MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Why does the page refresh on eink devices bother people so much?

montsnmags · 09-14-2009, 11:06 PM

I find it a minor but noticeable annoyance. If we're talking about speed, I wonder if I notice it because turning a page in a pbook occupies you for the period of the page-turn, while turning a page on an e-ink device requires a moment of waiting, no matter how small. That is, it's not length of time, but actually a difference in behaviour/reaction. Saying this, anticipation of getting to the end of a page and reflexively timing the press of the page-turn bar is something that diminishes that annoyance (it almost completely eliminates it, though as I approach my drowsy state pre-sleep I do find I sometimes hit the page-turn bar early without fully comprehending what I've read or giving enough time to read it, and then I have to go back. I don't do this with a pbook.

).

The other minor annoyance to me is that the refresh has a noticeable "flicker". That is, though it's simply a "refresh", it relates in my mind to "flicker", as a technological negative (eg. screen flicker, light flicker). My reaction to it is therefore negative. This is compounded by using a computer which has mostly imperceptible "flicker"/refresh on changing a page (eg. going to another tab in Firefox) and may also be due sensitivity to anything that "flickers", in my case, due to being a migraine-sufferer. I'm not suggesting that the flicker causes me a migraine (it never has, and I suspect never would), but rather that other flickers that have caused migraine have engendered an aversive reaction to anything similar.

None of these preclude me using the device at all, with its other benefits. For some reason to do with the way I naturally hold them, pbooks make my right thumb go to sleep (

s again). I love pbooks. I always have. I always will. It just is what it is, and isn't part of my reasons for starting on ebooks.

So, yes, I find the screen refresh to be a "negative" experience, but most of my technological experiences are a conglomerate of specific, subjective value judgements which add up to a big ball of happy, sad, frustration, apathy, invisibility (often the best), et cetera. I like e-ink. While "better" technology may come along, its current operational aspects are enough to satisfy me (FWIW, the only deal-breaker I can think of for me for ebooks is user-select-dictionary-lookup - if a format doesn't support it, I'm not interested).

How does that abbreviation go? YMMV (actually, less "May" and more "Will Almost Certainly")

Cheers,
Marc

09-14-2009, 11:06 PM	#19
montsnmags Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,155 Karma: 4632658 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	I find it a minor but noticeable annoyance. If we're talking about speed, I wonder if I notice it because turning a page in a pbook occupies you for the period of the page-turn, while turning a page on an e-ink device requires a moment of waiting, no matter how small. That is, it's not length of time, but actually a difference in behaviour/reaction. Saying this, anticipation of getting to the end of a page and reflexively timing the press of the page-turn bar is something that diminishes that annoyance (it almost completely eliminates it, though as I approach my drowsy state pre-sleep I do find I sometimes hit the page-turn bar early without fully comprehending what I've read or giving enough time to read it, and then I have to go back. I don't do this with a pbook. ). The other minor annoyance to me is that the refresh has a noticeable "flicker". That is, though it's simply a "refresh", it relates in my mind to "flicker", as a technological negative (eg. screen flicker, light flicker). My reaction to it is therefore negative. This is compounded by using a computer which has mostly imperceptible "flicker"/refresh on changing a page (eg. going to another tab in Firefox) and may also be due sensitivity to anything that "flickers", in my case, due to being a migraine-sufferer. I'm not suggesting that the flicker causes me a migraine (it never has, and I suspect never would), but rather that other flickers that have caused migraine have engendered an aversive reaction to anything similar. None of these preclude me using the device at all, with its other benefits. For some reason to do with the way I naturally hold them, pbooks make my right thumb go to sleep (s again). I love pbooks. I always have. I always will. It just is what it is, and isn't part of my reasons for starting on ebooks. So, yes, I find the screen refresh to be a "negative" experience, but most of my technological experiences are a conglomerate of specific, subjective value judgements which add up to a big ball of happy, sad, frustration, apathy, invisibility (often the best), et cetera. I like e-ink. While "better" technology may come along, its current operational aspects are enough to satisfy me (FWIW, the only deal-breaker I can think of for me for ebooks is user-select-dictionary-lookup - if a format doesn't support it, I'm not interested). How does that abbreviation go? YMMV (actually, less "May" and more "Will Almost Certainly") Cheers, Marc Last edited by montsnmags; 09-15-2009 at 04:56 AM.