My own experience related to the listed points:
(Note: my LCD reading experience consists of laptops and the Literati.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by spellbanisher
Ambient brightness: Every time your eye switches from a bright screen (like LCD) to the dimmer ambient room, your eyes adjust which may result in fatigue.
|
This is a problem for me. In the evening, I either have to keep the overhead light on or suffer while using my laptop with the bedside light on. The same was true when I attempted to use the Literati for reading. Someone mentioned night-reading mode. The Literati has this, but it doesn't work for me. My eyes are very susceptible to "ghosting" (like the blotch you see after a camera flash goes off). When using night mode, when looking away I could still see the text in front of my eyes for some time. My roommate doesn't have either of these problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spellbanisher
No parallax: Parallax is the apparent displacement of an observed object due to a change in the position of the observer. Text on an E Ink screen does not appear to shift at different viewing angles.
|
I never really noticed this on the Literati, to be honest. Maybe I'm just good at holding still while reading?
Quote:
Originally Posted by spellbanisher
Less glare: All E Ink surfaces are treated to be matte like a printed page. Most LCDs are not, which creates glare and decreases legibility.
|
The last matte laptop I had was a Dell Inspiron 5100. I miss matte screens, which is one of the reasons I prefer e-ink. As I sit here with my laptop, I can clearly see my backyard through the window behind me if I tilt the screen up an inch or two. The Literati's screen is almost as bad in that regard. I found myself seeking corners to avoid the reflections. My 21" HD desktop monitor has almost no glare, and I love it. I had almost forgotten what it was like to use a computer without seeing myself reflected in the screen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spellbanisher
Uniform contrast ratio: The contrast ratio of an LCD varies detectably with viewing angle. E Ink's contrast is uniform, so you can read comfortably at any angle.
|
See my answer above regarding parallax. Actually, maybe it was early laptop screens that "trained" me to sit still.
Even the Literati has nothing on my older Compaq laptop when it comes to this issue, so I haven't had this problem with any ereader.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spellbanisher
No aperture ratio loss: LCDs have tiny black gaps between each pixel, but E Ink screens have 100% aperture ratio. The blacks and whites on an E Ink screen are uniform, improving image quality.
|
My relationship with the Literati didn't last long enough for me to look this closely at the pixels.
I think much of the "eye comfort" factor is a very individual thing. Obviously, I can use a shiny, bright laptop screen, but when doing so for long periods of time I have to look away frequently or I soon start blinking 100 times per minute. That's fine for working or visiting MR, but not conducive to reading for long periods of time, as I found out when trying to use the Literati. My roommate, on the other hand, has no problems reading on the Literati at all.
The Pandigital should be here soon (if they ever get around to shipping it), so I'm interested to see both of our experiences with using yet a third type of screen.