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Old 03-30-2008, 09:59 PM   #1
john peer
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The Emperor has no backlight...

Firsto of all, great forum btw, lots of interesting opinions.

I have been reading eBooks for 5-6 years now on a hand-held device (PDA), my favorite being my Mio Mitac 169, which is a full-function PDA, GPS (built-in) wi-fi (with card) and multi-media player. I can access eBooks in most formats including my fav Adobe.

Now this unit does not allow me to switch to landscape mode, the battery is dying, the page scroll switches are worn....and so I have been researching newer options for a replacement. Including the new EReader options like the CyBook.

Can I just say that I think you're all a little bit crazy for buying devices with no back lights? ;-) I mean, half the fun/purpose of an eReader is being able to read when there is little (or no) ambient lighting. On planes/in cars/shared hotel rooms/shared beds....and in my case, in my home-on-wheels. (I'm working as a trucker).

I even see ads for lights to "add-on" to an eReader! Good grief.

Give your collective heads a gentle shake there, engineers, lol...the manufacturers need to wake up if they want to convert the legions of eBook fans that currently use PDAs etc over to their product!! I for one have become quite used to reading at 5-6 words per line, and with my adjustable backlight I can read in all light conditions.

In the meantime, the emporer has no clothes! And his eReader has no blinking backlight!

And $400-$500 for these mono-utilitarian devices!?

As the old-school Hollywood producers might say: "I just don't see it on the screen"...


And so I invite anyone to submit a suggestion for a replacement for my mio, that DOES have a backlight? Do ANY of the new ereaders have one?

If not, I think they missed the mark.

Cheers
jp
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Old 03-30-2008, 10:17 PM   #2
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I suggest the Nokia N800 or N810. See, for example, Eink Display's (Sony PRS505) vs. Nokia N800's LCD Display. However, these don't read any DRM-laden e-books. This isn't much of a problem now for LIT, or MOBI, or eReader (if you don't mind stripping the DRM), but Secure Adobe e-books are not readable on the Nokia's or on any E-Ink based reader.
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Old 03-30-2008, 10:24 PM   #3
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I think the ease and benefits of eInk far outweigh backlighting, and find a little 15 dollar reading light snaps on just fine and is STILL more readable than your average backlit display and doesn't run out of juice fast either.

Go to a Borders and check out a Sony Reader, until you actually see eInk it's pretty hard to grok.

But as to a very nice backlit ebook reader.. I got nothin.
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Old 03-31-2008, 12:29 AM   #4
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And so I invite anyone to submit a suggestion for a replacement for my mio, that DOES have a backlight? Do ANY of the new ereaders have one?
No eInk devices that I am aware of have one.

Check out the eBookWise if you want a machine with a back light.

http://www.ebookwise.com/ebookwise/ebookwise1150.htm

BOb
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Old 03-31-2008, 01:33 AM   #5
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The Nokia N800 does sound like a good replacement for my Mio thanks for that tip. I was interested to read the favourable comparison with a non-back-lighted Sony device.

I see that many eBook readers don't really need a backlight for their use. I suppose it's all about what we're used to. I remember my Grandma admonishing us for not putting on the light so's we could see the telly!

I would think though, that if a $15 clip-on device works...it would be easy for an engineer to design a little pop-out/telescoping-out LED light on these $500 e-ink units?

The idea of the "Borg" ear-mounted light brings me back many years to countless nights spent hiding under the bed-clothes reading with my trusty flashlight clutched between cheek and shoulder...as I turned the pages of RL Stevenson, Tolkien and Defoe...quietly so as to not alert my folks that I wasn't asleep on a school night!

I really could have made use of that ear-light back then.


I look forward to trying a NOKIA N800...just need to find where they're sold up here in Canada, no luck so far...(other than internet sales)
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Old 03-31-2008, 02:09 AM   #6
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I would love to see an e-ink screen with a Lightwedge-style front light built in. You can't actually back light e-ink but the real issue, of course, is not where the light goes but being self-lit. Most of the time reading, I have ambient light and e-ink is way better to read in daylight where my HTC 6800 was impossible. Plus I blew through the battery really quickly on the lit screen where my Kindle easily goes for a week between charges. (I don't use the wireless much.) A few LED lights wouldn't suck much battery power, and would be a nice addition.

I have to agree with Gideon on seeing e-ink in person. It's amazing how much kinder it is to the eyes. There's a reason many of us are willing to spend that kind of money on a stand alone reader. We're not crazy. I spend all day staring at LCD screens and I come home bloodshot. When I look at an e-ink screen after a day of that, I can feel the difference.
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Old 03-31-2008, 02:44 AM   #7
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John,

I really suggest that you see an eInk display for real before commenting on the lighting issue. You may well change your mind when you see one. You can comfortably read an eInk screen in pretty much any light that you can read a paper book in (ie many situations in which you'd need a backlight on an LCD screen).

eInk screens are opaque - they can't be backlit, so the answer to your question is self-evidently "no - there are no backlit eInk devices". They could, I suppose, use some sort of side-lighting, but that would just add to the weight and increase power consumption for something which, for many people, would be rarely wanted. You'd need some sort of light diffuser, however, for that, which would presumably lower the clarity of the display.

Personally, I just use a reading light, as I would for a book. The clip-on lights which you heap scorn upon do work extremely well for those who want such a thing.

We aren't all idiots (despite appearances to the contrary); the reason that so many of us have gone for eInk devices is that they work so well. Try and take a look at one - you might just change your mind!
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Old 03-31-2008, 09:02 AM   #8
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Can I just say that I think you're all a little bit crazy for buying devices with no back lights? ;-) I mean, half the fun/purpose of an eReader is being able to read when there is little (or no) ambient lighting.
Hmm, I can't find a backlight on any of my paper-based books - maybe I shouldn't have bought them either?

For me, the purpose of an Reader is to be able to carry a bookshelf/book case's worth of books around in a ultra-portable format, so I can read them exactly where I'd otherwise be wanting to read a paperback, without being stuck when I reached the end of a book or wanted a change of topic.
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Old 03-31-2008, 11:18 AM   #9
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I look forward to trying a NOKIA N800...just need to find where they're sold up here in Canada, no luck so far...(other than internet sales)
Nokia Canada, NCIX.com and TigerDirect.ca are the only sources that I'm aware of in Canada. Maybe a Nokia kiosk in a local mall would have or be willing to bring in one that you could try? Or, if you're in the right part of BC, you could try one of NCIX's bricks-and-mortar locations.

I purchased and tried out an N800 a few months ago but ended up selling it off again. It didn't display enough text on the screen at a time to be comfortable for me, but if you're used to reading on a small device then you'll probably be happy with it. I will note that the eBookwise has better battery life, however.

As for me, I'll stick with my eBookwise for times when I know I'll need a backlight a lot and my Cybook (with a clip-on light as needed) for the rest of the time. My hope is that, someday in the not-too-distant future there will be a next-generation eBookwise device that combines the thin, light format and clear text of eInk with the ergonomics and backlighting of the current eBookwise-1150. And if that future device happens to be closer in price to the eBookwise-1150 than to the Cybook - hey, bonus!!
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Old 03-31-2008, 11:56 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by john peer View Post
The Nokia N800 does sound like a good replacement for my Mio thanks for that tip. I was interested to read the favourable comparison with a non-back-lighted Sony device.

I see that many eBook readers don't really need a backlight for their use. I suppose it's all about what we're used to. I remember my Grandma admonishing us for not putting on the light so's we could see the telly!

I would think though, that if a $15 clip-on device works...it would be easy for an engineer to design a little pop-out/telescoping-out LED light on these $500 e-ink units?

The idea of the "Borg" ear-mounted light brings me back many years to countless nights spent hiding under the bed-clothes reading with my trusty flashlight clutched between cheek and shoulder...as I turned the pages of RL Stevenson, Tolkien and Defoe...quietly so as to not alert my folks that I wasn't asleep on a school night!

I really could have made use of that ear-light back then.


I look forward to trying a NOKIA N800...just need to find where they're sold up here in Canada, no luck so far...(other than internet sales)
I love how you toss around the word '$500'. First, it is quite possible to get a good e-ink reader for $300, with some running to $400. Our own Not Another E-Book version of the Cybook Gen3 runs $375. That's about 25% LESS than your mythical $500.

Second, I, personally, own both a Sony PRS-500 and a Bookeen Cybook Gen3. I routinely read them in 'low-light' (one 60W bulb) rooms without any need for a 'clip-on' booklight. I reserve my booklight for those times when I'm reading in a completely dark room, for example when I'm lying in bed with the lights off, just before going to sleep.

As others have pointed out, the current e-ink technology does not allow for back-lighting. I doubt it will any time soon, but then part of the reason for buying an e-ink reader is so one does NOT have to constantly re-charge the device's batteries every few hours. Backlit devices are notorious for sucking down battery juice.

And as for being mono-targeted, well, in today's corporate cultures, it makes sense to have a dedicated reader which can hold the IMPORTANT stuff, such as the latest hit from James Patterson while keeping the less important work stuff on the company's pdas or laptops. They won't fire you like they might for putting a novel on the pda.

Derek
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Old 03-31-2008, 12:31 PM   #11
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Old 03-31-2008, 01:18 PM   #12
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The eink screens are quite nice, but you are not alone in looking for something with built-in lighting. The best, currently-supported unit most of us have found is the eBookwise several others have already mentioned, and it is relatively inexpensive. I just switched back from an early Sony model to my eBookwise, and I am happy to be back.

It should be noted that it will not read your existing Adobe ebooks, but the ebookwise store is pretty good (run by Fictionwise), and there are tools for converting public domain files as well.

If you like the extra functionality of a PDA, the Nokia is nice, but does not support any of the protected formats, including your Adobe one. On the other hand, HP and Palm still sell actual PDAs (in addition to smartphones), with great software support for just about any format. PDAs may seem extinct, but they are still out there, and they still have the lighting you expect.

Good luck with your search.

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Old 03-31-2008, 01:24 PM   #13
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This is a topic that should have been long laid to rest.

<-- is what this topic is doing now
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Old 03-31-2008, 03:38 PM   #14
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This is a topic that should have been long laid to rest.

<-- is what this topic is doing now
Certainly from the perspective of those of us who've been here awhile, the topic has been done to death. For someone new to the world of ebook readers and this forum, it's not abnormal for it to still be a focus of some curiosity. I feel part of my role as an early adopter of a technology I want to see spread is to be a bit of an evangelist. That can mean answering the same questions over and over. I certainly don't mind doing it if there's the chance in some small way it helps ebooks thrive.
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Old 03-31-2008, 03:40 PM   #15
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Certainly from the perspective of those of us who've been here awhile, the topic has been done to death. For someone new to the world of ebook readers and this forum, it's not abnormal for it to still be a focus of some curiosity. I feel part of my role as an early adopter of a technology I want to see spread is to be a bit of an evangelist. That can mean answering the same questions over and over. I certainly don't mind doing it if there's the chance in some small way it helps ebooks thrive.
Is there not an eBook reader FAQ on this site somewhere? Certainly two questions that should be on it are:

1. Can I read PDF documents on an eBook reader?
2. Are there any eBook readers with a backlit display?

BOb
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