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Old 06-28-2010, 03:49 PM   #7
fjtorres
Grand Sorcerer
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Join Date: May 2009
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Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
Quote:
Originally Posted by ragzy View Post
[LEFT]
For the people that own both 5" and 6" devices and have bought them
both for personal use:

I'm interested in what you have to say about screen size[LIST][*]Which one did you buy first, why did you buy the second device?
I bought the 6" model first simply because it was the only size available.
As I used it I found that the software stability issues were *not* being addressed by the vendor and the vendor u-turned on DRM-support, abandoning the Mobipocket support that was one of the criteria by which I'd chosen that specific model.
I bought the 5" model because reviews here convinced me the firmware was more stable, more flexible, and better in tune to my needs. Also because the hardware appeared to be more ergonomic (it is), sturdier (ditto), and more convenient to carry around (and then some!).

Quote:
Originally Posted by ragzy View Post

For those of you who own a 5" device:[LIST][*]Is the screen big enough to read comfortably from? [*]Do you find yourself pressing the "next page" button too frequently?[*]How does the reading experience compare with reading from a normal sized pocket book.
1- Yes, the screen is big enough to read on comfortably. It helps that the firmware lets me set my own margins, line-spacing, margins, font face, and font size in 1-point increments. It also helps that I can turn off page numbers and status bars and other distractions. The display is just nicely formatted text.

2- I don't think so. The immersion factor on a well-engineered reader means you lose track of page turns; all you really keep track of is the flow of the narrative. Part of this is that I have the page turn function assigned to a button that lies right under my thumb as I hold the reader, so turning pages is strictly a matter of a momentary increase of thumb pressure. That is one reason I *despise* touchscreens and page-swipe interfaces; too much effort in turning a page. The perfect ereader (and its coming) will track my eyes and automatically page as I reach the bottom of the page.

3- Favorably. It would have to be a very thin paperback to weigh in lighter than my reader. And most paperbacks are 3-4 times as thick. My 5" reader is exactly the size of a CD jewel case and about the same weight.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ragzy View Post

  • Is it comfortable to hold (most devices seem to have roughly the same shape, but lets skip page turning here since this can be too different from one device to another) for a longer session?
  • How do you hold the device while reading? (Bonus: 5" vs 6"?).

ty
1- Yes, I can comfortably hold it in either hand for extended periods. (The reader being symmetrical means I can rotate the screen display to account for a left- or right-handed grip and still keep my thumb on the paging button.

2- I hold it by resting the bottom edge atop my small finger, resting my thumb atop the paging button, and the other three fingers behind. The reader has a ridge running horizontally at the middle that falls right under my middle finger if I don't have the snap-on cover on the rear. Otherwise the texture of the cover provides the extra grip so it can't slip. It has a lot of subtle ergo touches I've not seen on either of my two 6" readers (I also own a Kindle but that's a different story) or their competitors.

Personally, and this is just me, most likely; I find 6" readers to be sub-optimal. They don't offer enough extra reading area to justify the loss of portability and added bulk vs the 5" models (which fit safely in my front pants pocket). Most also waste valuable surface area that would be better devoted to text display on keyboards, button pads or other interface touches that can just as easily be provided by a simple 5-way actuator. (Too many Kindle-wannabes and too few devoting any thought to actual human factors engineering.)
For bigger than 5" reading, I'm still not sure if the 7" wide-LCD format of the coming Android tablets would be better than the 8-9 inch 4x3 format eink readers. For my next purchase I'm keeping an eye out on the 9-in class of readers (for strictly in-house reading) but I might as easily buy another 5incher instead. 6 inchers? I seriously doubt it.

In other words: I really like the 5" form factor.

Last edited by fjtorres; 06-28-2010 at 03:53 PM.
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