Many portable devices like the MP3 player and the point-and-shoot camera have been rendered obsolete by the versatile smartphone. But one device has persisted is the ebook reader. Having a device that lets you focus on your book without swarming you with noti­fications and alerts is the perfect gadget to read on. Further, the brilliant epaper display mimics an actual page in a book. Since the technology uses actual ink, reading on epaper displays are a breeze, be it indoors or while basking in the sun outside.

A device that is purely focused on one functionality is great if you’re looking to do some read­ing on the go and because of this niche quality of the product, there are plenty of ebook read­ers to choose from today. Here are a few that stand out.

Kobo Aura One

Price $229

The Kobo Aura One is a new entrant in the e-book reader scene but is an exceptionally good device. It’s large, waterproof and supports all kinds of files. Kobo is also not restricted to the Amazon store, which means books you find any­where can be easily synced to the device. This adds a great deal of convenience, since no conversion is needed for books to be compatible with the device. The Aura One’s display is also great with a massive 7.8 inch size that easily makes this tablet sized.

The huge screen size does not make it unwieldy but rather helps you get more characters into the screen. The screen is also backlit, making it easy for night-time use. It also comes with handy front adap­tive light that changes color tones for less strain on the eyes. While more expensive than the Paperwhite, the Aura One is also a beast with 8GB of internal storage that will ensure you never run out of space for your digital library; a memory card slot here would be appreciated, but the massive storage makes it hard to complain about. If you want to go all out with your ebook reader, you can’t go any farther than the Kobo Aura One.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Price $119.99

You can’t really have a list of ebook readers without the famous Kindle Paperwhite. A staple amongst many digital book readers, the Paper­white is affordable, sharp and fast. Buying into an Amazon eco-system also means that you have access to its exhaustive library of digital books.

The device is also reasonably sized at a decent 6-inches, with a Carta E-paper display running at a native resolution of 1,448 x 1072, which makes this display incredi­bly sharp. With a pixel density of 300 pixels per inch, the screen is sharp too and the e-paper makes it a device that performs well on all kinds of environments.

The only problem is that the dis­play does not come with a backlight, so reading in the dark would be hard. Otherwise, the Paperwhite is a great device for the price.