From ebookwise 1150 to e-ink device

[HarryT]

If you're like most people, once you've seen an eInk screen you'll never want to read on an LCD screen again .

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

My camera has a sensor inside that knows when I rotate the camera. It would be nice, in the next generation, ETI device is such a sensor could be employed to automatically redo the buttons when you rotate it 180 degrees.

Dale

that would be brilliant.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you're like most people, once you've seen an eInk screen you'll never want to read on an LCD screen again .

I can't go quite that far. I love my e-ink Cybook, but it does require reasonably good light for comfortable reading. Under such conditions, it is indeed a better experience than using an LCD. Outdoors, it is a remarkable display indeed.

However, I find that much of my reading is done is lower light conditions -- there, I find the LCD display on my Sony Clie to be more comfortable, even if smaller.

[radleyp]

I simply do not understand this attitude about backlighting. Ordinary print is not backlit! Since when did it become almost a necessity to have lit reading material? I am 73 and I find reading on my Kindle a better, less intrusive, reading experience than any lcd backlit screen I have seen, even when I am not in a brightly lit room (which is the case right now). It's almost like reading real print (which is what I thought was the aim of eink).

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by radleyp

I simply do not understand this attitude about backlighting. Ordinary print is not backlit!

Nope, it needs to be frontlit. When that is not possible or simple, backlighting works. Don't see a need to evangelize one or the other. They both have their pros and cons.

[radleyp]

How do you backlight ordinary print?

[Taylor514ce]

You don't. Nor do you read ordinary print in the dark. With a backlit device, though, you can, and it's this "extra" functionality some want, while others could care less. I'm in the "could are less" group, myself, but at least I understand the reasoning from the other camp.

[radleyp]

Of course I understand that. My point is that these two screens, eink and lcd, are very different. If you see little or no difference, there is no point in buying an expensive eink device. One detail: I used to do a lot of photography, and took many color slides; to look at those slides, I placed them on what we call a lightbox which was a sheet of milk-colored glass over different kinds of lightbulbs, and we generally did this in a very dark room; this was similar to looking at a backlit screen and when I looked up it took me some seconds to focus. Backlit screens sometimes have that effect on me today, especially if I have been looking at them for over an hour.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

I can't go quite that far. I love my e-ink Cybook, but it does require reasonably good light for comfortable reading. Under such conditions, it is indeed a better experience than using an LCD. Outdoors, it is a remarkable display indeed.

However, I find that much of my reading is done is lower light conditions -- there, I find the LCD display on my Sony Clie to be more comfortable, even if smaller.

I find the same thing with my Sony PRS500: it's great in direct sunlight but hard to read without good light. I love the large number of books formatted for it though.

I got a Clie to use as a portable book reader but mainly because there were a lot of DRM books I couldn’t get in IMP format but I found in both MobiPocket and eReader versions. I gave up on using Mobi books when a computer glitch somehow crashed the directory with my eBooks in it. My backup restored the eBooks but I could no longer read them on either the PC or the Clie. My eReader books kept working though, and there are almost as many books in that format as there are in Mobi so that’s what I’ve been getting when I can't find a book for the eb1150.

I’m wondering why ETI can’t just add support for eReader to the eb1150, or put it on their new reader? eReader is reflowable and supports additional fonts on the Clie so that feature might keep working on a larger screen. There are versions of eReader for Palm, Windows, MacIntosh, and WPC, but there’s no version of eReader for Linux. Is that the trouble? Does the Linux OS make it impossible to get eReader to work on the eb1150?

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

I’m wondering why ETI can’t just add support for eReader to the eb1150, or put it on their new reader? eReader is reflowable and supports additional fonts on the Clie so that feature might keep working on a larger screen. There are versions of eReader for Palm, Windows, MacIntosh, and WPC, but there’s no version of eReader for Linux. Is that the trouble? Does the Linux OS make it impossible to get eReader to work on the eb1150?

The eb1150 (ETI-2) is not Linux based, its operating system is Nucleus from Mentor Graphics - see ETA Products. I doubt the eb1150 will get a major software upgrade, but if FictionWise ever sells an E-Ink device it would help sales if it provided a migration path for ebookwise ebooks (in addition to, say, eReader support). This would presumably be easier if the source of the device was ETI.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

I find the same thing with my Sony PRS500: it's great in direct sunlight but hard to read without good light. I love the large number of books formatted for it though.

The 2nd generation "VizPlex" screens which devices like the Sony 505, CyBook Gen3, and Amazon Kindle use, have greatly improved contrast compared to your Sony 500, and are much better in dim light. When I had a Sony PRS500 I needed to use a reading light in pretty much any artificial light; with the VizPlex screen on the Gen3 I find that I can read (perhaps with a slightly larger font size) in much the same light levels I'd need for a paperback book.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The 2nd generation "VizPlex" screens which devices like the Sony 505, CyBook Gen3, and Amazon Kindle use, have greatly improved contrast compared to your Sony 500, and are much better in dim light. When I had a Sony PRS500 I needed to use a reading light in pretty much any artificial light; with the VizPlex screen on the Gen3 I find that I can read (perhaps with a slightly larger font size) in much the same light levels I'd need for a paperback book.

Hummm... That's interesting. I wandered onto this thread because I was searching for something with the content of the Sony and the readability of the Clie and the eb1150. The Clie is great for what it does but I longed for a larger screen. I read the early reviews of the 505 here at MobilRead. NatCh seemed to like the 505 in the short time he had a review copy but it helps to hear from someone who has lived with both devices.

Some reviewers seemed to think the screen reads better on the blue model than the silver one. This is really silly, but I love how the silver 505 looks like my Clie "all grown up." Is yours silver or blue? Do you find the color makes a difference?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[HarryT]

I have a CyBook Gen3, not a Sony, but the two machine use the same screen (as does the Amazon Kindle, too). I bought the Gen3 having previously owned a Sony PRS500.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by HarryT

with the VizPlex screen on the Gen3 I find that I can read (perhaps with a slightly larger font size) in much the same light levels I'd need for a paperback book.

I'll agree with Harry. I was a little disappointed at first with the Gen 3 compared to my Clie TH55 in some of my reading locations. Part of that was adjusting to e-ink vs LCD. After almost a week with it, I find the Cybook to be comfortable to use in lower light levels, although I've learned that font family and size selection (one of the key Cybook strengths) is important. And living in Florida, it is nice to be able to use its gorgeous screen outdoors.

I still prefer the Clie for reading in bed (vs. using a book light with e-ink or paper); otherwise, I prefer the Cybook.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

After almost a week with it, I find the Cybook to be comfortable to use in lower light levels, although I've learned that font family and size selection (one of the key Cybook strengths) is important.

Yes, one of the nice things about an eInk reader (and it's true for all of them) is that it's so easy to switch to a larger font in poor light - something you can't do with a paper book .