Digital book readers are becoming more popular simply because they are convenient. A great advantage of a digital reader is the capability to download content 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many readers love the portability of digital readers and toting their complete libraries along with them, since digital readers are much lighter to carry than physical books.
E-books save trees and are better for the environment. Unsold books no longer make their way into landfills or need to be recycled. E-books are downloadable from the Internet, so no shipping is involved, saving gas and reducing harmful emissions into the air. E-books are also ageless and will never burn, suffer water damage, be lost, crumble, rot or fall apart.
A digital reader allows the user to set personal preferences, allowing her to customize the reading experience. E-books are searchable, so the user can actually search for content instead of scanning physical pages manually. Screens can be lit if the reader is in the dark. Font sizes and styles, too, can often be adjusted to the user's taste and need. A user can create bookmarks to tag the page where he stopped reading. Some book readers, with additional software, can even read e-books aloud.
Another advantage of digital readers is that children like them; the devices actually help children become more literate. According to an article on the American Libraries website, a 2010 survey asked fifth-grade students if they would read more if they received a digital book reader for Christmas. Half the students raised their hands. Simply having a cool new gadget helps inspire youngsters to read.
E-books make reading more accessible. The Gutenburg Project makes more than 30,000 classic titles available for free in e-book form.
Ebooks encourage writing. With the publishing process more streamlined and simplified, more authors are able to publish their work, creating more choices for readers. Ebooks are also less expensive to produce, allowing smaller presses to compete on a more level playing field with giant publishers. In addition, ebooks with higher page counts are no more expensive to produce than shorter volumes, unlike paper books.
Ebooks are also evolving rapidly. The Vook, for instance, allows authors to include video in ebooks, making them especially useful for instructional books and other mixed media applications.