Is your cell phone bearable to read on?

[norweger]

I'll go first. Yes. Yes, it is. I have a HTC One M8 with an LCD display. The whites are white, the kontrast is good, but alas the phone is so is old I'll have to get a new.

But which one to get. So ... what phone do you have, and can you read e-books on it?

[Deskisamess]

Are you only interested in android phones? I read at times on my iPhone 7+, using either the Kindle app and sometimes the iOS Book app. Once in a while a library book isn't available for Kindle, so then I use the OverDrive app on my iPhone. It's fine for reading during the day. The only time I dislike the experience is in a dark room. I usually use a sepia or light grey background with black text.

You asked "Can you read books on it?" Did you really mean "can" we, or are you wanting to know how good the reading experience is?

[DiapDealer]

Google Pixel 2 XL. I can (and do) read on it just fine, but it's never going to be my primary reader. I prefer a larger tablet if I'm going to be reading for very long.

[AnotherCat]

I have a recent Nokia 6 inch LCD display phone which I read on if wanted when out and about.

It is fine for reading but I normally read on a larger LCD tablet (currently 10.5 inch in 2 column mode) with my phone synced to that so that I can just pick up my book and current read position on either device.

(An aside: Nokia and a few others are in Google's Android One program which means they come clean with no phone manufacturer's applications or operating system modifications, and get monthly security and regular OS updates. Which I find a refreshing change after all the unremovable dross other phone manufacturers put on their phones.)

[azayn]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and dark mode on its OLED display makes for a very nice reading experience. I could never read for very long on the LCD display on my old Moto G5 Plus. IMO, a black background on an OLED display is the next best thing to e-Ink. A larger display would be better to read on, but then my S9 isn't my primary reading device and I prefer a phone that can be used one handed.

Oh, and upgrading from Aldiko to Moon+ Reader Pro improved my e-reading experience as well.

[norweger]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

Did you really mean "can" we, or are you wanting to know how good the reading experience is?

I meant can as in "can you do it without too much discomfort". I've read plenty of books on my cell phone, and it's been great so far. Yeah, iPhones are interesting as well. I checked them out on the store today, and found the iPhone XS to be surprisingly okayish on the eyes. iPhone 7+ is noted. Thanks for weighing in.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by norweger

I meant can as in "can you do it without too much discomfort".

Well that's easy, then. I can read on mine with no discomfort whatsoever. But then as long as the chair is comfortable, I can pretty-much read on anything with no discomfort.

[Tarana]

Really, it depends on your eyesight and how long you are reading. Until my vision worsened, I was able to read off an Itouch for at most an hour. Now it's about 6 minutes. I'm getting an Iphone 8 or 8 Plus. The 8 has a screen that is about 3/4 inch larger, while the plus is over an inch larger. So, I have to decide since the Plus is also less portable. I doubt it will fit in my pocket for instance (I only have it in my pocket when at home; otherwise it's in my purse). However, the larger screen will make it possible for me to read again when I'm out and about.

[haertig]

I have a Motorola G7. Could I read on it? I suppose. But I've never cared to try, given that I have a Kindle. I do have MoonReader+ installed on the G7, and I keep the book I'm currently reading on the Kindle on the G7 also. As a backup, I guess. In case I'm stuck somewhere with nothing to do and don't have my Kindle. That would be extremely rare, since my daily "carry bag" contains water, sunglasses, other stuff ... and my Kindle. Places I go where I don't take this carry bag - like an NHL hockey game - might be a place where I'd try to read from my G7. That would be quite the feat, given the loud speakers constantly blaring at you (I wear hearing protection during the games due to the tremendous amount off amplified noise).

But so far, I've never had the desire or need to read on the G7 ... so I haven't.

[2new]

White balance and the accessibility low brightness makes iPhones hard to beat for me. It’s night and day difference between my iPhone 7 and galaxy note 8. Wish android could control white balance, the app filters on the market are blurry to me. I’m likely to jump from Android if they don’t fix it.

[mobama]

Somehow in my memories my long-lost LG Optimus One with 3.2" screen was as comfortable to read on as my current Galaxy Note 4 with 5.2" screen. Maybe my vision has deteriorated so much.

Coolreader is a good app for epubs (after a thorough overhaul of its configuration options) and EBookDroid for PDF and Djvu files. Reading mode in some webbrowsers is good, even though they are nowhere near a w3m or Elinks in Termux. Ability to invert colours in the entire device is sometimes an option too.

Devices with LCD and other such screens work for reading for a while. Eink screens work for a longer while and for more intensive staring.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by 2new

White balance and the accessibility low brightness makes iPhones hard to beat for me. It’s night and day difference between my iPhone 7 and galaxy note 8. Wish android could control white balance, the app filters on the market are blurry to me. I’m likely to jump from Android if they don’t fix it.

Both the Android reading apps I regularly use (PocketBook and Moon+ Reader) give one access to the full 8bit color palette by means of either RGB sliders or direct entry of each of the color codes. So both white balance and preferred reading colors for background and text can be entered (8bit gives over 16 million colors, so essentially infinite).

Both of the same reading apps enable one to adjust the brightness from an upper end of very bright down to very dim, so dim it is practically unreadable in a blacked out room (this is both a menu option and a single screen gesture option).

I have measured the color temperature of quite a number of Android phone and tablet screens over the years and have found that the color temperature of any half decent device is correct for correct color, so no casts. Some people prefer a cast, as above the reading apps allow that if wanted. I would assume that Apple displays are correct too for correct colors.

Some of the Developer's Previews of Android 9 included various ways of changing color temperature, including RGB sliders at one point, but it did not make it into the pure Android 9 release, I assume because of lack of need. There are, however, some Android phones around where the manufacturer's include user white balance adjustment by RGB sliders for the display (a few Sony ones are those I am familiar with), but again I suspect the demand and need for it is limited.

Perhaps you could just change to a reading app on your Samsung that allows you to set up your own RGB palette?

[jj2me]

Reading on my Yotaphone 2's LCD screen is fine, no discomfort. But when I turn it over to the e-ink screen it just somehow feels better. Calmer or something, hard to explain, but I definitely have a preference for the e-ink side if there's enough ambient light.

[Sarmat89]

No. Any reader I tried discharge the battery in minutes, even with no extra backlight.