Quote:
Originally Posted by haydnfan
I've seen this misinformation too often. I judge based on width because that has the most direct impact on readability, pocketability etc. and not height. Let us examine these sizes.
MMPB (US) = 4.25'' x 6.87''
TP/H (standard) = 6'' x 9''
TP/H (large) = 8.5'' x 11''
Basing the aspect ratio of ereaders at 3:4 we have
6'' (standard) = 3.6'' x 4.8''
7'' (premium) = 4.2'' x 5.6''
8'' (large) = 4.8'' x 6.4''
10'' (professional) = 6.0'' x 8.0''
13.3'' (pdf reader) = 8.0'' x 10.6''
Matching these we see that the 7'' ereader (and NOT the 6'') most closely matches the dimensions of a mass-market paperback. And the 10'' ereader (and NOT the 7'') most closely matches a traditional trade paperback or hardcover. Finally the 13.3'' ereader most closely matches the large trade paperback/hardcover and is also the best fit for reading pdfs without scaling.
I really think that 6'' wasn't chosen because it matches a size of any type of book. The first generations of ereaders had large keyboards on them and I think that if they went any higher on screen size it would lose all portability. And whether you have a keyboard or not once you go beyond 6'' it becomes less and less portable.
If you still don't believe me (I don't know why, it is direct factual information) try this... find the font size on your favorite 6'' ereader that will put as much text on the screen as a mass market paperback. Is the font size the same as you would find in an mmpb or smaller?
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For me, when I say that a reader is about the same size as a mass market paperback, I don't mean in terms of how much text fits on the screen, I mean in terms of actual size. In that case, my Kindle Voyage is closest in size of any of the readers I currently have close to hand (I think the Paperwhite 3 is actually closer in size, but my daughter is currently borrowing that, so I can't compare) I don't judge by the amount of text that fits on the screen because I have never used any reader that way--even when I was reading on a 3 inch Palm Pilot screen I made the text larger than what it is in a MMPB...it's just more comfortable for my eyes that way. I go by how the reader feels when I hold it, rather than how much text can fit on the screen(page).
In that case, the 6 inch Voyage feels more like a MMPB than the 7 inch Oasis, but my 6.8 inch Aura HD also feels more like a paperback then the Oasis, because the width is closer to what the paperback is. Again, more to do with the width of the case than the width of the screen.
Shari