Some tech gurus predicted that the tablet computer, with its versatility and color screen, would kill the standalone e-book reader, with its focus on books and its black-and-white screen. But Consumer Reports’ latest ratings reveal that the e-book reader has endured, even thrived, by providing an increasingly optimized book-reading experience at steadily lower prices.

Consumer Reports ratings include a number of new models, including an $80 version of the latest Amazon Kindle that scored above competitors costing more than twice as much. And most of the rated models, new and old, are lighter and easier to read than tablets (especially in bright light) and have much longer battery life (weeks rather than days). So although you can read e-books on tablets, an e-book reader is still the gadget of choice for serious bookworms.

This is a good time to buy an e-book reader, for plenty of reasons. Here are some:

Prices are dropping. All of the newest models from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have lowered the entry-level price for a high-quality e-book reader. The new $80 Kindle is very basic, with no touchscreen, physical keyboard, 3G connection, or even an included charger. And the $80 version, a Best Buy, comes with ads and special offers on its screen saver.

But Amazon’s first touchscreen reader, the Kindle Touch, starts at $99 for a Wi-Fi version with special offers and ads. (If you aren’t willing to put up with ads and offers, there’s a Kindle Touch for $139.) And its Barnes & Noble competitor, the Nook Simple Touch, costs $99 and has no commercial content.

Want color? New choices emerge. A few models in the ratings trade the black-and-white E Ink screen of most readers for a color LCD screen. That allows them to emphasize magazines, among other content. But color e-book readers are less compelling now that Amazon and Barnes & Noble have introduced new tablets that are comparable in size and price to the readers yet offer more. Amazon’s $200 Kindle Fire tablet has the same breadth of content as the $200 Nook Color e-book reader, plus streaming video and music. And the Nook Tablet offers a faster processor and more memory than the Nook Color for only $50 more.

Touch is spreading. The names of the models in the ratings show the growing prevalence of touchscreens. The Aluratek Libre Touch and Sony Touch have joined the Nook Simple Touch and Kobo eReader Touch. And there’s the Kindle Touch.

Touch capability tends to add to the price of an e-book reader. But on the best models, it provides crisp page turns with minimal effort. It also allows you to use a virtual keyboard and other onscreen controls that are bigger and easier to press than the small physical keys and controls on some nontouch models.

The under-6-ounce reader is here. The new Kindles and Sony Reader each weigh a little less than 6 ounces. That’s at least 25 percent less than their predecessors, and it’s 50 percent less than some competitors.

Color capability adds weight (the color models CR rated weighted at least 11.9 ounces). The circuitry needed for 3G connectivity also adds weight, although more modestly.

Library lending goes wireless. The ability to borrow e-books from more than 10,000 libraries nationwide has been a feature on a number of e-book readers for a while. For the first time, every model in the ratings has that capability.