The future of 5" readers

[frostschutz]

I use three devices for reading, a 4" smartphone, 5" PB360, and 6" iRiver Story HD.

I use the 4" and 5" in landscape orientation as otherwise the font is either too small or the lines too short. The 6" I use in portrait orientation. It displays about twice the content of the 4"/5" devices on a page.

The size does take some getting used to. On the 6" in portrait it's much easier to lose focus and miss a line. Same as with a real book. I don't think I'd be comfortable with an even larger screen.

I'd go back to 5" without a second thought, but at this point the PB360 just can't compete with the displays of modern readers.

[Jack Tingle]

Size matters.
2.8" WinMo 6.5 cellphone--too small for comfortable reading (Samsung SCH-i760)
3.2" B&W Pocket PC PDA--one of the best ereaders ever (Compaq Aero 1550)
3.5" color PDA--fine for reading (HP iPAQ & Dell X51)
5.0" reflective LCD ereader--bigger, better in some respects, and more pleasant than the 3.2" PDA (jetBook)
6.0" eInk Pearl ereader--at the upper size limit for pleasant use, although the Pearl screen makes a big difference as well (Kindle 3)
7.0" color ereader--too big and heavy, I took it back (Nook Color)

Based on my experience above, I'd say the size range for pleasant reading is 3.5" to 6", with 5" about in the sweet spot. YMMV

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by faithbw

I love the 5 in" 350. I didn't think I would before I brought it but I love having a reader that can fit in the little zip up pocket of my big purse and yet is still large enough for me read to be able to read on comfortably.

I love my 350, too. I bought it on a whim, thinking that I'd get the 950 as well, and ended up loving the 5 inch form factor. I plan on getting the PRS-T1 for home reading and keeping the 350 in my purse for on the go reading. I do hope that 5 inch readers will still be produced, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it, unfortunately.

[fjtorres]

Sony 350 - 104mm wide, 145mm tall
Cybook Opus - 108mm wide, 151mm tall
Jetbook - 109mm wide, 153mm tall
Sony T1 - 110mm wide, 171mm tall
Kindle 4 - 114mm wide, 166mm tall
Kobo Touch - 114mm wide, 165mm tall
Jetbook mini - 116mm wide, 122mm tall
PB 360 - 118mm wide, 140mm tall
Kindle Touch - 120mm wide, 172mm tall
Kindle 3 - 122mm wide, 190mm tall
Nook Touch - 127mm wide, 184mm tall

Kinda hard to tell the fivers from the sixers, no?
When it comes to a handful of millimeters in product width it is clear the sixers' ergonomics are overlapping the fivers and, because of their sheer volume, are often beating them in price.

As I said: ominous.

[Michael Wallace]

I like holding my Kindle with its cover because it feels the size and weight of a book. Also, I don't think I'll ever read on anything with a backlit screen. I'll go back to paper books first.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

Or are we going down the route of a 6" screen with a minimal bezel?

Certainly looks that way.

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Now, as much as I like the PB360, the economics of volume in the business are favoring 6in as the entry level and the new Kindles' dimensions are actually comparable to the few remaining five inchers. So color me concerned that fivers are indeed endangered.

Couldn't have said it better. And what's the problem, anyway? I am concerned about size, of course, but if they manage to pack an 6" screen into the same dimensions as previous 5-inchers, who's gonna complain?

[Ken Maltby]

Well I for one really like the 5" form factor, big surprise there. I find it great for my
hand held reading. I have one of those neat 10" color tablets, which is great for
magazine based PDFs, but I don't use it to read a regular novel. For that, my JBL
is just great, in my opinion. Having a large library of books to read, with me wherever
I may go, is insurance against being stuck in a boring situation. The pocketablility of
the ereader is a big plus, in my case.

Luck;
Ken

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Couldn't have said it better. And what's the problem, anyway? I am concerned about size, of course, but if they manage to pack an 6" screen into the same dimensions as previous 5-inchers, who's gonna complain?

Well, for me:

1. Even though it is wider, the PB 360 goes into a front pocket faster and easer than a K4 without a cover. I do not plan to put a coverless K4 into front pockets on a regular basis. A cover will only make it worse. I think the PB 360 advantages are that it is significantly shorter and has significantly rounder corners.

2. The PB 360 is easier for me to read one handed, probably because of the wider, more contoured bezel and easier to (one handed) manipulate page turn buttons.

So cramming a 6" screen into the same volume of a 5" screen e-reader does have some downsides, at least for me.

I've only had my K4 one day, so I will probably get better with it, but the K2, PB360, and KDX all took only minutes to get the hang of. The PB360 in particular reminds me of car reviews of decades past that said: "The controls all fell readily to hand".

Now, a 9.7" 200 DPI screen in a reader built with the same proportions, or even the same bezel width as a K4, and with a decent PDF viewer, would kick serious butt.

[Latinandgreek]

My 5 inch reader has a greater DPI than the 6 inch Sony model, which is an added bonus.

[Chi Cygni]

Interesting to read. Come to think of it 5 inchers are so doomed. Bookeen went down with price on Opus since Kindle was launched, now at 120 €. I'm waiting like a vulture when it hits below 100 (since they are not in shops anywhere add delivery cost)
Hidari I hear you too... Opus is so convenient to hold, landscape and portrait. And the folders and font sizes and your own font etc etc...

I don't know how to make multiple quote so I will try to discuss what I read as I can - last year when my netronix c*** died on me I searched high and low for an ereader that would read my language. Sony does not and Kindle wasn't yet sold in Europe (methinks) at that time. I came across Opus and thought 5" is small but as others I fell in love. I'd hate to think they will be scrapped.

My husband made interesting observation this morning when he said "look years ago they tried to make mobile phones very small and now smartfones are becoming bigger." With ereaders in a way it looks they will hit middle ground at 6". Maybe it is wiser to stock up and back up on your favourite one because in a year from now they may not be there anymore. Vizplex doesn't bother me, sipix I wouldn't touch with a stick. And Pearl is great only Kindle is not as sweet as the little one (font bothers me too) and I just don't like to read on it that much. But 3G was useful when wifi router died on the camping site. I mostly bought it for 3G.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

Interesting to read. Come to think of it 5 inchers are so doomed. Bookeen went down with price on Opus since Kindle was launched, now at 120 €. I'm waiting like a vulture when it hits below 100 (since they are not in shops anywhere add delivery cost)
Hidari I hear you too... Opus is so convenient to hold, landscape and portrait. And the folders and font sizes and your own font etc etc...

I don't know how to make multiple quote so I will try to discuss what I read as I can - last year when my netronix c*** died on me I searched high and low for an ereader that would read my language. Sony does not and Kindle wasn't yet sold in Europe (methinks) at that time. I came across Opus and thought 5" is small but as others I fell in love. I'd hate to think they will be scrapped.

My husband made interesting observation this morning when he said "look years ago they tried to make mobile phones very small and now smartfones are becoming bigger." With ereaders in a way it looks they will hit middle ground at 6". Maybe it is wiser to stock up and back up on your favourite one because in a year from now they may not be there anymore. Vizplex doesn't bother me, sipix I wouldn't touch with a stick. And Pearl is great only Kindle is not as sweet as the little one (font bothers me too) and I just don't like to read on it that much. But 3G was useful when wifi router died on the camping site. I mostly bought it for 3G.

What language did you need help reading? I have had problems with Croatian diacritics, and I found that Sony's .lrf format could read them without a problem after converting with Calibre.

It's funny that your husband made that observation, mine made the same one a few days ago. I agree with you, it might be wise to stock up on our favourite readers; it seems like 5 and 7 inch readers are a dying breed.

[Chi Cygni]

Men and them phones. Anyway it was Polish which Sony turned into Chinese.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

Men and them phones. Anyway it was Polish which Sony turned into Chinese.

You might be interested in the www.ectaco.com site for their Polish site
banner button.

If you mean that the ereader support ebooks in the language (using UTF-8)
then check those listed for the jetBooks.

"•Support for eBook contents in Albanian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Faeroese, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian and other European languages, additionally, jetBook supports Arabic, Farsi, Vietnamese and Hebrew."


http://www.jetbook.net/

Luck;
Ken

[Chi Cygni]

Thanks Ken, that's very kind. Actually Opus also deciphers my tribal language with no problem and I will stick to it for the time being. But it is useful information for others should they need other languages than the usual English, French and German.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

I love my 350, too. I bought it on a whim, thinking that I'd get the 950 as well, and ended up loving the 5 inch form factor. I plan on getting the PRS-T1 for home reading and keeping the 350 in my purse for on the go reading. I do hope that 5 inch readers will still be produced, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it, unfortunately.

I got mine on a whim too. I had actually brought the Nook STR minutes earlier when I saw the Sony on sale at a closing Borders. I wasn't even there for an e-reader but I couldn't resist. I brought the Sony, returned the Nook and have been in love with the 350 ever since.