Quote:
Originally Posted by Waylander
For example, I bet that from 2009 to late 2012, when the change in publishing and ereader technology was going at hyper-speed and no-one knew what would happen in 6 months time, this forum would have been buzzing so loud it would make computer screens vibrate.
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Your timescale is off. The
BIG change in ebooks and ereaders happened between 2004 and 2007, from the launch of the first E-Ink based ereader, the
Sony Librie and to the launch of the
first Kindle
Before E-Ink screens, ebook reading was done on desktop, laptop, PDAs and a few specialist ereaders with LCD screens. For mobile devices, battery life was measured in hours or at very best days. Mobile devices had tiny screens (PDAs) or were bulky and heavy (specialist readers) Contrast on mobile devices was poor, or a backlight wiped the battery life down to low single digits hours.
With the E-Ink based readers, contrast was good, excellent in bright light, and battery life was measured in weeks. The readers had a screen comparable to a paperback book text area, and the readers would easily fit in a pocket.
All the innovation since then - faster refresh, touch, front lights, higher resolution - has just been icing on the cake.
We're all now waiting for the next big screen tech to launch that will spur another round of innovation in ereaders. I had hoped it would be here by this time, but I still expect to see high quality reflective colour screens 'soon'.