Here's an interesting observation I have made regarding the difference between how Marvin performs on iPad 3 (Retina display) and iPad 1 (non-Retina): the difference goes beyond the obvious "slightly blurry font" (iPad 1) versus "perfectly sharp font" (iPad 3).
The way
colours are interpreted by iPad 1 and iPad 3 is also strikingly different. The colour saturation on iPad 3 is far greater than on iPad 1.
My current preferred Night Mode setup in Marvin is Volkhov font, black background, and... then I thought I would choose
one preferred font colour, but precisely because iPad 1 and iPad 3 interpret the same colours differently, I ended up with
two favourite font colours: one colour for iPad 3, and another colour for iPad 1.
For iPad 3, I like the "Fulvous" (orange variety) colour on black background. I find that this combination is as soothing as can be, for the reader's eyes in a dark environment. (More soothing than white on black.) It also seems to save and extend the iPad's battery life! And, because of the quality of the Retina display, the font still displays with perfect sharpness on iPad 3.
It's different on iPad 1. When I choose "Fulvous on Black" there, it's just not legible enough for me. The font is slightly blurry, of course, but it's not just that: the "Fulvous" colour on iPad 1 just isn't as distinctive as on iPad 3.
And so, for iPad 1, I chose the "Citrine" font colour instead. It's perfect for iPad 1's screen. If I activate "Citrine" on iPad 3, however, wow! It really looks diferent.
It has a greenish tinge there, and literally radiates from the screen, so it doesn't seem as soothing and as suitable for iPad 3 as for iPad 1. Simply put, "Citrine" is a lot brighter colour on iPad 3 than on iPad 1.
This is why I have asked Kris (via email a few days ago) to make it possible for us to save more than just 3 custom themes in Marvin. Given the plentiful colour options and the different ways of interpreting colours between various iOS devices, I think there can be many more than just 3 favourite Themes for any reader. (I also asked Kris to associate Themes with specific font types and font sizes, if possible -- that's how Themes are treated by Stanza and other e-reader apps.)
To conclude this post and illustrate the above points, here are a few screenshots of the Night Mode setup in Marvin on my iPads right now. You may not find many differences between them when comparing the screenshots right here in this forum post -- but that's because the screenshots already are distorted for you by whatever display you are viewing this MobileRead forum on. In real life, I assure you the difference between looking at "Fulvous on Black" or "Citrine on Black" on iPad 3 versus iPad 1, is striking and very noticeable. You can click the thumbnails below to view the screenshots in their original iPad 3/iPad 1 resolutions.
(The story is Glenn Dixon's Nero Wolfe fan fiction.)
"FULVOUS ON BLACK" ON IPAD 3 (Retina) VS. IPAD 1 (non-Retina)
"CITRINE ON BLACK" ON IPAD 3 (Retina) VS. IPAD 1 (non-Retina)
