MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Frozen E-Ink? Is this true?

elizilla · 01-24-2011, 04:02 PM

Last weekend I attended a panel at a science fiction convention, about e-readers. It was an interesting mix of good information, misinformation, personal opinions and dubious claims. The panelists knew a lot more about the publishing end than the technology end, and they mainly preferred smart phones and iPads for their own use. They gave short shrift to dedicated readers, and they never called on me so I couldn't correct any of the misinformation, or question the dubious claims.

One of the most dubious things they said was that if you let your e-ink screen freeze, it will shatter when you try to change the screen, and utterly destroy the reader. I would think that if this were so, that this forum would be full of horror stories. I mean really, how many Kindles and Sonys arrive on the UPS truck, completely frozen, and get unboxed and tried immediately? How many people carry their reader with them on winter days, and pull it out and start reading the minute they get on the bus? If this frozen e-ink issue were true, it would happen all the time! So I am inclined to not believe. On the other hand, I don't really want to test it myself, with my treasured PRS-650!

So, has anyone experienced anything like this? On the other side, do we have any stories of using a reader without issues when it's freezing cold?

Thanks!

01-24-2011, 04:02 PM	#1
elizilla Addict Posts: 271 Karma: 610286 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Michigan, USA Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Sage, others	Frozen E-Ink? Is this true? Last weekend I attended a panel at a science fiction convention, about e-readers. It was an interesting mix of good information, misinformation, personal opinions and dubious claims. The panelists knew a lot more about the publishing end than the technology end, and they mainly preferred smart phones and iPads for their own use. They gave short shrift to dedicated readers, and they never called on me so I couldn't correct any of the misinformation, or question the dubious claims. One of the most dubious things they said was that if you let your e-ink screen freeze, it will shatter when you try to change the screen, and utterly destroy the reader. I would think that if this were so, that this forum would be full of horror stories. I mean really, how many Kindles and Sonys arrive on the UPS truck, completely frozen, and get unboxed and tried immediately? How many people carry their reader with them on winter days, and pull it out and start reading the minute they get on the bus? If this frozen e-ink issue were true, it would happen all the time! So I am inclined to not believe. On the other hand, I don't really want to test it myself, with my treasured PRS-650! So, has anyone experienced anything like this? On the other side, do we have any stories of using a reader without issues when it's freezing cold? Thanks!