Hey, all,

We were discussing this over here (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=7643) and I so here's the poll!

I've never needed backlighting with paper before. Last time I tried putting a light behind a page it was a bloody mess, with all that backwards text shining through. :happy2: :happy2: :happy2:

I guess putting a light behind my Sony won't help either. :happy2: :happy2:

Good point... it's really front lighting we're talking about for e-ink devices, even if the light originates from the side! :rolleyes5

But the poll basically still works. We just need to keep in mind that the point is whether or not a light source integrated into the device is important, so that ambiant light is not needed.

Yeah, Bob, it is more of a built-in-I-don't-have-to-use-a-clip-on-or-a-lamp-to-read-in-the-dark type of thing we're getting at.

It sprang out of a discussion with da_Jane about how important that sort of feature was to prospective e-reader buyers.

It looks like we're deterimining that MobileReaders aren't that concerned 80% to 20% at the moment.

It'll be interesting to see what sort of results she gets from her site too.

All of this is completely unscientific, of course, but it's interesting!

There's nothing like reading in bed with my GF asleep and not needing to turn on the room light.

Sigh. Pride of Lions and I appear to be solidly in the minority! It will be interesting to see what the results of the poll are over at DA.

Don't feel too bad, Jane -- all this shows is that the folks who frequent MobileRead are less interested in a backlight. And hey, it's not that many of us so far, anyway. :happy2:

It will be interesting to see what you get on your site, too.

I'm with you guys also... I really like to read at night without a light at night. But for a nice e-ink display, I don't mind turning on a light. Maybe it's not so much that people don't want a light, as the fact that e-ink is so nice it makes the desire for a light a very minor issue for most.

Is'nt a night light a tool to prevent bothering your partner with your reading?
Page turning bothers us much more, so we quit reading at the same time. Happily e-readers won't be bothersome unless the buttons click. If there is no noise maybe I'll read longer with lights out...

Actually, I am alone in my bed <no rude or pity comments, please!>, so there's no issues of disturbing someone else. And yet it's still nice to read a backlit screen on my Treo. I enjoy the way the screen looks, and I like the brightness. But I also know that most people seem to hate the very brightness that I like so much, because people have said that it is an eyestrain for them.

But as much as I like reading with the backlight, the nicer display of an e-ink device pretty much trumps any considerations like back, side, or front lights.

I actually find the backlight in the reb1200's a little harsh at night with no other lighting. (However, during a power failure my wife did use it as a flashlight until I could get my hands on real ones).

The backlight was my biggest complaint about the ebookman units - it was not consistant across the screen.

I have several clip on LED lamps, as well as a pretty nifty slate of clear plastic that covers a hardcover and is side-lit.

I have ... a pretty nifty slate of clear plastic that covers a hardcover and is side-lit.

Is it one of the LightWedge (http://www.lightwedge.com) things, exvaxman? Or something else?

Surely there are more that 23 of us with an opinion on this?

Hello?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Can I vote twice? :happy2:

Can I vote twice? :happy2:I was going to say something smart-aleck ... but I don't think I will. :jester:

Hey, da_jane, I was looking at the results of your poll, which seem to be pretty much what you expected them to be, while the ones here are pretty much what I anticipated.

So it looks like we were right that it seems to come down to a demographic difference between your readers and the ones here. :shrug:

It's nice to have the mystery solved!

That was fun, maybe we can play the concurrent poll game again sometime.

I have an issue with polls conducted in the thread pages. Occasional surfers of this site will never see them. They should be at the top of the main page

yvan, thanks for the suggestion - it will be there soon among other site changes.

Thanks Alex. Feels good to be heard!

NatCh - I think that many romance readers are women who, for various and sundry reasons, only get to read at night. They generally read while in bed. Often someone is beside them in that bed complaining about the light. Just saying.

NatCh - I think that many romance readers are women who, for various and sundry reasons, only get to read at night. They generally read while in bed. Often someone is beside them in that bed complaining about the light. Just saying.
That makes good sense to me, da_jane. :scholar:

I'm not one of those who is especially bothered by light when I'm trying to sleep, but I know others are.

I think there are enough point light sources to illuminate your eInk reader without bothering your significant other too much.

On the other hand, i fall asleep quite often with the halogen lamp in my room still burning, until the timer kicks in. (45 minute timer to be switched on when you lay down to read. if you fall asleep - no problem, if you don't fall asleep you know it's time to stop when the light goes out)

I do a lot of reading in bed before going to sleep and my wife goes to sleep before me so I need a lights out solution. Being a PDA reader for many years I'm used to this not being a problem. I'm getting one of those clip on lights and hoping it works out.

I kind of think that people who want backlights are kind of missing the point of E-Ink.

I've changed my mind regarding backlights.

I was very disappointed when I found the Sony Reader wouldn't have one. It almost kept me from purchasing it. I was so taken by the quality of the screen that I bought it anyway. Now, I'm happy it doesn't have one.

Why? I've been reading ebooks for about 7 years (my first ebook purchase was from PeanutPress in 3/99!) so I've got a few hours under my belt. My preferred device was a Palm. What I've found is that the more I read (especially at night with no room lights) the worse the headache and eye-ache in the morning. I even found a program to lower the Palm backlight to next to nothing. It helped some.

About a week ago I got a Sony Reader and now read it with my bedside table lamp on for the same amount of time as I used the Palm. But no headache in the morning.

That's a pretty big plus for me. I'm planning to try one of those clip on lights as well. But for now no backlight means no headache.

... now read it with my bedside table lamp on for the same amount of time as I used the Palm. But no headache in the morning.

That's a pretty big plus for me. I'm planning to try one of those clip on lights as well. But for now no backlight means no headache.

I kind of think that people who want backlights are kind of missing the point of E-Ink.

About 40% of my reading is outside the house, and another 40% in bed. Depending on what I am reading, I use a Zaurus, Tapwave Zodiac, or an iBook -- all backlit. I am lucky enough that this does not cause me any headaches, and the lack of an overhead light helps keep my marriage up to snuff. :happy2:

I don't really see why wanting a built-in light (backlight, frontlight, whatever) is missing the point. As I said, I read outside the house quite a lot, sometimes in the dark, and I do not really want to carry around lots of extra accessories.

I nearly bought a Sony when they first hit the shelves. As I have said elsewhere, the main thing that stopped me was the lack of Mac support. As I have been more conscious of my reading habits (my use of lighting, the search function - even in fiction, et cetera), I am glad I did not buy yet, and I will wait for a future solution.

Why couldn't one of the newly announced Jinkes include a light? :(

Jack

I don't really see why wanting a built-in light (backlight, frontlight, whatever) is missing the point.
It depends on what one sees the point of e-ink as, I suppose. I see it as generally higher resolution, much lower power use, and sunlight readability. Frankly none of that has anything to do with integral device lighting. While the non-transparent nature of e-ink prevents backlighting, it's solely lack of design imagination that hasn't yet made a device with lightwedge-like integral sidelighting.