Poll: Touchscreen or Buttons (E-ink)

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Just what the hell are you doing with your other hand while you're reading?

In my case, 99% of the time that I'm reading one handed, my other hand is pinned beneath my sleeping wife.

As JSWolf says, there are NO fingerprints. This is an e-reader not an iphone. The glass is totally different.

I believe JSWolf never sees fingerprints on his. I believe you never see fingerprints on yours. I know for a fact I see them on mine.

[benham]

When you are holding a beer in one hand you can find a way to read even a paperback book with the other.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by benham

When you are holding a beer in one hand you can find a way to read even a paperback book with the other.

I don't get it. If you have your Blue Edition EReader in one hand, why would you also have a paperback in the other? Can you read two books at once?

Or is this some other use of the term "beer" I am not familiar with?

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by benham

When you are holding a beer in one hand you can find a way to read even a paperback book with the other.

I've had a glass of wine in one hand and the Kindle in the other, and been completely unwilling to put either one of them down.

If I had to stop reading in order to eat or drink, I'd have died a long time ago.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

I hold my 650 with my left hand and use the thumb on my left to swipe pages. I don't know why people insist on reading one handed-you never could do it with a paper book either. Just what the hell are you doing with your other hand while you're reading? I can understand taking a bite of a sandwich or a drink but unless you are reading so quickly that you are constantly turning pages it should be easy to do that while you are reading and then put it back down in time to turn the page again.

As JSWolf says, there are NO fingerprints. This is an e-reader not an iphone. The glass is totally different.

Yes, because the flaws of the old format MUST be carried over to the new format.

What am I doing with my free hand? Seriously? I'm multitasking. I'm writing notes about what I'm reading. I'm brushing my teeth. I'm carrying the Primary Cat away from Auxiliary Backup Cat so that they will stop fighting for two minutes. I'm eating a sammich.

Also, maybe I have a higher level of cleanliness than some folks, but I'm a bit tired of this meme that e-ink screens repel fingerprints like magic. My PocketBook 360 gets fingerprints on it, and it's not even a touchscreen. My mom's Sony 350 gets fingerprints. I've seen them, this isn't like Bigfoot or Nessie.

[Danielle]

I prefer buttons over touch screen!

[Donnageddon]

Originally Posted by benham

When you are holding a beer in one hand you can find a way to read even a paperback book with the other.

Hell, if the beer is free, I can clasp the ereader betwixt my knees and turn the pages with my nose, leaving both hands free for free beer.

It is all about priorities.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

I hold my 650 with my left hand and use the thumb on my left to swipe pages. I don't know why people insist on reading one handed-you never could do it with a paper book either. Just what the hell are you doing with your other hand while you're reading? I can understand taking a bite of a sandwich or a drink but unless you are reading so quickly that you are constantly turning pages it should be easy to do that while you are reading and then put it back down in time to turn the page again.
As JSWolf says, there are NO fingerprints. This is an e-reader not an iphone. The glass is totally different.

Generally what am I doing with the other hand?

In order of most likely to least likely...

Eating food or drinking something.
Wrapped around a 3 or 5 yr old that wants to sit with me while they watch TV or something.
Laying sideways on the couch because I got fatigued laying on my back...or because the other hand is under a blanket because it's cold.

I'm not interested in moving my hand from the bezel to the screen to swipe and back again. Waste of motion. I read fast. Probably 4-5 page turns a minute (about 2 pages a minute for a physical hardcover). That's a lot of swiping. Easier to just click the button that is already under my thumb.

And yes, I have read books with one hand. Easy with a hardcover (sit it on the arm of the couch, or on the table, since it stays open). With a paperback...much more difficult. This is the primary reason I like ebooks over paperbacks.

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

I'm not interested in moving my hand from the bezel to the screen to swipe and back again. Waste of motion.
.

Page turning is only one aspect of controlling an ereader. My old Sony reader had page turn buttons AND touch-swipe page turns. I found both useful at different times.

I think Amazon would be insane to not put touch controls on the next Kindle. So many things work better with touch: footnotes, hyperlinks, menus, word lookup, etc.

But I also think they'd be insane to not keep some buttons, especially to turn pages.

It's inevitable that any change in the Kindle form factor will alienate some users, but the current Kindle device is such a pain to use for anything but reading and turning pages.

I'd like to see some data that shows how much typing Kindle users actually do on the keyboard. For me it's just an ugly bunch of buttons that get under my fingers when I'm trying to read.

[chrisanthropic]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

I'd like to see some data that shows how much typing Kindle users actually do on the keyboard. For me it's just an ugly bunch of buttons that get under my fingers when I'm trying to read.

And that's exactly why I jumped on the sony readers when I saw the new ones. No extra keys, no wasted bezel. There were other factors of course, but as far as physical traits go, that was key.

[astra]

Originally Posted by chrisanthropic

And that's exactly why I jumped on the sony readers when I saw the new ones. No extra keys, no wasted bezel. There were other factors of course, but as far as physical traits go, that was key.

K's keyboard is the major reason why I would buy it only as the last resort, if Sony stops making ebook readers and there was no other alternative.

[ApK]

There are more than a few of us who bought the Kindle partially for the 3G internet features, and the keyboard is important for that. Plus I've found it better for searching, and it also provides some useful shortcut options.
I am willing to extrapolate that others have similar opinions.
I do get a little ticked at the folks who make observations of their own preferences and use them to conclude (or presumptuously state, at least) that their preferred way is objectively superior. News for you: you're wrong.

[astra]

Originally Posted by ApK

Plus I've found it better for searching

On Sony you just double tap on a word you want to search.
If you need more, then you just press option button, tap on search, and type in anything you want on a virtual keyboard.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Wrapped around a 3 or 5 yr old that wants to sit with me while they watch TV or something.

This is the precise reason we got my wife got our first Kindle a couple years back.

ApK

[DiapDealer]

On Sony you just double tap on a word you want to search.

Can you guarantee that at smaller font-sizes, my fat-ass sausage-digits will be able to highlight the exact word I want, the very first time, every time?

There's a balance between highlighting the wrong text very quickly and highlighting the correct text somewhat slowly... and I'm in no hurry to get frustrated.