Why are dedicated ebooks readers still popular?

[supermighty]

I like that my kobo does one thing; it displays books. It won't distract me with notifications or offer quick access to streams of distractions.

[Quoth]

It's not about lack of distraction. I can turn the WiFi off on my phone and tablets and I have a 7.8" eink that can install APKs or use the Playstore. It can even do email.

It's about a better reading experience. The majority of ebooks are read on a phone or tablet, but if you read a lot or for 1/2 the day or away from power, then the massive battery life is an advantage as well as the paper-like screen.

Unless you try to read a 100K word novel in one or two days, several times a week, you might not see the advantage of eink.

[crossi]

My kindle 6 inch fits easily in my purse, is so light I don't even notice the weight, is easily read even in bright sunlight, the battery lasts for days not hours, does not have a touch screen (which I loath since I can never control them) and I don't have or want a cell phone.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

When smart phones can do that as well?

I can understand when readers prefer the dedicated ebook reader eliminate distractions because of the unavailability of email and the internet.

However the dedicated ebook reader is something additional to carry and something to worry about getting smashed or lost. Isn't it easier to carry one device?

Let's compare a 6" phone with a 6" reader, shall we?

the average reader is 4x3, the average phone 21x9 (ok, it's more closely 19x9
screen area
phone: 13.03 inches² (21x9)
phone: 15.38 inches² (16:9)
reader: 17.28 inches² (4x3)

So, the smaller and longer phones get, the smaller the screen area is, compared to a "same sized" ereader.

And I find a 6" reader too small anyway, I prefer my 7.8" reader. And a 7.8" phone would be way too large to use as a phone

[kyrilson]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Besides all the other reasons mentioned already, there's the size issue. I have read on my OLED phone and found it tolerable, but even it's 6.6 inch screen involves WAY too much physical activity "turning pages" compared to the 7 inch screen of my Libra.

I guess I never thought swiping was WAY too much physical activity LOL.

As others have mentioned, the e-ink screen makes for a more pleasant reading experience for me. I can read on any screen pretty much, and have read on my iPhone and iPad for long periods of time, but I do tend to reach for a Kindle or Kobo (or even a physical book - such a horror to some of you!) when I'm settling for a long period of reading time, just depends on which I happen to be using at the time for the book in question.

[SleepyBob]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Let's compare a 6" phone with a 6" reader, shall we?

the average reader is 4x3, the average phone 21x9 (ok, it's more closely 19x9
screen area
phone: 13.03 inches² (21x9)
phone: 15.38 inches² (16:9)
reader: 17.28 inches² (4x3)

So, the smaller and longer phones get, the smaller the screen area is, compared to a "same sized" ereader.

And I find a 6" reader too small anyway, I prefer my 7.8" reader. And a 7.8" phone would be way too large to use as a phone

On top of the physical area, the narrower the screen, the greater % of each line is wasted by the last word having to drop to the next line. That further increases the words-per-page advantage of the squarer ereader.

[tomsem]

I personally don’t find smartphone/tablet reading particularly subject to distraction: I turn off nearly all notifications, don’t do much FB/mail/IM. And when I’m reading something it is handy to be able to look things up (maps, wiki etc.), something eReaders don’t much allow. If I were reading for work, or education, it’s much easier to compile notes.

The main advantage eReader has for me is that it is light and also not very expensive: why not have one? It’s easy to hold and operate in one hand. I might wish text had the clarity and sharpness of non eInk display and it were faster to do some things, but it is what it is.

[crossi]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I personally don’t find smartphone/tablet reading particularly subject to distraction: I turn off nearly all notifications, don’t do much FB/mail/IM. And when I’m reading something it is handy to be able to look things up (maps, wiki etc.), something eReaders don’t much allow. If I were reading for work, or education, it’s much easier to compile notes.

The main advantage eReader has for me is that it is light and also not very expensive: why not have one? It’s easy to hold and operate in one hand. I might wish text had the clarity and sharpness of non eInk display and it were faster to do some things, but it is what it is.

I always read mass market paperbacks. After the fuzzy paper and blurry print of those even my kindle keyboard's print seems nice and crisp.

[Tarana]

I use my phone for audiobooks not ebooks. Too small to read. I would be scrolling every 2 sentences.

My sister's SO didn't get it either. Always read with his phone. Then I lent him one of my units. He has since bought an Oasis. He will still read with his phone when he has to be at work, but his job has become work-at-home on a permanent basis now.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

When smart phones can do that as well?

I can understand when readers prefer the dedicated ebook reader eliminate distractions because of the unavailability of email and the internet.

However the dedicated ebook reader is something additional to carry and something to worry about getting smashed or lost. Isn't it easier to carry one device?

Remember the days back when travel was still possible? Anyway, I brought an iPhone, iPad and Kindle on a 16-hr flight (1-month vacation). The Kindle was great when my iPad ran out of battery 4 hours into the flight.

I had to conserve battery on the iPhone (and the power bank) since I knew we'll need it a lot to coordinate pickup with family when we reached our destination.

Also, my Paperwhite is like $90. The iPhone? $700 for a lower end version and it pretty much contains my life. Between a dedicated ebook reader (unregistered, loaded with fanfics) and an iPhone, I'm less concerned about the ereader getting lost or damaged.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Remember the days back when travel was still possible? Anyway, I brought an iPhone, iPad and Kindle on a 16-hr flight (1-month vacation). The Kindle was great when my iPad ran out of battery 4 hours into the flight.

What the world needs are long flights that just circle around and come back to where they took off from. How else can one find time to read?

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by tomsem

What the world needs are long flights that just circle around and come back to where they took off from. How else can one find time to read?

Simple. Spend your day driving people to appointments and wait for them in parking lots... Today had one client who at the last minute had her doctor's appointment cancelled, waited 45 minutes while she attempted to reschedule for later in the day, then took her grocery shopping and waited about 90 minutes for her to finish. Then another client was getting vaccinated and that was about 30 minutes in that parking lot.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[maddz]

Originally Posted by kyrilson

I guess I never thought swiping was WAY too much physical activity LOL.

Wait until you develop arthritis in your hands.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by maddz

Wait until you develop arthritis in your hands.

Indeed. Although "too much physical activity" comment was not in deadly earnest, it is tedious for those with any sort of impaired use of their hands for sure.

[idgaf2day]

Be like me and don't have a smartphone.