HUGE E-Ink Tablets!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

That's not E-ink!

That is Bridgestone's own screen tech.

Indeed it is. E Ink uses little white/black particles suspended in fluid filled capsules. Bridgestone's Aerobee technology also uses little white/black particles, but in air, not a fluid. This makes the response time a lot quicker - about 0.2 seconds to go from white to black or black to white for a single pixel. (Although full screen refresh is longer)

The disadvantages of Aerobee at the moment seem to be resolution and grey levels. The A5 model is only 320x480 pixels, or 75dpi. Compare with 166 dpi for 6" E Ink screens and 200dpi for 5" E Ink screens.

This probably explains why they're going for the larger display market at the moment. Viewed from further away, the low resolution isn't a problem.

[hakim]

Resolutions of Bridgestone devices s**k badly.
Their 13.1" device with color e-ink display can only achieve 800x600 and grayscale model can only do 1600x1200.
Hanvon Wisereader (E920 & color) e-ink reader (E-ink Triton) has the same resolutions on 9.7" screen.
Here is goodereader video where you can see specs:

[bZkindle]

I just like the size of the screen. Amazon should do one that size- the DX pro or something.
yeah, not gonna happen.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The disadvantages of Aerobee at the moment seem to be resolution and grey levels. The A5 model is only 320x480 pixels, or 75dpi. Compare with 166 dpi for 6" E Ink screens and 200dpi for 5" E Ink screens.

Not really. The color E-ink also has a lower resolution screen.

[covingtoncat73]

Yeah, those would be great for PDF. I wouldn't by one just for that, though. They would get great in a library hooked up to something like the JSTOR database for reading PDF journal articles.

[toronado]

Originally Posted by hakim

Resolutions of Bridgestone devices s**k badly.

That video shows a spec sheet with "2560x1920 for mono panel" for the 21" model. That is around 152 dpi, which is just under the dpi for the 6" Kindle, right? And in my application, as an electronic music stand, you are viewing from a few feet away, unlike reading a book, so I think it would be OK.

As far as the specs for the color screens, color on these devices isn't very good to begin with, so I don't really care.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by toronado

I didn't. I posted this as a thread starter. Apparently SolRaven and I posted at virtually the same time (SolRaven 5 minutes sooner) and an admin decided to delete my thread (took me a minute to figure out where my thread had disappeared to) and just roll my post into this thread. I wouldn't have started another thread had I seen any posts on the AeroBee, but at the time I started my thread, there weren't any.

That makes sense. The first time I checked back on the thread kjk had responded, then I notice that you had responded, but before kjk. I thought it was odd that I didn't see your post before, probably because it wasn't moved over.

Originally Posted by toronado

And in my application, as an electronic music stand, you are viewing from a few feet away, unlike reading a book, so I think it would be OK.

Do you know of anyone that ever uses and iPad to read music? I would think that an LCD screen would be good, because you won't need a light.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by toronado

That video shows a spec sheet with "2560x1920 for mono panel" for the 21" model. That is around 152 dpi, which is just under the dpi for the 6" Kindle, right?

That does seem a decent resolution. It's obviously improved since the info on their website was written.

Good! More bistable display technologies can only be good for ebook devices.

[ebusinesstutor]

I think that the usefulness of bigger screens is limited to certain applications. The article mentioned they were being sold to businesses as in-store displays or kiosks. This makes sense.

Am I going to lie in bed reading a 21" screen? Nope.

My 7" Android tablet is about at the max I would want for ereading. A 5" or 6" is probably even better.

I can see the idea of the 14" Kno for colleges for larger screens specifically for text and reference books. These screens work fine for reading on a desk, but are not "handheld". They are in the laptop realm for portability.

[bZkindle]

Originally Posted by SolRaven

Do you know of anyone that ever uses and iPad to read music? I would think that an LCD screen would be good, because you won't need a light.

does tab count?
that's about the only thing I use books for on my ipad.
I really can't stand reading on the thing.

[charleski]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

The article mentioned they were being sold to businesses as in-store displays or kiosks. This makes sense.

Am I going to lie in bed reading a 21" screen? Nope.

You also probably aren't going to pay several grand for one either .
'Being sold to businesses' is code for 'expensive', especially when it comes to epaper displays.

[Jadon]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

Am I going to lie in bed reading a 21" screen? Nope.

I read a newspaper in bed, so it's not so much the size itself that's the problem, but the weight. Something like this on plastic instead of glass might work.

[toronado]

Originally Posted by SolRaven

Do you know of anyone that ever uses and iPad to read music? I would think that an LCD screen would be good, because you won't need a light.

Yes, I know someone who uses an iPad to read music. I think it's ridiculous but I'd never say that to his face. It's way too small and doesn't really support using a stylus, though he uses some sort of stylus with it anyway. An Asus EP121 would be a lot better than an iPad.

Backlit screens are good for pit orchestra, opera, pops, rock, or studio type situations where the musicians are basically in the dark and would otherwise be using stand lights. But for symphony concerts, you need something that will work under the bright stage lights. And eInk would be ideal in that it will work both under bright stage lighting conditions as well as in dark conditions with stand lights. It's more of a direct replacement for paper music.

[toronado]

This is an encouraging development for me:

http://www.engadget.com/photos/e-ink...er-at-sid-2011

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

...
My 7" Android tablet is about at the max I would want for ereading. A 5" or 6" is probably even better.
...

To each his own -- I suppose people who like small screen never liked reading hardcovers, but preferred mass-market paperbacks. I personally did not enjoy reading as much on my K2, as I do on my KDX.

For PDFs even the KDX is too small - you need ideally a 12"-13" screen. But it does not have to be much larger than the current KDX, since if you remove the physical keyboard of the KDX, you'd be almost at 12" screen in the same form-factor.

I personally find 7" tablets absolutely useless -- too small for web-browsing or reading and too large for a pocket....