Why do "LCD e-Book reading devices" keep coming

[hidari]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

Did it ever occur to you that you might be in the minority? I have no problem reading on LCD. None of the people I know have a problem reading on LCD-although some of them do prefer eInk, mostly for battery life. Those of us who read on LCD handle the battery life issue by simply buying a spare battery.

And, FWIW, I don't know of any adults who read comics so color isn't an issue in my 'group'. (But the desires of my friends shouldn't control the market any more than your desires should. There's room for all.)

Colour comics are not an issue in Japan either...they are 99% in Black and White...

[hidari]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You seem to be conflating what you personally don't like with what is "good".

I've been reading eBooks for 20-odd years on all sorts of different devices, and have both eInk and LCD devices. Personally I don't mind reading on LCD devices in the slightest - the iPad is currently my favoured reader.

LCD devices have a number of benefits - instant page turns, the ability to comfortably be read in the dark, and so on. Many people do prefer them to EPD displays.

Curious Sir Harrry of T. Not specifically aimed at you but at people who claim that LCD is instantaneous for page turning.... Would you refuse to read a pbook because the page turning is too slow compared to an ebook on an LCD screen?

[DixieGal]

By the way, speaking as someone who has severely impaired vision, please let me encourage everyone to see an ophthalmologist if you are experiencing frequent eyestrain or any type of eye pain.

[bill_mchale]

Here is my particular take.

The big advantage of color LCD's is on converged devices like the iPad that are designed to handle various types of media. It is true that some people have more trouble with back-lit lcd screens than with eInk or reflective LCD screens. That being said, the problem does not seem to be great enough to have prevented LCDs from becoming the electronic display of choice for just about everything except e-Books (where it is still up in the air).

I am not particularly taken with the ability to read in the dark of LCDs for my dedicated reader because I generally don't want to read in a very dark room (There are some exceptions like when I am putting my son to sleep, but for those short sessions, my phone is more than adequate).

The big advantage of eInk or even reflective LCD screens is how long you can read on a charge. With my Jetbook, I could get 15-20 hours of reading on a single charge when the unit was new. On a Sony PRS-505 I can literally go weeks between recharge (Depending on how much I am reading... but even steady reading will get well more than a week on a charge). So, if I have a long plane trip ahead, (say a 15 hour one), an eInk reader is a better choice than an iPad that will run out of batteries half way through the flight.

The other big advantage of reflective displays (whether eInk or LCD) is that they can be easily read out doors in more or less direct sunlight. Thus, they are a better choice for the pool or the beach than an iPad.

--
Bill

[hgwlackey]

Originally Posted by hidari;

...people who claim that LCD is instantaneous for page turning.... Would you refuse to read a pbook because the page turning is too slow compared to an ebook on an LCD screen?

The fact that it's easier and quicker to "turn a page" on my iPad than with a pbook is one reason (among many) why I don't bother with pbooks if I can help it.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by hidari

Curious Sir Harrry of T. Not specifically aimed at you but at people who claim that LCD is instantaneous for page turning.... Would you refuse to read a pbook because the page turning is too slow compared to an ebook on an LCD screen?

I don't say that it's a major problem - merely that it is a benefit of LCD compared to EPD. It's especially handy if you want to quickly "flick through" a book when you're not sure where something is.

[jupstin]

Something I'd really appreciate about a device like the iPad (at least in theory) is that it can multi task and run apps. I would much prefer to read something like the Bible in an app that allows me to integrate various study tools or at least be able to easily switch between resources on the fly.

[leebase]

Do not presume that reading on the iPad is the same as reading on your computer. It just isn't. I can't read a book on my computer, but I've read over 20 on my iPad so far.

Just check out the Apple section, far and away most iPad owners are having no problems with eye strain.

Both options are viable for reading. There are some that simply can't use one or the other, but very few. I caution folks to not assume they know how the iPad reads by how their computer does.

Lee

[leebase]

Originally Posted by hidari

Curious Sir Harrry of T. Not specifically aimed at you but at people who claim that LCD is instantaneous for page turning.... Would you refuse to read a pbook because the page turning is too slow compared to an ebook on an LCD screen?

The blink and wait of an eink reader is annoying. I assume one can get used to it, but I doubt any eink fan would choose a blinky slow middle over obe that didn't have it.

Lee

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Me! I have a CRT at home

Me too! I have a Sony-tubed FW900 (technically it's an HP rebadge of it). 24" tube (22.5" viewable). Run it at 1920x1200 @ 85 hz. I LOVE that thing.

I'm not a fan of LCD technology. I use them, of course - my secondary display is a 23.6" Viewsonic LCD - but I'm not a fan at all.

To me, the ipad is too heavy and bulky. And I hate the thing with a passion - it's a giant ipod touch. I have one of those already And definitely not a fan of LCDs for e-reading - too reflective, no good in bright light, too power hungry. Heck I could have just read on my HP TX2 tablet convertible...but an e-reader is miles better.

I do wish e-readers came with a built in sidelight - until this thread I didn't know the Sony 700 had one! I might look into that!

Technically, e-ink should induce less eyestrain than an LCD by far. But there is also a lot of variance between people's eyes. Just like with CRTs - some people get eyestrain from 60hz that vanishes at higher hz rates. Others get more eyestrain from LCDs at 60hz than a good very-hi-refresh CRT - some of this is partially due to the fact that they are often simply too bright, even at 0 brightness. Depends on the eyes.

All of this said, LCD e-readers keep coming out because small LCDs are dirt cheap to produce these days and little CPU power is needed for an e-reader. So toss some cheap software together (or use Android)...some flash ram, a slow CPU, and a cheap LCD screen...bam, super cheap LCD reader.

[Scott Nielsen]

Originally Posted by leebase

Do not presume that reading on the iPad is the same as reading on your computer. It just isn't. I can't read a book on my computer, but I've read over 20 on my iPad so far.

This is true. I had preconceived ideas when first looking at the iPad and was very surprised by how readable books are on it. I still do most of my reading on my Kindle but that is really down to the weight of the iPad, not the LCD screen.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

The big advantage of eInk or even reflective LCD screens is how long you can read on a charge. With my Jetbook, I could get 15-20 hours of reading on a single charge when the unit was new. On a Sony PRS-505 I can literally go weeks between recharge (Depending on how much I am reading... but even steady reading will get well more than a week on a charge). So, if I have a long plane trip ahead, (say a 15 hour one), an eInk reader is a better choice than an iPad that will run out of batteries half way through the flight.

And that's the major reason I bought my Mini. About two months before I got it, we were on a camping trip, by bike. So, no way to charge our PDA's. Which meant that after 5 days, they were running low, even though we tried not to use it too much (problem was, it was raining most of the evenings, and we only had our tent, so not a lot to do...)

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

I'm not a fan of LCD technology. I use them, of course - my secondary display is a 23.6" Viewsonic LCD - but I'm not a fan at all.

With my computer, I prefer the CRT over any LCD. Though, I'm contemplating buying a LED monitor.

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

To me, the ipad is too heavy and bulky. And I hate the thing with a passion - it's a giant ipod touch. I have one of those already And definitely not a fan of LCDs for e-reading - too reflective, no good in bright light, too power hungry. Heck I could have just read on my HP TX2 tablet convertible...but an e-reader is miles better.

I do wish e-readers came with a built in sidelight - until this thread I didn't know the Sony 700 had one! I might look into that!

Technically, e-ink should induce less eyestrain than an LCD by far. But there is also a lot of variance between people's eyes. Just like with CRTs - some people get eyestrain from 60hz that vanishes at higher hz rates. Others get more eyestrain from LCDs at 60hz than a good very-hi-refresh CRT - some of this is partially due to the fact that they are often simply too bright, even at 0 brightness. Depends on the eyes.

And that's the major problem with LCD: brightness. It's not so much the backlight as the amount of backlight. Which is why I'm so thrilled with the backlight of my JE100. It practically turns itself off (but not quite..). Which means I can't even see my hands in a really dark bedroom, even though the device is on.

Originally Posted by leebase

Do not presume that reading on the iPad is the same as reading on your computer. It just isn't. I can't read a book on my computer, but I've read over 20 on my iPad so far.

There's another problem a lot of people seem to forget. If you're reading behind a monitor, you're sitting up straight, and you can't deviate too much as the monitor is "fixed". If you're reading on a device, you'll most likely won't be sitting up straight on a desk chair, but rather lounging on the couch or easy chair. And that does make a huge difference in perception! I can't read from my monitor, except small texts (such as forums). Entire books, I don't even want to think about it!

[Lo Zeno]

My experience won't add much to what people have already said, but I'll write it anyway:

Before discovering MobileRead (and the dedicated e-reader devices), I used to read on my old laptop (with LCD screen). I've spent years doing that, because I already had MANY ebooks, especially free RPG handbooks from independent gamedevelopers (I was, and still am, an avid roleplayer :P ), and sure my eyes felt like burning at the end of the day.

I switched to an e-ink reader, and suddenly reading became "easier on the eyes" as many here say.
BUT (and I write it in bold before someone skips the rest of the comment labeling me as an e-ink fanatic): rather recently, for several reasons, I had to read again on my laptop, spending hours on it. After reading several LCD-vs-eInk topics here on MR, I tried several suggestions I got, I spoke to my eye doctor, and the result is that now I can read on my LCD laptop screen with no problem. All I had to do was... turn on the lights. I mean, the room's lights.

Yeah, did I mention that I mostly read in my bedroom with dim lights?
In that situation, the backlight of my screen "stands out" against the darkness of the surroundings, so my eyes have a hard time keeping focused on the page: if the "center" of your eye's field of vision is brightly lit, your eye's pupil tends to shrink, but if the "margins" of your eye's field of vision is dark, your eye's pupil tends to enlarge to capture more light (so you can see what is there "around"). This continuously makes your eye's pupil move (shrink, enlarge, shrink, enlarge...) and its muscles grow tired.
Instead, if the room's light is at the same level as your screen's light, your eye doesn't need to adjust so often.
At least that's how I understood what my eye doctor told me, I might have gotten it completely wrong and I am by no means a specialist in this field, so please don't beat me (too hard) if I got it all wrong

So, by either dimming my monitor's brightness or by turning on the room's light, and by reading sitting on a CHAIR at my DESK instead of reading sitting on my bed, the LCD screen doesn't bother my eyes anymore.
I do use my e-reader, though, much more than my laptop, for the simple facts that it's less heavy, less encumbrant, has a longer battery, and takes less time to get from pressing the "ON" button to actually reading

[hidari]

Same as I have heard...With enough light the LCD screen is fine for the eyes.....Unfortunately, too many people have the brightness up and read in the darkness the low light too often.

Originally Posted by Lo Zeno

My experience won't add much to what people have already said, but I'll write it anyway:

Before discovering MobileRead (and the dedicated e-reader devices), I used to read on my old laptop (with LCD screen). I've spent years doing that, because I already had MANY ebooks, especially free RPG handbooks from independent gamedevelopers (I was, and still am, an avid roleplayer :P ), and sure my eyes felt like burning at the end of the day.

I switched to an e-ink reader, and suddenly reading became "easier on the eyes" as many here say.
BUT (and I write it in bold before someone skips the rest of the comment labeling me as an e-ink fanatic): rather recently, for several reasons, I had to read again on my laptop, spending hours on it. After reading several LCD-vs-eInk topics here on MR, I tried several suggestions I got, I spoke to my eye doctor, and the result is that now I can read on my LCD laptop screen with no problem. All I had to do was... turn on the lights. I mean, the room's lights.

Yeah, did I mention that I mostly read in my bedroom with dim lights?
In that situation, the backlight of my screen "stands out" against the darkness of the surroundings, so my eyes have a hard time keeping focused on the page: if the "center" of your eye's field of vision is brightly lit, your eye's pupil tends to shrink, but if the "margins" of your eye's field of vision is dark, your eye's pupil tends to enlarge to capture more light (so you can see what is there "around"). This continuously makes your eye's pupil move (shrink, enlarge, shrink, enlarge...) and its muscles grow tired.
Instead, if the room's light is at the same level as your screen's light, your eye doesn't need to adjust so often.
At least that's how I understood what my eye doctor told me, I might have gotten it completely wrong and I am by no means a specialist in this field, so please don't beat me (too hard) if I got it all wrong

So, by either dimming my monitor's brightness or by turning on the room's light, and by reading sitting on a CHAIR at my DESK instead of reading sitting on my bed, the LCD screen doesn't bother my eyes anymore.
I do use my e-reader, though, much more than my laptop, for the simple facts that it's less heavy, less encumbrant, has a longer battery, and takes less time to get from pressing the "ON" button to actually reading

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by hidari

Same as I have heard...With enough light the LCD screen is fine for the eyes.....Unfortunately, too many people have the brightness up and read in the darkness the low light too often.

And then blame the screen technology...