When it comes to your eBook reader comparison and choosing which device is best for your needs, it helps to have an understanding of the different formats available. You should always check the specifications to find out whether your particular model of eBook reader is capable of reading the format you want it to. Here is a quick guide to the most common forms of eBook currently available.

1) ePub

This is a popular format of eBook created by the International Digital Publishing Forum. This format is supported by most of the newest electronic readers, including Kindle, Sony and more. This format is also used on particular software for PCs and Macs. A major benefit to this format is that it is ‘reflowable’ meaning that text is not formatted for one specific page size, and lines will flow correctly without odd interruptions in the lines. Any eBook reader comparison should look out for this format!

2) PDF

This format was created by Adobe systems and is popular on the internet due to the variety of systems that can view them. The drawback to use PDF format on electronic book readers is that lines are of a fixed length at the time the eBook was created, meaning if your reader does not match the size of the page when the file was created, lines may not display correctly. PDF is useful as an added extra format in eReaders, so may factor into your eBook reader comparison.

3) Plain Text (TXT)

Plain text eBooks are a very simple form, taking up little space. This format may be included as an extra for your eBook reader, but generally .txt is not the standard for publishing eBooks for electronic readers.

Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition