Which e-reader has the best contrast?

lushgreenapple · 12-01-2011, 02:19 AM

Hello everyone,

Okay so I am very picky about contrast and clear, crisp text.

I have used my brother's Kindle Keyboard and its great to read in bright light. I am now planning to buy an e-reader and can't decide between the Kindle and Sony Reader.

I have been doing a lot of research and heard so many people praise the Sony Reader PRS T1 for its whiter screen and great contrast. Does it really have better contrast than the Kindles and the Nooks? Sony is expensive so I just want to be sure before I buy.

Thanks!

Billi · 12-01-2011, 06:14 AM

Don't they just use the same screen?

AndyfromVA · 12-01-2011, 07:38 AM

The Sony T1 has the best contrast on any e-ink e-reader I've seen.

treadlightly · 12-01-2011, 07:56 AM

I am curious about this too. I'm waiting for the dude/dudette with the fancy spectrometer thing to comment.

David58117 · 12-01-2011, 09:53 AM

Of the ones I've seen I would go with the Sony. I absolutely love the fonts and sizing as well. I had the nook st (before the update) and the screen was more of a grayish, especially side by side with the Sony. The kindle keyboard looked creamish and pretty spectacular, but was too limited on fonts...and once I found a font and size combo I preferred on the sony it was hard to go back.

lushgreenapple · 12-01-2011, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David58117

Of the ones I've seen I would go with the Sony. I absolutely love the fonts and sizing as well. I had the nook st (before the update) and the screen was more of a grayish, especially side by side with the Sony. The kindle keyboard looked creamish and pretty spectacular, but was too limited on fonts...and once I found a font and size combo I preferred on the sony it was hard to go back.

No kidding...I had almost made up my mind to go for the T1 when I read about scary page flipping/unresponsive touch issues. They've slashed the price by 20 dollars today as well. So the only thing I can do is order it and hope Sony will be nice enough to release firmware patches to fix these issues. I am hoping they would because they are clearly priced above competition and hence not in a very popular spot in the market.

frostschutz · 12-01-2011, 02:48 PM

It's not so much a price slash as it was a temporary rise, I think...

I think contrast is about the same on all current generation eink devices. There are some minor variations both between devices as well as in the same product. Not much that matters though (you can only barely make out the difference if you have two devices side by side).

I'm hoping we'll see improved contrast with the next generation of screens but I'm not sure if the eink technology allows much improvement there or if it needs to be a different concept altogether.

LCDs have better contrast but between backlight and slightly sub-par contrast, the contrast is the lesser of two evils to be sure. Given proper lighting conditions the ereaders work just fine the way they are...

David58117 · 12-01-2011, 03:35 PM

Supposedly the firmware update that addresses the freezing and page flips etc comes out tomorrow (12/02) according to the Sony forum, so we will see!!

Personally I've owned it since release and never had the issues people are complaining of.

cghipp · 12-04-2011, 10:04 AM

The Sony actually has brightness and contrast controls, which I haven't seen on other e-ink readers. I've played with them in the store a bit, but not extensively.

HarryT · 12-04-2011, 10:07 AM

All the current "big name" eInk devices - Kindle, Sony, Kobo, nook, etc, use exactly the same screen. There can be differences in readability, however, due to differences in fonts, rendering algorithms, etc.

bentonquest · 12-27-2011, 06:35 PM

In my experience, the Kindle Touch has the better contrast and crispness of the two. I have both (and still undecided which one to return) and this is defintely noticeable while reading in any light conditions.

There is a post about this issue here in mobileread forums, just search for "PRS-T1 KINDLE TOUCH SCREEN" to read about it.

Just my $0.02

12-01-2011, 02:19 AM	#1
lushgreenapple Member Posts: 12 Karma: 888 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Which e-reader has the best contrast? Hello everyone, Okay so I am very picky about contrast and clear, crisp text. I have used my brother's Kindle Keyboard and its great to read in bright light. I am now planning to buy an e-reader and can't decide between the Kindle and Sony Reader. I have been doing a lot of research and heard so many people praise the Sony Reader PRS T1 for its whiter screen and great contrast. Does it really have better contrast than the Kindles and the Nooks? Sony is expensive so I just want to be sure before I buy. Thanks!

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12-01-2011, 06:14 AM	#2
Billi Wizard Posts: 3,388 Karma: 14190103 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Berlin Device: Cybook, iRex, PB, Onyx	Don't they just use the same screen?

12-01-2011, 07:38 AM	#3
AndyfromVA Zealot Posts: 127 Karma: 1002610 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook 1E, K3, K4, Paperwhite 2	The Sony T1 has the best contrast on any e-ink e-reader I've seen.

12-01-2011, 07:56 AM	#4
treadlightly Wizard Posts: 1,370 Karma: 6957792 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Ottawa, ON Device: Kobo H2O	I am curious about this too. I'm waiting for the dude/dudette with the fancy spectrometer thing to comment.

12-01-2011, 09:53 AM	#5
David58117 Groupie Posts: 165 Karma: 1020558 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Sony T1, K4NT (To Wife), Nook ST, NSTG	Of the ones I've seen I would go with the Sony. I absolutely love the fonts and sizing as well. I had the nook st (before the update) and the screen was more of a grayish, especially side by side with the Sony. The kindle keyboard looked creamish and pretty spectacular, but was too limited on fonts...and once I found a font and size combo I preferred on the sony it was hard to go back.

12-01-2011, 02:48 PM	#7
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	It's not so much a price slash as it was a temporary rise, I think... I think contrast is about the same on all current generation eink devices. There are some minor variations both between devices as well as in the same product. Not much that matters though (you can only barely make out the difference if you have two devices side by side). I'm hoping we'll see improved contrast with the next generation of screens but I'm not sure if the eink technology allows much improvement there or if it needs to be a different concept altogether. LCDs have better contrast but between backlight and slightly sub-par contrast, the contrast is the lesser of two evils to be sure. Given proper lighting conditions the ereaders work just fine the way they are...

12-01-2011, 03:35 PM	#8
David58117 Groupie Posts: 165 Karma: 1020558 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Sony T1, K4NT (To Wife), Nook ST, NSTG	Supposedly the firmware update that addresses the freezing and page flips etc comes out tomorrow (12/02) according to the Sony forum, so we will see!! Personally I've owned it since release and never had the issues people are complaining of.

12-04-2011, 10:04 AM	#9
cghipp Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 2479520 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: South Cackalacky Device: Sony PRS-T1, Kobo Glo	The Sony actually has brightness and contrast controls, which I haven't seen on other e-ink readers. I've played with them in the store a bit, but not extensively.

12-04-2011, 10:07 AM	#10
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	All the current "big name" eInk devices - Kindle, Sony, Kobo, nook, etc, use exactly the same screen. There can be differences in readability, however, due to differences in fonts, rendering algorithms, etc.

12-27-2011, 06:35 PM	#11
bentonquest Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle Touch	In my experience, the Kindle Touch has the better contrast and crispness of the two. I have both (and still undecided which one to return) and this is defintely noticeable while reading in any light conditions. There is a post about this issue here in mobileread forums, just search for "PRS-T1 KINDLE TOUCH SCREEN" to read about it. Just my $0.02

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