MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

ColdSun · 05-25-2009, 01:17 AM

In my experience of about 6 months with my PRS-505, I didn't find that it was better for my eyes at all, in fact, it was worse because I read in low light situations more often than I read outside. In fact, the dots per inch of my Nokia N770 is double what the Kindle has by comparison. I enjoy reading on it far more than I ever did my PRS-505.

I definately don't feel extra eye strain that some people point out using an LCD, but maybe that's just me. I look at computer screens all day working, so why does it have to be any different when I read on a mobile device? Seriously, they aren't going to take iPhones and suddenly make them eInk. What they will do, is make eBook reading on the iPhone easy - which they have already done. Why do we even need a Kindle? Because Amazon forces it down our throats. If they took the time to research the market instead of jumping on the eInk bandwagon, they could have made a multi-purpose device that not only read ebooks, but did far more and even had the application store the iPhone has - which has had over a BILLION applications downloaded since it was released.

The only advantages I see to eInk are:
1. Long Battery Life
2. Great for reading outside or in good lighting - the main reason anyone would want this over LCD I think.

We already carry a bunch of mobile devices. Why aren't we combining them or furthering the capabilities of some of them at least? Why must we have a tablet-sized device that ONLY reads ebooks when it can do so much more? Just so we don't have to plug it in for a month? I don't mind charging my new Q7 two or three times a week. I do it already with other devices that aren't even for reading.

Last but not least, the pricing on the kindle devices is just out-of-line. I can buy so many devices that do so much more than just read ebooks for the price they are charging. I can buy a decent UMPC for that price. I can get access to mobipocket, PDFs and other ebook formats. I'm not locked into just dealing with Amazon for my books.

Batteries for LCD devices are making some great progress too. The battery on this device is really quite good. I guess I can see a market for eInk for people that do a lot of reading in good light, but for me, I would much rather have a device that can do so much more and still read and be in the book/tablet form factor.

05-25-2009, 01:17 AM	#56
ColdSun Developer/Device Reviews Posts: 591 Karma: 22183 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Phoenix, AZ Device: Sony Xperia Tablet Z, Kindle Paperwhite 2, Lenovo Yoga 8, IPad 3	In my experience of about 6 months with my PRS-505, I didn't find that it was better for my eyes at all, in fact, it was worse because I read in low light situations more often than I read outside. In fact, the dots per inch of my Nokia N770 is double what the Kindle has by comparison. I enjoy reading on it far more than I ever did my PRS-505. I definately don't feel extra eye strain that some people point out using an LCD, but maybe that's just me. I look at computer screens all day working, so why does it have to be any different when I read on a mobile device? Seriously, they aren't going to take iPhones and suddenly make them eInk. What they will do, is make eBook reading on the iPhone easy - which they have already done. Why do we even need a Kindle? Because Amazon forces it down our throats. If they took the time to research the market instead of jumping on the eInk bandwagon, they could have made a multi-purpose device that not only read ebooks, but did far more and even had the application store the iPhone has - which has had over a BILLION applications downloaded since it was released. The only advantages I see to eInk are: 1. Long Battery Life 2. Great for reading outside or in good lighting - the main reason anyone would want this over LCD I think. We already carry a bunch of mobile devices. Why aren't we combining them or furthering the capabilities of some of them at least? Why must we have a tablet-sized device that ONLY reads ebooks when it can do so much more? Just so we don't have to plug it in for a month? I don't mind charging my new Q7 two or three times a week. I do it already with other devices that aren't even for reading. Last but not least, the pricing on the kindle devices is just out-of-line. I can buy so many devices that do so much more than just read ebooks for the price they are charging. I can buy a decent UMPC for that price. I can get access to mobipocket, PDFs and other ebook formats. I'm not locked into just dealing with Amazon for my books. Batteries for LCD devices are making some great progress too. The battery on this device is really quite good. I guess I can see a market for eInk for people that do a lot of reading in good light, but for me, I would much rather have a device that can do so much more and still read and be in the book/tablet form factor.