Quote:
Originally Posted by mezzanine
Buttons are the feature of e-readers I find most interesting because they seem to be a function of personal preference more than an obvious improvement like higher contrast or light temperature control.
Back when the touch sensitivity of screens wasn't what it is today, the logic of having buttons made more sense to me.
If you hold your e-reader in such a way that your thumb rests naturally in the range of the button, it makes sense why it would be less immersion-breaking to not have to extend your thumb to the screen to press.
I think some of the complaints I've read about the new placement of the buttons on the Sage/Libra2 are probably a result of them being less centered on resting thumb position.
I don't hold my device in such a way that would make buttons more economical, in terms of reducing the biomechanics of page turns, which may explain my agnosticism.
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There is a reason I never saw mentioned about why buttons are important to me, and I miss them on the otherwise perfect for me Elipsa: I have some 5600 books on my readers, and over 100 collections. While navigating the collections is no problem with the right hand line, it definitely is with navigating the books: when clicking the bottom arrow to advance one page at a time, I keep opening the book next to it, and having to restore its state when it was "unread" or "read", just close it when it was "reading", but still annoying.
The buttons are well positioned for me on the Sage, but I think I can understand why there are none on the Elipsa: if centered they would be too high for the way I hold it, and if not they would only work for right hand or left hand reading, and I alternate hands for comfort, or depending on where I'm sitting.
Even if I did not have so many books, I do like to use buttons, and to have the choice of buttons/tapping/swiping, which gives me many possibilities to go back and forth while reading one handed when necessary.