is also IPX8 certified. What this also has in common with the Tolino Vision 6 above is the adjustable color temperature of the display, which allows paper-like colors. In addition, the e-book reader with the 7-inch display also achieved the rating “very good” (grade 1.3) at Stiftung Warentest.

The device scores particularly well in terms of battery life and clearly outperforms the other devices: Over 133 hours you can browse through your favorite novels with the e-book reader. On the other hand, the internal storage space of 6 GB is only half as large as that of the Tolino Vision 6. Although there is no storage expansion here either, it still fits into the library here nearly 6,000 books.

Unfortunately, the Kindle Paperwhite doesn’t offer left-handed mode or mechanical page turning. The operation works exclusively by touch. However, a cool feature is that you can link the Kindle Paperwhite to your Audible account and listen to audio books through a Bluetooth device can.

Advantages:

• very good picture quality
• outstanding battery life
• audio book function
• IPX8 waterproof rating

Disadvantages:

• no left hand mode
• no expandable storage

Are you interested in the Kindle models from Amazon? We also have a suitable article for this:

Kobo Elipsa: Between e-book reader and notebook

With an overall grade of 1.7, the e-book reader ranks Kobo Elipsa (view at Amazon) in the Stiftung Warentest rating as a relatively unknown brand alongside the Tolino and the Kindle. Above all, it stands out with its screen diagonal of over 10 inches (1,872 × 1,404 pixels), whereby the light color cannot be controlled manually. Accordingly he is at 392 grams not a lightweight either (the Tolino Vision 6 weighs 214 grams) and has a large internal memory of over 28 GB.

With a Battery life over 19 hours the Kobo Elipsa is persistent, but is behind the Tolino Vision 6. Certified water protection was also omitted, which significantly reduces the robustness of the device.

However, you benefit from a left-handed mode with the Kobo Elipsa. In addition (besides a suitable protective cover) the Kobo pen included included, which allows you to annotate e-books and PDF files. Or you use it Kobo Elipsa as a notebook – What you write can then be exported to another device as clean digital text. In the Amazon reviews, users emphasize that working with the pen is pleasant, but the only drawback is that you cannot structure your own notes using folders. Nevertheless, the smart features give the Kobo Elipsa tablet flair, which in turn explains the relatively high price of over 400 euros.

Advantages:

• large internal memory
• left-handed mode
• audio book function
• Can be operated with a pen

Disadvantages:

• high weight
• no certified protection against water
• no manual control of the light color

Pocketbook Inkpad Color: For more color when reading

The last recommendation in our overview is the e-book reader Pocketbook Inkpad Color (view at Saturn). As the name suggests, you get an 8-inch color display (1,872 × 1,404 pixels), which can display colored illustrations in e-books accordingly. This is illuminated and, according to the manufacturer, you can regulate the color settings (contrast, brightness, saturation, etc.) for each e-book.

the Battery life of 26 hours is similar to that of the Tolino Vision 6, but the pocketbook also scores with a memory card slot to expand the 12 GB of internal memory. A disadvantage, however, is the low level of robustness – because this model also has no certified protection against water.

The control works as usual via touch, but there are also mechanical page turning buttons and a left-handed mode. Also, like the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Elipsa, you can Listen to audiobooks through a Bluetooth device.

Advantages:

• Color display for illustrated e-books
• easy to use
• expandable storage
• audio book function

Disadvantages:

• no certified water resistance

Are you still looking for the right Bluetooth over-ear headphones? Then we have some recommendations for you:

The best e-book readers: how we picked them

There are many models of e-book readers. In order to make a suitable selection from the numerous products, we have partly based ourselves on the results of Stiftung Warentest – the ratings are linked below. The ratings of users also influence the selection. The latter are helpful because they don’t judge based on benchmark numbers and other laboratory values ​​that don’t say much, but instead emphasize individual impressions.

With our research, we at GIGA want to recommend you suitable products and avoid bad purchases. Your trust is important to us – that’s why you can rely on us.

Sources used: Stiftung Warentest (Edition 04/2022)

In a separate article you can find out more about how we at GIGA deal with product recommendations and tests:

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