Getting a new PocketBook (Verse or Era) -- thinking about colour vs black/white

[hildea]

I have to accept that I have to replace my old reader -- the battery time is too painfully short now. I like PocketBook, so I'll get a Verse or Era, as soon as I've decided if I'd rather have something small that fits into a pocket or a bigger screen.

I'm also wondering about black/white vs colour. I mostly read text, so I won't use colour often. Are there any disadvantages (except for the higher price) of colour? Does it slow down things, or does the black and white text look worse on a colour screen than on a monochrome one?

[Sirtel]

The screen is darker on a colour ereader. It doesn't bother some people, but it does bother others. Whether colour is worth it to you, only you can decide.

Personally I don't consider current color technology to be good enough for someone who reads mostly black and white text. Others disagree.

[neil_swann80]

I'd agree with Sirtel, especially as you say you'll be mainly reading text.

I have a HD3, the Verse is very similar in spec. And it's a size that it extremely portable, it quite literally goes everywhere with me, either in my inside coat pocket or back jeans pocket.

[Zetmolm]

I used to have a Verse Pro BW, until I broke the screen . Now I have a Verse Pro Colour; which turned out to be the same price as the BW version.
My impression is that the colour version is a bit slower than the BW version, and battery life seems shorter. On the other hand, as the colour version is a newer model, it is possible that it will be supported with new firmware versions for a longer time.

[Quoth]

I've seen two current Onyx Boox color ereaders. For mono under ambient light they are worse than the original Sony ereaders and K1, K2.

Unless you want coloured artefacts on the mono text and line illustrations, the mono has to be at best 150 dpi, because it's a 300 dpi mono screen (at best, some are less) with a 2 x 2 pattern of coloured dots.

So I read mono text on my mono eink models (currently 5" to 8") and Coloured content, or PDFs that don't work on 8", on Nxtpaper 11 or Nxtpaper 14.

If you are using the front light on eink, then the Nxtpaper 40 phone, Nxtpaper 11 and Nxtpaper 14 are practically as good. The Sage is only better in sufficient ambient light to have no front light.

I can't remember reading any actual novels that had any colour. Any that have illustrations are mono, and majority only B&W, no greys/half tones.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I've seen two current Onyx Boox color ereaders. For mono under ambient light they are worse than the original Sony ereaders and K1, K2.

Unless you want coloured artefacts on the mono text and line illustrations, the mono has to be at best 150 dpi, because it's a 300 dpi mono screen (at best, some are less) with a 2 x 2 pattern of coloured dots.

So I read mono text on my mono eink models (currently 5" to 8") and Coloured content, or PDFs that don't work on 8", on Nxtpaper 11 or Nxtpaper 14.

If you are using the front light on eink, then the Nxtpaper 40 phone, Nxtpaper 11 and Nxtpaper 14 are practically as good. The Sage is only better in sufficient ambient light to have no front light.

I can't remember reading any actual novels that had any colour. Any that have illustrations are mono, and majority only B&W, no greys/half tones.

No. Colour is 150 ppi. B&W is 300 ppi. You don't see colored artifacts with black and white text. The same number of eink cells are filled for a given letter and font size on a B&W eInk screen of the same size and resolution as a colour one. That's why they all claim 300 ppi B&W. It's really obvious if you compare B&W text with coloured text. The B&W text is noticeably sharper than the coloured text.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

No. Colour is 150 ppi. B&W is 300 ppi. You don't see colored artifacts with black and white text. The same number of eink cells are filled for a given letter and font size on a B&W eInk screen of the same size and resolution as a colour one. That's why they all claim 300 ppi B&W. It's really obvious if you compare B&W text with coloured text. The B&W text is noticeably sharper than the coloured text.

Fantasy.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Fantasy.

https://i.imgur.com/DyaJLak.jpeg

[hildea]

Thanks, all of you! I've decided to go for a black and white Verse Pro. Now I only have to decide if I want red or blue chassis

[nana77]

Perhaps the discussion is solved, but if interested, I saw this video that explains and compares well some colour ereaders: the Pocketbook Colour Inkpad 3
looks very nice besides the others, and compared to the Era.
For B/W the Inkpad 4 seems great, imho

Also a plus for the screen scratch-resistant feature.

[Quoth]

Videos of ebooks screens are useless due to how computer video works. Minimum is png stills.
The Pocketbook Era, physically in my hand in the shop, was good. Better than Oasis 2 or Paperwhite 3. Excellent with no front-light on. Maybe nicer than the discontinued Libra and Libra2 as it has 4 rather than 2 buttons and nicer to hold.

I've seen many ereaders in person inc two color Boox models and the videos are nothing like real life. The Color models are nearly as bad as the Sony I saw in 2007.

Also even photos depend on how good your viewing screen for the Internet is. Most screens are not correctly set up. Most phones and tablets are poor (not all).

[DNSB]

Sadly, the two links point to videos that state that video playback on other sites has been disabled by the owner. I've restored the two links below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVMAdhkcyTc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48GkAfMqGlU

That has become so popular with image sharing sites, not surprising to see that some people are now doing the same with their YouTube videos.