eInk v. Smart Phone

[Phogg]

Angry Birds is a phone's primary function?

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Angry Birds is a phone's primary function?

What?

This is what he said

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

and putting the network down with the touch of the Plane Mode button.

[no.guru]

If I were being exposed to my T1 and my Android for the first time together, I would surely be drawn to the Android primarily. The eink screen on the T1 is higher quality for reading but seems clunkier than the Android screen.

However, after using my Android for a year the only real advantage I've found is it's in my pocket and ready to read for the occasional 2 minutes I have here and there - which is only superficial reading, anyway.

The few times I tried reading a classic work on the Android - A Tale of Two Cities, for example - were bizarre experiences. Inferior anachronism was the phrase rolling through my head, and I didn't mean Dickens' writing, either.

Factor in feeding the battery daily and the extra eye strain that comes from reading on the Android for long periods and it isn't even close - I enjoy my T1 many times more than I ever enjoyed my Android.

[toddos]

Originally Posted by no.guru

However, after using my Android for a year the only real advantage I've found is it's in my pocket and ready to read for the occasional 2 minutes I have here and there - which is only superficial reading, anyway.

But ... that's how I do most of my reading!

Though it's more like 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. But still, without opportunistic reading I would be reading a lot less than I do now.

Factor in feeding the battery daily and the extra eye strain that comes from reading on the Android for long periods and it isn't even close - I enjoy my T1 many times more than I ever enjoyed my Android.

I'm recharging my phone daily anyway, may as well use it.

[no.guru]

Originally Posted by toddos

But ... that's how I do most of my reading!

Though it's more like 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. But still, without opportunistic reading I would be reading a lot less than I do now.



I'm recharging my phone daily anyway, may as well use it.

I understand. The Android was just a fun gadget for me, but I know others may have more important uses for smart phones than me and/or be more attached to them. I'm in no position to judge for others.

A user-created picture on reddit convinced me to shelve my Android and go back to ereaders. I didn't save it, but one side of the picture had screenshots of crude or irrelevant chat text, social media, etc., and said "Today I read 100% of this." The other side of the picture was a shot of a stack of hardback classics, science fiction, and capital L Literature with the caption: ".. and I read 0% of this." That summarized what I had been thinking for a while.

[VicLavigne]

It's funny for me to hear how people want to replace dedicated devices with a smartphone. I've had a smartphone for the last 3 years (blackberry, now an android). My current phone does a lot of things: internet, music, video player gps, calculator, alarm clock, personal organizer, emails, and reading. Of course, the only thing that it is really best is making and receiving calls and SMS. Yes, I can get on the internet and I can open documents.... I can edit or create documents. But all these other functions work much better on other, bigger devices. And reading, for me, is best on an e-ink device -- that, or print book.

I love my smartphone, it helps me a lot when I'm on the go. But its not a true replacement for my other devices. And I'd never use my smartphone over my ereader for reading. But that's just me.

Vic

[tubemonkey]

eInk for reading novels; LCD for magazine and news articles.

LCD bothers my eyes for long term reading, but I don't mind it for short attention span reading.

I don't own a smartphone because of mandatory data plans, so I have a media player instead - a 4" Galaxy Player (replacing an iPod touch 4). For my tablet, I have a 5" Galaxy Player (replacing a Nook Color CM7).

[amward]

Happy dancing going on here, I've downloaded the Overdrive app to my Ipod and even downloaded a book. I don't expect to use it very much for reading as I much prefer eink, but it will mean I don't have to take the ereader out with me all the time.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by sabredog

What?

This is what he said

Why did you only post half of a sentence?

[Jack Tingle]

Other people have made these (or similar) points, but I thought I'd put them in a list, cause I like lists:
1) Nearsighted people seem to have no problem with reading on a small screen. Normal/farsighted people seem to dislike it.
2) 'Small screen' is probably 3.2-4" diagonal. I can't recommend any screen smaller than 3.2" for extended reading. 4-10" screens are the same size as various book formats.
3) If you read a lot outdoors or in very strong light, eInk or a reflective LCD is probably better. If you prefer a dim room, backlit LCDs are probably better. Do not read in a totally dark room using either. Turn on some room light, or you will get eyestrain. On LCDs, night mode can help.
4) Distractions are your responsibility, don't blame the device. You personally control the ones internal to the device. That said, I've never had a problem with them.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[toddos]

Originally Posted by Jack Tingle

Other people have made these (or similar) points, but I thought I'd put them in a list, cause I like lists:
1) Nearsighted people seem to have no problem with reading on a small screen. Normal/farsighted people seem to dislike it.
2) 'Small screen' is probably 3.2-4" diagonal. I can't recommend any screen smaller than 3.2" for extended reading. 4-10" screens are the same size as various book formats.
3) If you read a lot outdoors or in very strong light, eInk or a reflective LCD is probably better. If you prefer a dim room, backlit LCDs are probably better. Do not read in a totally dark room using either. Turn on some room light, or you will get eyestrain. On LCDs, night mode can help.
4) Distractions are your responsibility, don't blame the device. You personally control the ones internal to the device. That said, I've never had a problem with them.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

I'm near-sighted with contact lenses, yet I find it perfectly satisfactory to read on "small" screens. I find it easier to read on my 4.3" phone now than my old 3.5" phone, but that has as much to do with the resolution increase (480x800 vs 320x480) as it does with the real estate increase.

Ignoring the iPhone, 4-4.3" screens seem to have become the standard in the phone market. There are still lower-end 3.7-3.8" screens, and a few larger outliers (4.5-4.7"), but by and large everything is now in the 4-4.3" range.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by toddos

I'm near-sighted with contact lenses, yet I find it perfectly satisfactory to read on "small" screens. I find it easier to read on my 4.3" phone now than my old 3.5" phone, but that has as much to do with the resolution increase (480x800 vs 320x480) as it does with the real estate increase.

Ignoring the iPhone, 4-4.3" screens seem to have become the standard in the phone market. There are still lower-end 3.7-3.8" screens, and a few larger outliers (4.5-4.7"), but by and large everything is now in the 4-4.3" range.

Actually the larger end goes into 5 to 5.29" screens.
I use a 5" Dell Streak, and will probably upgrade to the larger Samsung Note when it hits the US.

[toddos]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Actually the larger end goes into 5 to 5.29" screens.
I use a 5" Dell Streak, and will probably upgrade to the larger Samsung Note when it hits the US.

I'm not sure if those are large phones or small tablets with voice calling capability

I arbitrarily choose to say any device < 5" is a smartphone and >= 5" is a tablet. So a Streak 5 or Galaxy Note is a tablet, but an HTC Titan (4.7" screen) or Samsung Infuse (4.5" screen) is a smartphone.

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Why would I disable a mobile's phone primary function to read a book? Very strange.

haha, it's called a smartphone but in reality it's a PC. I hardly use the call function, it's like a bonus. I do use the 3G modem though to fetch data. Say, downloading an ebook from the bus.

[leebase]

I read on my iPhone....and can read for hours at a time. I love it for reading in bed. My wife got hooked on reading on her iPod touch for the same reason.

I do like reading on my iPad better because of the larger screen. Still, either way, I simply have no need for eink. I just don't read outside in the full sunlight. Heck, won't even have sunlight after 4:30 for the next few months. Reading in bed with night mode....that I do daily.

And I switch between books and the web (iPad totally superior for web). Love Flipboard and Zite for keeping up on tech news.

And I participate on forums on my iPad, as I am now.

Lee