Amazon Kindle is Overrated, These 5 Reading Tablets in India Are Smarter Buys in 2025

Love reading? As a fellow bibliophile, I get it that nothing beats the warmth and comfort of a printed book. But in today’s fast-paced world, where time is money and just being on time is a battle of its own, reading tablets offer a practical solution. They let you carry an entire library in something that fits in a small bag or even your purse.

Coming to the options that we have for reading tablets in the market, Kindle has ruled the e-reader scene for over a decade. It is one of the popular names that we hear when talking about reading tabs. However, if you are one of those who struggle with the poor web quality of Kindle, feel stuck with its locked ecosystem or are simply bored with the black-and-white screens, these are some top alternatives you can consider. These devices offer a solid mix of more freedom, better file support, and in many cases, a more pleasing reading experience. 

1. BOOX Tab Ultra C Epaper Tablet 

Available via: Amazon India, Boox India official site

Price: Rs 83,990

Boox builds Android-powered e-ink tablets that are essentially Kindles on steroids. With a colour e-ink display, full app compatibility (Libby, Kobo, Google Books), stylus input, and split-screen multitasking, the Tab Mini C and Tab Ultra C are designed for serious readers, students, and professionals.

Pros: Supports any app, PDFs and EPUBs, perfect for work and long-form reading

Cons: Premium cost

2. Kobo Libra Colour

Available via: Amazon India, Amazon, Flipkart

Price: Rs 28,990

Kobo is the only actual brand that comes close to Kindle's store setup, but it's Amazon-free. The Libra Colour features a small size and colour e-ink screen. The brand also has Elipsa 2E, which is bigger and stylus-compatible with improved PDF handling. 

Pros: Colour e-ink, native EPUB support, cleaner UI than Kindle

Cons: It is imported, so the support and accessories are limited in India. 

3. ReMarkable 2

Available via: Amazon India

Price: Rs 53,799 (Bundled with Marker Plus Pen with Eraser, Book Folio Cover in Gray colour)

More of a digital notebook than an actual e-reader, ReMarkable 2 is ideal for those who read and write. Suitable for students, researchers, and people constantly working with academic PDFs. It does not have a backlight, no app store, and no distractions, and that is the whole point- a reading session with no unnecessary distractions. 

Pros: Distraction-free experience

Cons: Not suitable for casual reading, expensive 

4. iPad Mini

Available via: Apple India, Croma, Amazon

Price: Rs 47,900 

Apple’s tablet is a powerhouse. It can do Kindle, Libby, PDF markup, and it's also a productivity tool. It has a backlit display. If it does not bother you, then the iPad Mini is perfect for reading and basically everything else.

Pros: Single device, supports every reading app

Cons: Eye strain for extended sessions

5. Bigme Eink Ereader Kaleido 3

Available via: Amazon

Price: Rs 77,490

Bigme Eink Ereader is not very popular in India but it should be. The device handles nearly every file type under the sun (PDF, TXT, EPUB, HTML, AZW3, RTF, FB2, DOC, MOBI, PPT, XLS, PNG, JPG, BMP, WAV, and MP3), audiobook support, Bluetooth, and even text-to-speech. It is an extremely reader-focused device. 

Pros: Format-friendly, audiobook-ready

Cons: Clunky UI

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