Poll: Touchscreen or Buttons (E-ink)

[benham]

I like turning the pages on my Sony 505 better then my wife's 600. It is nice that you can turn pages conveniently while holding the device in only 1 hand.

[GreenMonkey]

I like touch navigation - the classic Nook's method is kind of slow.

But I prefer page turn buttons by far over a page swipe motion.

It would be nice to be able to turn off the touch page turning entirely in favor of the buttons...I hope that's an option on the new Nook. I hate turning pages by accident on my NC when I'm dealing with the kids or whatever.

[chrisanthropic]

I'm all for the touchscreen. I hardly even use the hardware buttons on my Sony 650.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by chrisanthropic

I'm all for the touchscreen. I hardly even use the hardware buttons on my Sony 650.

I've used the page turn buttons on my 650 maybe 5 times.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've used the page turn buttons on my 650 maybe 5 times.

yeah once I found out that you could page turn using swipe on the second lcd screen, I can count how many times on one hand that I've used the physical buttons on my nook classic. Turning pages via a touch screen page swipe with your finger just feels soo much more natural then clicking a button.

[MikeB1972]

I gave my 350 to my other half and went back to the 300 for pocket size reading.

For me the page turn buttons are essential and if the 350 had a button that turned the touch screen on and off it would have been perfect, but I found I brushed the screen too much and kept accidentaly changing pages (getting rid of dog hairs mostly).

In fact if there was a touch screen on/off button I'd have bought the 650 ages ago.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

I gave my 350 to my other half and went back to the 300 for pocket size reading.

For me the page turn buttons are essential and if the 350 had a button that turned the touch screen on and off it would have been perfect, but I found I brushed the screen too much and kept accidentaly changing pages (getting rid of dog hairs mostly).

In fact if there was a touch screen on/off button I'd have bought the 650 ages ago.

The ability to turn a touch screen on or off would be great.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

In case it isn't clear, the spirit of the poll is to determine whether you find touchscreen navigation preferable, or detrimental to your e-ink device experience.

(1) whenever I move from my Sony 650 to either of my Kindles, I find myself wanting to use touch to navigate & page turn, but when I move from my Kindles to my Sony I never find myself feeling for the buttons. So for me, at least, touch seems more comfortable & natural.

(2) There might be a device size component here. Using buttons on my K3 is no big deal, but they are harder to use on my KDX. I think that touch might be more suitable than buttons on the larger devices, simple for ergonomic reasons. That is, it is easier to hold and touch on a large device, than to hold and press the correct button.

(3) I have two large devices, the KDX and an iPad. I tend to read both of them on stands of some sort. For my iPad, I have one stand for tabletop use, and another for laptop use. For the KDX I have a Tuff-Luv case which works as a laptop stand. I also have a Tuff-Luff case stand for my K3 and also for my 650, both of which I use on the tabletop. What I have found is that touch is a whole lot easier to use when I am relying on a stand to hold the device. It's a shorter, faster motion.

(4) The only time that the buttons seem equal to touch is on the 6 inch EBRs, i.e., the 650 and the K3, and only for page turning, and then only if I am holding the EBR rather than reading on a stand. This seems to be because on the 6 inch EBRs, it is possible to hold and pageturn with one hand using either the buttons or touch. But the buttons on the K3 are much easier to use than the buttons on the 650. So with respect to buttons, it is not enough that there be buttons - the buttons have to be well positioned.

(5) I have had the Sony 300 and the Sony 350. I preferred the 350 (unfortunately bricked through no fault of my own - it just up & quit) because it was smaller, which is because it was touch. But the pageturn buttons on the 300 (still around, but kept in the smallest room in the house, with short articles on it) were better placed. My conclusion for the 5 inch screen is pretty much as in (4) above.

So my overall conclusion is that there is NO situation in which buttons are actually superior to touch; generally, it's the other way around. There is one situation in which they might be equal, namely, smaller EBRs but only for pageturning. However, for most people, I think that 95% of the time spent reading involves (1) the 6 inch EBRs, (2) using the pageturning function, and (3) holding the EBR rather than positioning it on some kind of stand. In this situation, well placed buttons seem to be as good as touch, and the whole thing probably boils down to

"when I'm kissin', the one I'm kissin',
She is the one girl for me.."

For this reason, it seems to me that the best implimentation of touch would include pageturn buttons on the smaller EBRs. Everything else would be touch, including the option of swiping for pageturns.

Incidentally, I don't think that there's much to chose between a physical or touch keyboard, in & of themselves. However, the advantage of a touch keyboard is that the EBR can be smaller while having the same screen dimensions.

As for the fingerprint issue, I'm sitting here looking at my 650, tilting it this way & that in the light, & I just don't see any. If I squint, I can pick up some very light smears that for practical purposes I don't see when I'm reading. And now that I know the smears are there, I don't feel any need to do anything about them - and I am usually a little compulsive about small things like that.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Piper_

Actually, I expected that to be the case before I bought the Sony -- that selecting/highlighting would be more efficient than it is on the Kindle -- but it turned out to be the opposite.

At least on the 350, selecting a starting/lookup word with the touch is hit and miss (less so, if you take the time to get out and return the stylus, but...meh.), and it takes both hands.

With the Kindle, I can get to the word by D-padding up from the bottom or down from the top in about the same time, without repositioning my hand, and without miscues.

Highlighting more than one line on the Sony is so frustrating, I actually *threw it one time, after about the 10th failed attempt.

Maybe there is a vast difference between 350 and 650. Accordingly to your descriptions I don't see any other explanation to the huge difference between our experiences.
Mind you, before 650 I never had any touch screen gadgets and had zero experience with touch screen.
Highlighting is so easy, I cannot imagine how easier it can be.
Double tap on a word that brings dictionary it 10 times faster than pressing buttons to navigate to the needed word.

Maybe you have a faulty unit?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Harmon

"when I'm kissin', the one I'm kissin',
She is the one girl for me.."

After I've been using my wife's iPod touch (which I honestly am surprised is such a really an amazing device) I do have to stop myself from touching the Kindle's screen, but that doesn't mean I prefer using touch for reading.
I may let my Sony 350 think she's my best girl when I'm playing chess on her, but I'm always quite aware I prefer the buttons on the Kindle for reading.

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by Harmon

...So my overall conclusion is that there is NO situation in which buttons are actually superior to touch; generally, it's the other way around. There is one situation in which they might be equal, namely, smaller EBRs but only for pageturning. However, for most people, I think that 95% of the time spent reading involves (1) the 6 inch EBRs, (2) using the pageturning function, and (3) holding the EBR rather than positioning it on some kind of stand. In this situation, well placed buttons seem to be as good as touch, and the whole thing probably boils down to

"when I'm kissin', the one I'm kissin',
She is the one girl for me.."

For this reason, it seems to me that the best implimentation of touch would include pageturn buttons on the smaller EBRs. Everything else would be touch, including the option of swiping for pageturns.

Incidentally, I don't think that there's much to chose between a physical or touch keyboard, in & of themselves. However, the advantage of a touch keyboard is that the EBR can be smaller while having the same screen dimensions.

As for the fingerprint issue, I'm sitting here looking at my 650, tilting it this way & that in the light, & I just don't see any. If I squint, I can pick up some very light smears that for practical purposes I don't see when I'm reading. And now that I know the smears are there, I don't feel any need to do anything about them - and I am usually a little compulsive about small things like that.

Very well thought out post. I appreciate that.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by astra

Maybe there is a wast difference between 350 and 650. Accordingly to your descriptions I don't see any other explanation to the huge difference between our experiences.

More likely it is a difference in font size used. I sometimes have to switch from my usual reading font (xs) to a larger font before I'm able to successfully double-tap a word for looking it up. Same goes for highlighting, on the very rare occasion that I do that.

[djgreedo]

I almost never use the keyboard on my Kindle. It is almost useless to me. The benefit of being able to touch a word or footnote with my finger to bring up a note/definition is light-years ahead of the tedious navigation buttons on the Kindle. I often ignore footnotes because the interface is too clunky.

Click,click,click,click,click,click,click,click,cl ick
vs
touch

I can understand those people who make notes in their books wanting a physical keyboard, but I don't have any need for it. A touchscreen would make so many things better.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

Click,click,click,click,click,click,click,click,cl ick

Umm...you DO realize you can just click it once and hold it down, right?

[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.