Why does the page refresh on eink devices bother people so much?

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by wodin

I'm easily distracted and the page flash is distracting. It detracts from becoming deeply immersed in my reading.

Doesn't turning a paper page and changing the focus from right page to left page distract you even more? It does me.

[K-Thom]

Maybe we should open a poll ...

"What's more distracting to you: eInk page flashing or pBook page turning?"

[dmaul1114]

Paper page turning is less distracting as people have been doing it their whole lives and are used to it.

And it's not as visually jarring as the flash IMO.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Paper page turning is less distracting as people have been doing it their whole lives and are used to it.

And it's not as visually jarring as the flash IMO.

And it is very much faster than eInk page turning.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by tompe

And it is very much faster than eInk page turning.

I'd say it's about the same for turning one page.

But it's MUCH faster to flip back through several pages, or flip through a book to find a chapter etc.

[GA Russell]

The first time I saw eInk in action was about six weeks ago when I saw a YouTube video of the new txtr. I didn't notice the flash.

Two weeks later I was tipped to come here, and I read many posts about the flash.

So I went back to YouTube and saw the txtr video again, and noticed for the first time the flash that many posters had described.

If you guys hadn't pointed it out, I think that I would be blissfully ignorant!

[tompe]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

I'd say it's about the same for turning one page.

But it's MUCH faster to flip back through several pages, or flip through a book to find a chapter etc.

No way it takes 1-2 seconds. I did some empirical observations before posting the claim and it is near instantaneous for a pocket book. Notice that you put your hands in the correct position for turning before reaching the end of the page.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by tompe

No way it takes 1-2 seconds. I did some empirical observations before posting the claim and it is near instantaneous for a pocket book. Notice that you put your hands in the correct position for turning before reaching the end of the page.

People would then say "well you can push the button when you reach the last line LOL".

I don't see how the two can compare. One gives you instant visual and tactile response while requiring more muscle movement, while the other requires less physical effort and is significantly slower. If I lose my arms and need to use my chin to turn pages, the ebook reader is much less of a workout.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Jellby

Doesn't turning a paper page and changing the focus from right page to left page distract you even more? It does me.

What can I say? No, it doesn't.

Originally Posted by GA Russell

...
If you guys hadn't pointed it out, I think that I would be blissfully ignorant!

Just wait until you see the blurry, vibrating lettering and the weird, intense rainbow effects (Shh, don't tell him I'm making this up. Let's see how suggestive he is. )

Cheers,
Marc

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

People would then say "well you can push the button when you reach the last line LOL".

I don't see how the two can compare. One gives you instant visual and tactile response while requiring more muscle movement, while the other requires less physical effort and is significantly slower. If I lose my arms and need to use my chin to turn pages, the ebook reader is much less of a workout.

To the first, yeah, it's about the same. Page flip is probably a little faster---but I also don't see 1-2 second delays on my K1. Maybe 1 second tops, likely a bit under.

Honestly, neither page turns or the flash bothers me. E-readers just suck for something you need to flip through like a text book, scholarly article, technical manual etc. since all those delays add up when flipping through a bunch of pages or dealing with the slow loading table of contents etc. to jump around.

For regular reading? The page flash doesn't bother me, I just hit it when I'm half through the last line.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by Jellby

Doesn't turning a paper page and changing the focus from right page to left page distract you even more? It does me.

No, because I've been doing it for sixty years and I'm used to it.

Actually having to remember to push a button is more distracting than turning a page, then when I get this blank-all black-blank-letters fading in for a half a second or so; well, it's distracting!

I have both a Sony PRS-505 and a jetBook. The jetBook does none of that, and turns the page in one or two hundred milliseconds, the Sony does all of that and turns the page in five to seven hundred milliseconds. The jetBook's 5" screen is at least as easy for my ancient eyeballs to read in normal lighting as the Sony's 6" screen (I think a little easier, but that's a subjective call).

The only time I've even turned the Sony on since getting the jetBook has been to compare the screens.

If the truth be known, I read my Nokia N800 more than anything, but that's because it fits in my pocket better and I find it more convenient to carry around. When I'm at home I read the jetBook, and since the Nokia and the jetBook both have text search capability it's easy to keep them in sync. The Sony does not have text search, and the page numbering is not consistent so keeping them in sync is a hassle.

Oh yeah, the Nokia doesn't do the flashy thing either!

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by wodin

No, because I've been doing it for sixty years and I'm used to it.

Actually having to remember to push a button is more distracting than turning a page, then when I get this blank-all black-blank-letters fading in for a half a second or so; well, it's distracting!

It took me probably reading one whole book on my K1 to get used to pressing buttons and the flash. Now I don't notice it and it doesn't distract me at all.

But to each their own. Everyone should read on what works for them and what doesn't distract them.

[HansTWN]

after a while you don't even notice it anymore. Of course, current e-readers suck for flipping through documents --- but for those I use my computer, anyway. For straight forward reading they are pretty good now, except for PDF with pictures or for those people who "must" have full text justification.

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Paper page turning is less distracting as people have been doing it their whole lives and are used to it.

Originally Posted by wodin

No, because I've been doing it for sixty years and I'm used to it.

Ah, so it's mainly a question of getting used to it

Actually, one of the reasons turning a paper page might be not so distracting is because you don't stare at the turning page, but somehow give a rest to your eyes and focus them on something else than the page (even if it's on your hand). A quick solution is close your eyes or look to somewhere else when the page flashes on an ebook reader. Anyway, the Cybook lets you disable the flashing.

Leaving aside the fact that, indeed, it's possible to turn a paper page almost instantaneously, but I don't usually do that (much less when reading on my side in bed, where I have to change the balance of the book at every page change).

[ahi]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

after a while you don't even notice it anymore. Of course, current e-readers suck for flipping through documents --- but for those I use my computer, anyway. For straight forward reading they are pretty good now, except for PDF with pictures or for those people who "must" have full text justification.

Actually, only PDFs with large (or perhaps any?) pictures would impact the page-turn speed.

Proper text-based PDFs for people who "must" have books that don't look like they're made by grade-schoolers have no discernable delay between page-turns when compared with any of the reflow formats.

- Ahi