Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
The only devices I can think of which have remotely comparable battery times were the old mono "PalmPilot" PDAs, which would run for weeks of a couple of AAA batteries. Their screen size, however, bears no comparison to that of a modern book reader.
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I still use one of those!
Also, the Newton Messagepad units would run for weeks on one set of AA batteries. I think the key in both cases is the monochrome screen....
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I agree that most of the power is used by the backlight rather than by the screen itself, but virtually all modern LCD screens seem to require the backlight in situations where eInk can be comfortably read without artificial light. There are very few situations where my iPod Touch, HP iPaq, or HTC Smartphone can be used without a backlight.
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I think this is the point. The color screens
must be backlit (and are virtually unreadable in sunlight). That uses a lot of power. Even without switching to bistable LCD displays, I suspect the lighting is where a lot of the power consumption is.
I suspect the backlighting is also what's causing the headaches, not because of glare, but because of the nature of the lighting. Just speculation on my part, but does the backlight used in these devices have a refresh rate of its own? On an AC device, there's probably a flicker due to the alternating current. I'm less sure about the battery-powered devices.