any harm from leaving the reader turned on?

ebooker · 11-19-2009, 07:53 PM

IS there any harm to the screen, if you leave your e-ink reader turned on all the time? Just leave it on?

For example in the old CRT screens, you could "burn in" a picture by leaving the screen on all the time on a static image (hence we had screen savers).

Is there any equivalent danger with e-ink? I know the physics is different here, but wondering because sometimes on my sony reader I do see a faint outline of the previous image which remains for a while (it eventually goes away). Wondering if there is any kind of 'burn in' effect, or any other downside, to leaving my reader on (with an image on the screen) 24 hours a day. After all it doesnt consume any battery that way, so why not just leave it on?

Lady Blue · 11-19-2009, 08:13 PM

I've got a Sony 505. I often leave mine on for extended periods of time. After a while of no page turns it will shut off by itself. I've had my unit for about 2 years and there is no burn-in that I can see from leaving it on. I don't know how the other models fare.

ebooker · 11-19-2009, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Blue

After a while of no page turns it will shut off by itself.

my prs600 has the turn-off feature (60 minute delay) but you can disable that in the options. I was going to disable it and then just let it stay on indefinitely. (Like a real book

Does anyone know of any adverse things that might happen (to the screen or otherwise) if I do that?

Lady Blue · 11-19-2009, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebooker

my prs600 has the turn-off feature (60 minute delay) but you can disable that in the options. I was going to disable it and then just let it stay on indefinitely. (Like a real book

Does anyone know of any adverse things that might happen (to the screen or otherwise) if I do that?

Mine works the same way (that's what I meant to say), and I've found no adverse effects from letting it stay on indefinitely, after 2 years of using it that way.

ebooker · 11-19-2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Blue

Mine works the same way (that's what I meant to say), and I've found no adverse effects from letting it stay on indefinitely, after 2 years of using it that way.

cool, thanks!

just like a real book :-D

HarryT · 11-20-2009, 03:01 AM

It is entirely normal to leave the Reader turned on. The power switch does not "turn it off" (unless you hold it in for 5 seconds); it just blanks the screen and locks most of the buttons. It only turns off if you select "Shut down" from the menu, or hold in the power switch for longer than 5 seconds.

ebooker · 11-20-2009, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

It is entirely normal to leave the Reader turned on. The power switch does not "turn it off" (unless you hold it in for 5 seconds); it just blanks the screen and locks most of the buttons. It only turns off if you select "Shut down" from the menu, or hold in the power switch for longer than 5 seconds.

thats a good point harry, there is a separate shutdown function.

The turnoff switch then mainly blanks screen and locks buttons as you say. One question tho -- on the touchscreen model, does the touchscreen use up any battery if its left on that way?

This is a non-issue on the prs500 series of course (no touchscreen).

Tony Hoyle · 11-20-2009, 01:33 PM

I think the touchscreen does use up a little, as I've seen the number of segments on the battery left drop just from leaving the reader in standby for a day. It's not much though.. I don't imagine the batteries in these things is too powerful it's lasting over a week between charges.

ebooker · 11-20-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Hoyle

I think the touchscreen does use up a little, as I've seen the number of segments on the battery left drop just from leaving the reader in standby for a day. It's not much though.. I don't imagine the batteries in these things is too powerful it's lasting over a week between charges.

well, I guess the question is whether the battery drops a bit each day simply because lithium batteries naturally lose some power if left alone, or wether its from the touchscreen? IF its on standby, presumably the touchscreen wasnt active anyway, so maybe in your case thats just the lithium battery slowly running down on its own as they all do?

LoganK · 11-20-2009, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebooker

well, I guess the question is whether the battery drops a bit each day simply because lithium batteries naturally lose some power if left alone, or wether its from the touchscreen?

The self-discharge rate of the battery is so small that it won't even be a consideration on the time scales we are discussing here.

No, it seems pretty clear that Sony has a failure in either the hardware or the software when it comes to the PRS-600. My guess is that it is a software flaw, but I wouldn't expect the issue to ever be resolved. Sony has shown almost no interest in actually supporting their products so far. They make a good product (with respect to the device, the desktop software is a complete nightmare), but they have no interest in investing in their customers.

HarryT · 11-21-2009, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebooker

well, I guess the question is whether the battery drops a bit each day simply because lithium batteries naturally lose some power if left alone, or wether its from the touchscreen? IF its on standby, presumably the touchscreen wasnt active anyway, so maybe in your case thats just the lithium battery slowly running down on its own as they all do?

There's no reason to suppose that it's anything to do with the touchscreen. When it's in "standby", the machine is still running; the CPU and memory are still using power, etc. It's not like putting a laptop into "standby" mode where the machine actually switches off; in standby mode, the Reader is still running as normal - it's just that the screen is blank and most buttons are locked.

Loose_Appeal · 11-21-2009, 04:41 AM

I think the greatest harm that might happen is that someone else might enlighten themselves by reading something from your device.

11-19-2009, 07:53 PM	#1
ebooker Banned Posts: 140 Karma: 16076 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: NYC Device: sony prs-650!	any harm from leaving the reader turned on? IS there any harm to the screen, if you leave your e-ink reader turned on all the time? Just leave it on? For example in the old CRT screens, you could "burn in" a picture by leaving the screen on all the time on a static image (hence we had screen savers). Is there any equivalent danger with e-ink? I know the physics is different here, but wondering because sometimes on my sony reader I do see a faint outline of the previous image which remains for a while (it eventually goes away). Wondering if there is any kind of 'burn in' effect, or any other downside, to leaving my reader on (with an image on the screen) 24 hours a day. After all it doesnt consume any battery that way, so why not just leave it on? Last edited by ebooker; 11-19-2009 at 08:41 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
PRS-900 image when reader turned off	kceb10	Sony Reader	0	04-26-2010 04:08 PM
Is piracy likely to harm ebook sales?	Ben Thornton	General Discussions	193	04-08-2010 09:32 PM
Ultra-mod Tabeee Mk-1: Eee PC to be turned into an e-reader	Alexander Turcic	Alternative Devices	13	07-11-2008 10:18 AM
Zune Player turned into an e-book reader	Alexander Turcic	News	0	03-28-2007 11:19 AM

11-19-2009, 08:13 PM	#2
Lady Blue the snarky blue one Posts: 6,001 Karma: 3877825 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: deep in the heart Device: PRS500, 505 & 600, PRST1 & T2, Kindle PW, Moto Razr, Galaxy Tab 2-10"	I've got a Sony 505. I often leave mine on for extended periods of time. After a while of no page turns it will shut off by itself. I've had my unit for about 2 years and there is no burn-in that I can see from leaving it on. I don't know how the other models fare.

11-20-2009, 03:01 AM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It is entirely normal to leave the Reader turned on. The power switch does not "turn it off" (unless you hold it in for 5 seconds); it just blanks the screen and locks most of the buttons. It only turns off if you select "Shut down" from the menu, or hold in the power switch for longer than 5 seconds.

11-20-2009, 01:33 PM	#8
Tony Hoyle Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Sony PRS600	I think the touchscreen does use up a little, as I've seen the number of segments on the battery left drop just from leaving the reader in standby for a day. It's not much though.. I don't imagine the batteries in these things is too powerful it's lasting over a week between charges.

11-21-2009, 04:41 AM	#12
Loose_Appeal Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish? Posts: 85 Karma: 162 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Current: PRS-650, Previous: Books	I think the greatest harm that might happen is that someone else might enlighten themselves by reading something from your device.

Advert

Advert