Is the ereader dead?

[Flaneurette]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Whenever this topic comes up there always seems to be at least one person who tries to convince everyone else that if they just change the brightness level on their LCD phone/tablet it will be suitable for reading. While that does work for many people, it doesn't work for all.

I hope companies keep making e-ink readers so those of us who prefer them to LCD, whether due to eye issues, reading in sun, or whatever, will continue to have a choice.

It’s funny how on other platforms like Reddit people argue constantly about ereading vs analog books and that one or another is clearly superior. Here it is eink vs LCD,OLED or whatever. I’m sure in the future some new tech will likely kill off eink readers as we know them today. For me the convenience of digital media is primary and price etc is further down the list so if one device can truly do it all I will certainly be all over it. For now though, nope gotta have eink, which is why these alarmist articles make me a bit panicky

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I use my tablet to read comics and for that I love it. But if I'm at lunch and I finish an issue and have twenty minutes left. I find myself wondering if I should read another one or check my email or maybe check in here. In the same situation with my e-reader, I just start on the next chapter.

Lol, I'm awful at checking my email so that's not a temptation at all. I actually have all notifications except phone calls disabled by default (calls get forwarded from my iPhone to iPad).

Now forums, those are bigger distractions but usually one that's easily ignored if the material I'm reading is compelling. And really, I've got various internet connected devices near me anyway so even when I'm reading on a dedicated reader, checking stuff on the smartphone/tablet as a distraction is always a possibility.

Mind, as I mentioned though, I do get migraines sometimes. When that happens, paper or e-ink (front-lit also ok) is still useable. Backlit LCD is out.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Flaneurette

It’s funny how on other platforms like Reddit people argue constantly about ereading vs analog books and that one or another is clearly superior. Here it is eink vs LCD,OLED or whatever. I’m sure in the future some new tech will likely kill off eink readers as we know them today. For me the convenience of digital media is primary and price etc is further down the list so if one device can truly do it all I will certainly be all over it. For now though, nope gotta have eink, which is why these alarmist articles make me a bit panicky

Arguing about which is best is pointless in the end. There's only what works best for you.

I was one of those that couldn't see abandoning paper books, even though I already had far too many. Then I actually saw a Kindle, saw an e-ink screen and could see the appeal (though I waited until there was one that could light up before committing). I can understand those that stick to paper, those that want an all-purpose tablet and those like me that stick to e-ink. Whatever works for you. (Which is partly why I at first didn't get the earlier scuffle and then just got annoyed with it.)

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Arguing about which is best is pointless in the end. There's only what works best for you.

Agreed. Reading on an eInk eReader is a different experience than reading on a smartphone or tablet. Some people don't care. Some people prefer one, some prefer the other.

Meanwhile I'm hoarding "billions" of eInk eReaders just in case they ever DO stop making them!

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by jbjb

Really? I can see that might be the case in areas where bright sunlight is correlated with uncomfortable temperatures, but where I live in the UK I read outside whenever possible during most of what passes for our summer. While the rest of the time I read on a mix of backlit LCD (iPhone) and eink, for the outside reading the eink is certainly best for me.

That is your preference. What about other people around you where you read outside? If they can use the screens on their phones and tablets, then for them it is readable enough.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Living in Houston, there's a solid four days a year that aren't murderously hot or have hurricanes blowing through, that I can sit on a bench at the park comfortably reading in the sun. I tend to take full advantage of them.

Damage from the sun is in the main from cumulative exposure so 4 days a year is not much. Sunburn events excepted from that comment.

Anyway, with a hat like that you are in the shade all the time, surely, maybe even in the dark .

Just as an aside, pterygium is fairly common here and put down to sun exposure (as well as other irritants), again from cumulative exposure. My wife has had them removed from both eyes, a quite painful operation. There is increased risk when boating, surfing etc. due to added intensity from reflection off the sea. I don't know how prevalent it is in Texas but Hispanics seem to be at higher risk than many other races.

Sun induced cataracts are an issue too; my mother who only spent a bit more time than average in the sun and on the sea has had both eyes operated on for cataracts (and skin lesions removed too).

I have often wondered about reading with reflective displays in the bright sun whether the risk is increased as it is by reflection from water. Without double checking I think eink reflects about 45% of incident light, but if the passage of the reflection is through glass, thick glass is a moderate absorber of UV and the black eink media is obviously absorptive. Not something I have to worry about now as no longer use a reflective reader.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by Flaneurette

It’s funny how on other platforms like Reddit people argue constantly about ereading vs analog books and that one or another is clearly superior. Here it is eink vs LCD,OLED or whatever. I’m sure in the future some new tech will likely kill off eink readers as we know them today. For me the convenience of digital media is primary and price etc is further down the list so if one device can truly do it all I will certainly be all over it. For now though, nope gotta have eink, which is why these alarmist articles make me a bit panicky

It seems like there's always something to debate. I seem to remember that back when I first joined MR, paper vs. digital arguments were common. Since the subject of the forum is largely digital focused, we don't get too many coming around anymore who aren't at least somewhat interested in digital reading if not outright fans.

I wonder what new tech we'll be arguing about in 10 years?

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Alohamora

I wonder what new tech we'll be arguing about in 10 years?

Digital is not going away. There is also not going to be any improvements over digital. The only improvements is going to be how much digital data you can fit and how to prevent data corruption over time. Maybe we will go away from binary data and switch to something more complex, but digital it is going to stay until it is time to convert it to analog to hear it or see it.

[Katsunami]

As soon as someone brings out an 7 to 8 inch 4:3 tablet which combines the color and screen update speed of current day tablets with the battery life and sunlight readability of current e-readers, *then* the e-reader will be dead in a jiffy. Not before, because there are always people who want the very best for their experience.

[pdofak]

I prefer ereaders for the reading experience. However I don't have designated reading time, as much as I wish I did, and find myself reading when/where I can on phone or tablet. The ipad mini is a decent experience the phone is less than but will do in a pinch.
The lightness and the page buttons are the two biggest plusses for me.
Ereaders aren't dead but they are long lived devices. I hope they fair well into the future.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

Just as an aside, pterygium is fairly common here and put down to sun exposure (as well as other irritants), again from cumulative exposure. My wife has had them removed from both eyes, a quite painful operation. There is increased risk when boating, surfing etc. due to added intensity from reflection off the sea. I don't know how prevalent it is in Texas but Hispanics seem to be at higher risk than many other races.

I would take the increased risk, as I do miss California. I used to like walking down to Shoreline Village in Long Beach and reading in the morning, before the stores opened up. Of course, it was paper in those days, so no problem reading in direct sunlight and no worries about reflected sunlight. Maybe there is something to be said for paper...

[jbjb]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

That is your preference.

Indeed, and others will have different preferences.

My point was just that the claim that reading outside in bright sunlight is 'very, very niche' is perhaps based on not as wide a sample as the claimant thinks. It may be unusual where he lives, but not necessarily everywhere..

[DNSB]

From having lived in Vancouver for years, when sunny days arrive, people will head outside to have lunch, walk, read, etc. I suspect this also applies to Seattle since I've heard the phrase "In (Vancouver/Seattle), you don't tan, you rust" on occasion.

[pittendrigh]

indeed. I'm 70 with deteriorating eye sight so have to read digitally (with enlarged font). But I do so with all of my desktop my phone and a large tablet, all of which can surf the net as well as display a book. I wouldn't consider a books-only device.

Perhaps more interesting is a looming inverse. I've written some server-side software that works (will be open source perhaps within the year) that displays any epub3 (epub2 is coming but the TOC parser is easier on epub3) as a website.

Bibi does that too but bibi is not embeddable. My software is so simple it will be easily recreated. But mine creates two DIV elements, one for the TOC (which can be minimized with Javascript) and the page contents, all of which can be embedded inside any Content Management System (which Bibi cannot).

My software isn't the point. What is interesting, I think, is the idea that any and all complex websites would be better off re-creating themselves in book-like format.

In other words I'm NOT suggesting your ebook should become a website. I am suggesting your website should become an ebook that displays online, inside a browser. At least if you have a complex site with more than a few pages. Especially so for How-To-Do it instructional pages, for photography, computer programming, financial investments, boat building, kitchen/bathroom remodelling etc.

If you have a complex website you'd be better off reformatting as a book. So the ebook reader is indeed dead for me (I'd rather use a browser phone or tablet). And the stoneage website is dead too. I'd rather see that website organized like an online ebook.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Because on a cool day the sun feels good. I guess you've never lived along the beach in Southern California, or in the mountains of Montana.

I like to sit on my porch and read during the summer in mornings. Afternoons I'm in direct sunlight and it's just too hot for that. I keep a very light portable folding chair I can carry into the shade to read. We have a gazebo but people smoke there so I haven't used that although for health reasons most of them have quit so I might be able to read there this coming summer.

I really love sitting outside to read when I can. When I was younger I used to walk to the park and sit under a tree to read, kind of like the guy on the startup screen on the Kindle. I did that about every other weekend for decades.

About 25 years ago I took a trip to Grand Canyon and I remember spending an afternoon sitting on the grass right on the edge of the canyon with my feet hanging over the side listening to an audiobook. The book was Alan Drury's "Advise and Consent".

Barry