Quote:
Originally Posted by HansTWN
Seriously, we know you think ebooks have serious problems. I will readily agree that they are not up to the presentation you get from a hard cover. But they are not intended to. You should compare them to paperbacks, and I think the vast majority of users agree with me that ereaders are doing very nicely here. I really do prefer an ebook over a pbook if reading the text is my only concern. Add to that the convenience and savings when getting the books and when traveling.
You don't like ereaders, but the fact is, they are a great fit for most people. No need to turn everybody off to them.
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Not my intention at all. I simply made 2 suggestions that are not at all untrue.
Whenever we see comparisons of paper books and ebooks in terms of price, the comparison is very nearly always made between ebooks and hardcover editions ("a paper book that costs $30 may only cost $15 as an ebook!"), which is frankly not a very honest comparison. I'm not making any opinionated comparisons of quality/presentation here.
My second point was that e-ink is relatively low resolution and low contrast and with only the rarest (and still unavailable) exceptions fixed to a glass substrate which is glossy and full of glare compared to most printed paper (excepting photo paper and some glossy magazines). The point I was making wasn't just "it's inferior". That indeed is my opinion but the reason I posted it here was simply because while e-ink does have some more print-like qualities than most transmissive displays, it is quite a misleading exaggeration to say it's "just like paper".
Both of those claims are extremely common when seeing people promote ebooks and ebook reading devices. Both of those claims are inaccurate at best, misleading at worst. I find it rather surprising that anyone would really believe that "I can't read in the bath!" is truly a popular myth and then dismiss some more common misconceptions on the other side of the fence as the opinionated ravings of an ebook hater.