Will color tablets replace e-ink readers in the short term?

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by azazel1024

Meh, unlikely. How many people still buy vinyl?

No one. Only DJs ... hahahaha...

I have a high school friend which is a famous DJ in Boston (13+ years as professional DJ). He uses mp3.

And before audiophiles start hitting my face with tomatoes, I know some people still buy Vinyl, but it is a very, very, very small market. People who like classical music or want the whole sound's spectrum of the song, which on some mp3 files is lost due compression.

[toomanybooks]

I would love to use a dedicated e-ink reader instead of a tablet, but I have broken the last two I bought within three months. I'm too much of klutz to use them. When the screens are more durable or the replacement cost is under $40 dollars I will go back to a dedicated e-ink device.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by toomanybooks

I would love to use a dedicated e-ink reader instead of a tablet, but I have broken the last two I bought within three months. I'm too much of klutz to use them. When the screens are more durable or the replacement cost is under $40 dollars I will go back to a dedicated e-ink device.

Interesting.

I would say that's not common. Are you carefully protecting the device?

eink basically has a similar glass layer like tablets. Hence, they are prone to cracks due sudden impacts or compression.

May I know which brand and were you using a cover?

Originally Posted by jocampo

I would say that's not common. Are you carefully protecting the device?

I suffered through two cracked Kindle screens, even though the device was properly protected. Yet my Kobo screen hasn't cracked yet, even though it is never protected. Something tells me that the case design is a huge factor here. Large, thin cases are prone to flexing so the screen will crack. The Kobo Touch also seems to have a rigid frame inside the case.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by monkeyluis

Possibly in the short term. With all of the beautiful screens out there it's possible. With those just looking for an ereader then they will get an eink device. But I think people see a tablet with just a bit more money & they can do so much more.

Not everyone. For many, e-paper readers and tablets are two completely different product categories. I own one of each. The former for reading books and the latter for everything else.

Fact: if e-paper readers were to totally disappear and the only option for reading was on a backlit display, I'll give up reading and find another hobby.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Not everyone. For many, e-paper readers and tablets are two completely different product categories. I own one of each. The former for reading books and the latter for everything else.

Fact: if e-paper readers were to totally disappear and the only option for reading was on a backlit display, I'll give up reading and find another hobby.

Same here.

I would return to paperbacks I think. I get bad eyestrain headaches when reading as a single task on a backlit LCD, even after a short while.

Tablets are also heavy and cumbersome compared to a ightweight e-ink reader.

[toomanybooks]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Interesting.

I would say that's not common. Are you carefully protecting the device?

eink basically has a similar glass layer like tablets. Hence, they are prone to cracks due sudden impacts or compression.

May I know which brand and were you using a cover?

It was a Sony and a Pocketbook. I used a third party cover for the Sony and the cover that the 360 came with. I tried to be careful with them. Obviously not careful enough.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Same here.

I would return to paperbacks I think. I get bad eyestrain headaches when reading as a single task on a backlit LCD, even after a short while.

Tablets are also heavy and cumbersome compared to a ightweight e-ink reader.

New screen technologies like Mirasol may make color screens as pleasant for reading as e-ink in a year or two (and offer the same long battery life), while also giving us all the advantages of LCD screens.

But even then, when you really could have a functional all-in-one device, a $30 or $50 b&w e-ink should find plenty of buyers. For books you don't need color and a light and small device is perfect for many. But for a tablet, as a media consumption device, bigger is better (up to a point, of course).

[cfrizz]

All of you who are moaning and groaning about the demise of the eink market ARE the eink market, and we will always want an eink tablet to do our serious reading on. Therefore, the eink market will remain alive and well.

Everyone always wants to make this an either or situation and it never is. Stop with the doom and gloom scenarios!

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

All of you who are moaning and groaning about the demise of the eink market ARE the eink market, and we will always want an eink tablet to do our serious reading on. Therefore, the eink market will remain alive and well.

Everyone always wants to make this an either or situation and it never is. Stop with the doom and gloom scenarios!

I suspect that these articles are put out by tablet makers, to make people afraid of buying e-ink devices by making them think they will be obsolete very soon.

[CazMar]

Originally Posted by TimW

Battery life...that's a big reason why I won't be retiring the e-ink. If I know I'm going somewhere (e.g. doctor's office) where I will likely have ample time to read, I don't want to see a "low battery" warning when I open the cover of my reader. If I need to check my email or have a glance at MR, I have free 3G on my KK if there's no Wi-Fi available. No, I'm too cheap for a smart phone...dumb phone for me.

Absolutely agree. I do have a smart phone - and a very good one - but I am sparing of the ebook reader app if am going to be away from a power source for a long time. With the eink reader I can be away from home for several days and not even bother to take the charger cable with me.
The same with tablets; they are just too power hungry if the screen is on backlight all the time. Although I think if the battery life problem is ever solved there could be some serious competition for eink - those colour screens are very appealing!

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by CazMar

Absolutely agree. I do have a smart phone - and a very good one - but I am sparing of the ebook reader app if am going to be away from a power source for a long time. With the eink reader I can be away from home for several days and not even bother to take the charger cable with me.
The same with tablets; they are just too power hungry if the screen is on backlight all the time. Although I think if the battery life problem is ever solved there could be some serious competition for eink - those colour screens are very appealing!

Apparently Mirasol color screens also give you days or even weeks of battery life, while being capable of running videos. So that problem will be solved soon, just not with LCDs.

[jocampo]

Just found this nice article, ironically, while using Zite app on my iPad:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/bu...ions.html?_r=1

It basically talks about the well known distractions while reading on tablets like Fire or iPad, vs other ways like paper book and I guess, eink readers.

Originally Posted by jocampo

it basically talks about the well known distractions while reading on tablets like Fire or iPad, vs other ways like paper book and I guess, eink readers.

I have a Kobo Touch and Vox. The Touch is wonderful because it is distraction free. The Vox, well, I've spent a bit of time removing apps to make it a (nearly) dedicated ereader.

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Not everyone. For many, e-paper readers and tablets are two completely different product categories. I own one of each. The former for reading books and the latter for everything else.

Fact: if e-paper readers were to totally disappear and the only option for reading was on a backlit display, I'll give up reading and find another hobby.

This.

And like others have said, better battery life, less eye-strain, less distractions, etc..

I highly doubt e-ink readers will ever completely disappear. They will probably get cheaper and better (higher res, better battery, insert your future prediction here). I can see voice commands coming soon. "Next page", "Go to map on page 7", or "How many pages until the next chapter?". Well, maybe not but ya get the idea.