LCD vs. e-ink: The eyestrain debate

[Barty]

I read on both. Kindle for day, ipad for night. I like the kindle for the portability, iPad for the size, contrast, customizability. With the right lighting and screen color choice, the iPad can be made easy on my eyes. Actually, I spend more time on the iPad since I also read lots of stuff other than books.

[Ryvyan]

I am able to read for hours on both backlit and eink displays. But I have noticed that I squint/frown more when reading on the iPhone and my computer, which hardly happens on the eink.

And if I look away from a backlit screen after staring at it for a long time, I see a "shadow" of sorts and my eyes get really tired.

My eyesight will degrade as easily as if I read on a book or Nook STR, as compared to on a backlit screen, but at least the book/Nook does not make my eyes go wonky.

[Prestidigitweeze]

KJK:

Just so we're clear, my point was not to refute the NYT article with Wilcox's claims about the benefits of eInk. This shouldn't be another arbitrary consumer vs. consumer war, in which one person promotes and validates the objects they own by contrasting them favorably with someone else's.

The point is to look at the claims people make about eInk and LCD in two ways: Subjectively, which is what matters most to the user's experience, and scientifically, to better wade through the suppositions and false data used to justify users' experience and sell technologies.

You can point out Wilcox's known reasons for making those claims and fault him for incorrect predictions all you like -- again, those factors are a given. His quote's already been cited on this thread. I'm simply asking if all or any of it is true or was true at the time of the claims and now isn't. And if Wilcox is all of the things you're suggesting, then why would I expect evidence which supported or refuted the validity of his claims to come from him?

It would be nice to read a fair and detailed examination of the claims made for eInk and newer LCD screens, since people absorb those claims as if they were accepted fact. One problem is that the experts cited are often working for companies invested in one or both technologies, which could be part of the reason so many articles end with the either/or conclusion.

Personally, I'm more interested in the truth than supporting consumer factions or the pseudo-inclusiveness of larger invested corporations.

Originally Posted by kjk

Those are some interesting marketing points about the technology from the former CEO of eInk Holdings.

I'm not sure where the evidence you are asking is, unless Wilcox and Eink Holdings, now PVI, have published some scientific results about them. He mentions parallax, for example. I'm sure some older LCD panels have that issue. But the iPhone 4 or Super AMOLED Plus screens don't.

But maybe Wilcox does have scientific evidence to support his points.
Hopefully it is better data than his marketing data, when he claimed eInk devices would outsell iPads in 2010.
EInk sales in 2010 (12 months): 9-10 million
iPad sales in 2010 (9 months) 14.8 million

I have zero doubt many people find eInk to be more suitable for reading. And I have no reason to doubt some suffer from medical issues from reading on LCDs. I just don't believe there is scientific evidence that supports one technology over the other in all cases, nor that reading on any screens will necessitate a visit to the doctor.

[Anjohl]

I am the same as the article's author, I don't find one better than another. I don't find the technology sufficient enough in either to support long periods of reading....that's what books are for!

Also, screen size makes a huge difference to me. How anyome puts up with those 6-7 inch kobo/kindle screens is beyond me. The new Vox Kobo is the perfect happy medium.

[garion]

Originally Posted by Anjohl

I am the same as the article's author, I don't find one better than another. I don't find the technology sufficient enough in either to support long periods of reading....that's what books are for!

Also, screen size makes a huge difference to me. How anyome puts up with those 6-7 inch kobo/kindle screens is beyond me. The new Vox Kobo is the perfect happy medium.

The KindleFire, NookColor, NookTablet are all 7" too, no?

[Harmon]

Young eyes seem to have no problem with either lcd or e-ink. But it seems to me that older eyes have problems with lcd that they don't have with e-ink.

If I'm using my iPad, I find that I can handle it if I pay attention to the ambient lighting, and adjust the brightness. But I have to get the adjustments right.

That's not the case with e-ink. It just works.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Barty

I read on both. Kindle for day, ipad for night. I like the kindle for the portability, iPad for the size, contrast, customizability. With the right lighting and screen color choice, the iPad can be made easy on my eyes. Actually, I spend more time on the iPad since I also read lots of stuff other than books.

Yeah, me, too. Moving from short article to short article seems to give my eyes a respite from the backlight. But I need the respite.

For long reading, my KK or Sony 950 don't strain my eyes at all.

[ProDigit]

e-ink with low-light back screen led.
E-ink is great for anything but the bedroom. A tiny LED would be a great help for at night!
The Sony PRS-900 had a too bright led. We don't need e-ink that looks lit like a christmas tree! Although color leds would be nice, from practical perspective, an e-ink device with 0.5W worth of backlight is more than enough to read in dark places, and make e-ink universally usable!

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by ProDigit

e-ink with low-light back screen led.
E-ink is great for anything but the bedroom. A tiny LED would be a great help for at night!
The Sony PRS-900 had a too bright led. We don't need e-ink that looks lit like a christmas tree! Although color leds would be nice, from practical perspective, an e-ink device with 0.5W worth of backlight is more than enough to read in dark places, and make e-ink universally usable!

You're inventing a new technology then... e-ink is reflective, there are no backlights for e-ink... the e-ink readers with lighting are edge lit from in front of the screen not the rear...

[ProDigit]

So I've noticed.
I wondered if in e-ink white page mode, a backlight was not possible, regardless if it would be an efficient or not efficient design (meaning if perhaps 60% of the light would get absorbed or more).

[Jcas]

e-ink for me too

[hapmas77]

I read on both eink and LCD. For me a good eink screen should have a good contrast like the pearl screen. For LCD, I read on my Tab 8.9. First thing I do was to put a matte screen protector to reduce the reflection.

In my experience a highly reflective screen will tired my eyes easily because I have to increase the brightness to compensate the reflection. With a matte screen I can read for hours in LCD screen.

[Jesslynne]

While I find e-ink easiest to read off of I do own an LCD reader. As long as I set the settings to my liking it winds up as easy for me to read as if it were as easy as an e-ink. It's certainly easier than on my laptop, due to the amount of settings I get to play with to make it easier on my eyes.

[dbeman]

The primary advantage e-ink has over an LCD screen is when reading in bright light, more specifically outdoors. I have never experienced any sort of "fatigue" when reading for long periods of time on my iPad.

[astra]

The poll results are very impressive.
I knew I was all the way eInk fun, but I didn't expect such a huge gap 213 vs. 49.