Would you ever buy a non front-lit e-ink reader?

[patrickt]

I am old and while I never read in the dark, the Paperwhite front-lit device is sure nice in dim light. I use it in restaurants, coffee shops, and even at home with the cursed CFL light.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by usuallee

I could be wrong, but it doesn't appear Desertway was commenting on the screen size one way or the other, just the size of the device itself.

I hope my comment didn't come across as being snide; it certainly wasn't my intention. As for Desertway's post, I may well have misunderstood the point they were making. Although the screens are the same size, the Paperwhite is substantially smaller than the K-3. When I first got the PW, I thought I'd miss the belly rest area provided by my K-3's keyboard area, but I quickly adapted. Then again, for reading in bed, I found it necessary to compensate by buying a Kindle pillow. I'm not at all bothered by the smaller physical size of the Paperwhite; in my opinion it's a plus. For me, anyway.

[Desertway]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

You do realize that the screen size in the same, don't you?

I do. I meant the device as a whole.

[Desertway]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I hope my comment didn't come across as being snide; it certainly wasn't my intention. As for Desertway's post, I may well have misunderstood the point they were making. Although the screens are the same size, the Paperwhite is substantially smaller than the K-3. When I first got the PW, I thought I'd miss the belly rest area provided by my K-3's keyboard area, but I quickly adapted. Then again, for reading in bed, I found it necessary to compensate by buying a Kindle pillow. I'm not at all bothered by the smaller physical size of the Paperwhite; in my opinion it's a plus. For me, anyway.

No worries. I bury my K3 in a pillow for hands-free (except for page turning) bed reading. I was concerned that there wouldn't be enough bezel to do that without obscuring the screen of the PW. I suppose, when the time comes, I would have to live with it for a few days to really know.

[WT Sharpe]

The only thing I miss even a little bit is how the extra area taken up by the keyboard kept the device at a comfortable reading angle when sitting in a recliner and resting my book-holding hand on my upper stomach.

[Desertway]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Since old and decrepit people often have trouble sleeping at night, I find that an ebook reader with a front light is as much a necessity as a bedpan.

I often take both......wherever I go.

Too, I sometimes like to wander around inside a darkened house with my ebook reader and bedpan, but too often the owners will call the police and take me back to my own house.




Don

That was **YOU**? I'm sorry if we caused you any inconvenience.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Desertway

No worries. I bury my K3 in a pillow for hands-free (except for page turning) bed reading. I was concerned that there wouldn't be enough bezel to do that without obscuring the screen of the PW. I suppose, when the time comes, I would have to live with it for a few days to really know.

As light as the PW is, I have no problem holding it before my face when sitting or walking. It never seems to tire me out. But for reading in bed I bought one of the CoylCushions from Coyl's Custom Creations and love it, but the Book Beanies are nice as well. You really can't go wrong with either one, IMO. It does give you less room because of the shortened bezel, though.

[snogglethorpe]

I just received a PW as a gift, and while I can see the utility of the built-in light, I don't really like the way the display looks while lit. The epaper in the PW seems to be very good, much better than epaper from a few years ago, and I find it much nicer to just put the light on its lowest setting (where it's effectively invisible in normal ambient lighting) and read in "pure reflective" mode.

That's actually my main complaint about the PW: you can't turn the light off entirely, merely make it very dim. In bright settings those two things are effectively the same, but in dim light, the display gets a sort of sickly glow which is quite annoying.

[Given the complete triviality of turning off the light in software, I find it surprising there's no "off" setting; I guess they just never thought about the issue...]

I wouldn't go back. My Kobo Aura was my first experience of a frontlit ereader, and I fell in love immediately. We have environmentally-friendly long-lasting lightbulbs which are kind of dim, so even reading in the living room in the evening is better with the frontlight on. I only have the light set to 10% brightness, but that's enough to make the contrast better without it really seeming to glow.

And it's nice not to have to worry about carrying a booklight, or - more importantly - whether it's still my booklight or whether my husband has stolen it. The good thing about an integral frontlight is that nobody can steal it and then give you an innocent puppydog look that says "What? Your book light? But I thought this was MY booklight! Of course, if you want to stop me reading just as I've got to a very exciting place, I'll give it back. I won't be disappointed at all, and I promise I won't think you're an evil, mean, unfeeling, cruel wife..."

[Andy_T]

I just got a second Kindle Keyboard ... this time the 3G version to supplement my WIFI version ... as "backup" and reserve for bad times.

Best regards,
Andy

[booklover6]

Well I just bought 3 old non-lighted readers to play with (and read on). A Jetbook Lite, an Aluratek Pro, and an Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro. All 5". Only the Astak has arrived, so far, but I really like it. I'd like one of the current companies to produce a lighted 5" reader with folder capabilities like the three I mentioned. And SD card slots. I had a Jetbook before, so I know what to expect. Great lightweight readers that can have folders and sub-folders, and with full size SD card slots!

[mike_bike_kite]

I certainly love my KPW but I suppose it all depends on what weird and wacky technologies they bring out in the future.

[delph]

Up until about three weeks ago, my answer would have been that I would not go back to a non-lit device. Then I got a Kobo Mini that can easily go everywhere with me, so I don't have to remember if I specifically want to take my ereader when I'm expecting a wait. Now I guess my answer would be 'I wouldn't go back to a non-lit ereader for my primary home-use ereader' since I am very prone to reading in the dark at home. Non-lit is fine to take out and about, since I can't think of any situation where I would normally be waiting without enough light to read.

[grumbles]

I, for one, do not want a front lit reader. Now, the only front lit readers that I have seen are the Kobo readers and these have left me massively underwhelmed and my comments are based the units that I saw at my local Indigo store.

The lighting is uneven. Very noticeably uneven. But then I notice the aliasing that you see when a broad area changes colour or intensity in a DVD image. I find it distracting (both the reader and the DVD).

The readers use really cheap leds. This results in a blueish cast to the screen that I really don't like. Come on, spend a few cents more and use high quality white leds, I know they are available. For the few who don't know, white leds are really blue leds with a phosphor coating to produce white light. Same principle as the fluorescent lamp. The cheap ones use a very thing layer or phosphor and the blue light leaks through. An example of a really good high quality white led is the IKEA Janso(?) lamp. I have several that I use a reading lights. But like all the IKEA lamps I have ever bought, the switch breaks just after the guarantee expires.

The Kindles may be better but I have a mess of Sonys so that until Kindle supports epub, they're not even an option.

If I really need something to read on in low light levels and I can't provide my own light, I would rather just get a tablet with and lcd screen (or better, an oled if they ever become affordable). But no interest in a front lit reader.

I also wouldn't buy a reader without buttons.

Originally Posted by grumbles

The lighting is uneven. Very noticeably uneven. But then I notice the aliasing that you see when a broad area changes colour or intensity in a DVD image. I find it distracting (both the reader and the DVD).

Were you looking at a Glo or an Aura? I was underwhelmed when I saw the unevenness in the Glo, but the Aura is a lot better. (Then again, you may be more sensitive to these things.) I can't comment on colour though, since I'm colourblind and colours have to be very intense to notice the hue. Yet your comment on hue leaves me wondering if there may be technical reasons. Kobo's use an IR touch system. Maybe the LED backlights have a blueish hue to avoid interference with the IR detectors?