Touch Direct Sunlight Affects KT - A ? From The Idley Curious

VirgoGirl · 06-13-2012, 01:52 PM

Hi!

I've been using my KT (firmware .16) more and more often at the park, reading while my kids run amok. I've noticed - purely in an unscientific way - that when I'm sitting in the sun, with the KT in direct sunlight, it seems to behave slightly differently.

For example, when I tap to turn pages it appears to take a bit longer to respond than when I'm sitting in a room with ambient or indirect lighting - I mean lighting that's not full on the KT screen. And I've noticed that the screen flickers a bit when I turn the pages, by that I mean the screen goes all black for a split second then back to the next page. In house, it only does that every 6th page turn, I think.

Again, this is purely a "Hmm, I don't remember that happening when I read in bed" situation, not an observation made by a controlled experiment. It doesn't concern me, other than my thinking that it could be burning up a bit more battery power this way, I was just curious if other have noticed similar stuff occurring.

Woodstonian · 06-13-2012, 05:04 PM

I haven't noticed the total refresh (goes to black etc.) being any different in direct sunlight, but I do find that the screen *seems* to be less responsive to the touch. I get more frequent dead touches, but it's still very few overall. F/W 17 IMHO suffers far less dead touches than .16 did, direct sunlight or otherwise.

taming · 06-13-2012, 05:46 PM

eInk devices don't play nice when they get too hot, or too cold. I have seen various numbers bandied about. I am not sure what the range is for the Touch, buit some sources say the range for some eInk devices is 0-50C.

Think about that whole "hot enough to fry and egg" thing that goes on in the summer. The air temperature can be bearable, but the egg cooks anyway. It's not the light--it's the heat.

jackastor · 06-13-2012, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

Hi!

I've been using my KT (firmware .16) more and more often at the park, reading while my kids run amok. I've noticed - purely in an unscientific way - that when I'm sitting in the sun, with the KT in direct sunlight, it seems to behave slightly differently.

For example, when I tap to turn pages it appears to take a bit longer to respond than when I'm sitting in a room with ambient or indirect lighting - I mean lighting that's not full on the KT screen. And I've noticed that the screen flickers a bit when I turn the pages, by that I mean the screen goes all black for a split second then back to the next page. In house, it only does that every 6th page turn, I think.

Again, this is purely a "Hmm, I don't remember that happening when I read in bed" situation, not an observation made by a controlled experiment. It doesn't concern me, other than my thinking that it could be burning up a bit more battery power this way, I was just curious if other have noticed similar stuff occurring.

Your not meaning that your device is overly hot from you sitting outside reading are you? Or is it that bright sunlight seems to be interfering with the touch abillity to recognize a tap?

taming · 06-13-2012, 07:51 PM

The failure to respond is one of the early signs of it being too hot. Just leave it out in direct sun for 30 minutes or so to see the next ones

. They recover quickly when they cool off a bit. Scared the poop out of us the first time we experienced this.

PeterT · 06-13-2012, 08:44 PM

@Taming:

Wasn't there at one point a post from MDK where he mentioned "wavelets" for the eInk display and how they had to be adjusted during the development process?

m_bisson · 06-13-2012, 09:29 PM

There's a lot more infra-red light outdoors than indoors, and if the sun is directly hitting it then that's loaaadss of IR. The Touch uses IR to sense your "touches" and it's probably being fooled by the extra IR.

taming · 06-14-2012, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

@Taming:

Wasn't there at one point a post from MDK where he mentioned "wavelets" for the eInk display and how they had to be adjusted during the development process?

I don't remember anything about that (I'm old and my brain is full of noodles).

I do remember having a problem at one time during the beta process with a slower and fuzzier display. As part of the investigation, working with the developers, I ended up doing a series of resets very quickly and it cleared up. There was some speculation by the developers that doing the rapid resets might have raised the internal temperature of the device enough to force a switch of some sort that put it in a different mode (my wording).

ArjenB · 06-18-2012, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodstonian

... in direct sunlight, but I do find that the screen *seems* to be less responsive to the touch. I get more frequent dead touches, ...

I have the same experience. Sometimes I hold my hand above the reader to cover the top of the screen to browse to a next page.

06-13-2012, 01:52 PM	#1
VirgoGirl "Why is it doing that?" Posts: 322 Karma: 725344 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Black Kobo Touch & Glo, responsible for 2 PaperWhites	Direct Sunlight Affects KT - A ? From The Idley Curious Hi! I've been using my KT (firmware .16) more and more often at the park, reading while my kids run amok. I've noticed - purely in an unscientific way - that when I'm sitting in the sun, with the KT in direct sunlight, it seems to behave slightly differently. For example, when I tap to turn pages it appears to take a bit longer to respond than when I'm sitting in a room with ambient or indirect lighting - I mean lighting that's not full on the KT screen. And I've noticed that the screen flickers a bit when I turn the pages, by that I mean the screen goes all black for a split second then back to the next page. In house, it only does that every 6th page turn, I think. Again, this is purely a "Hmm, I don't remember that happening when I read in bed" situation, not an observation made by a controlled experiment. It doesn't concern me, other than my thinking that it could be burning up a bit more battery power this way, I was just curious if other have noticed similar stuff occurring.

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06-13-2012, 05:04 PM	#2
Woodstonian Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 147264 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Woodstock, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo	I haven't noticed the total refresh (goes to black etc.) being any different in direct sunlight, but I do find that the screen seems to be less responsive to the touch. I get more frequent dead touches, but it's still very few overall. F/W 17 IMHO suffers far less dead touches than .16 did, direct sunlight or otherwise.

06-13-2012, 05:46 PM	#3
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	eInk devices don't play nice when they get too hot, or too cold. I have seen various numbers bandied about. I am not sure what the range is for the Touch, buit some sources say the range for some eInk devices is 0-50C. Think about that whole "hot enough to fry and egg" thing that goes on in the summer. The air temperature can be bearable, but the egg cooks anyway. It's not the light--it's the heat.

06-13-2012, 07:51 PM	#5
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	The failure to respond is one of the early signs of it being too hot. Just leave it out in direct sun for 30 minutes or so to see the next ones . They recover quickly when they cool off a bit. Scared the poop out of us the first time we experienced this.

06-13-2012, 08:44 PM	#6
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,693 Karma: 79983758 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	@Taming: Wasn't there at one point a post from MDK where he mentioned "wavelets" for the eInk display and how they had to be adjusted during the development process?

06-13-2012, 09:29 PM	#7
m_bisson Groupie Posts: 170 Karma: 25803 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: kobo touch :)	There's a lot more infra-red light outdoors than indoors, and if the sun is directly hitting it then that's loaaadss of IR. The Touch uses IR to sense your "touches" and it's probably being fooled by the extra IR.

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