Jetbook's View of e-Ink

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

The Jetbook itself is a perfectly decent device - I just don't trust that matrix.

I don't trust Ectaco. And that means, the Jetbook is out. The Jetbook might be the best 5" screen reader ever, but given the company behind it, I'd never recommend it.

[wodin]

Don't feed the trolls!

[Kralik]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

My concern is with the cherry-picking of the bullet points in their comparison matrix.

First, they're comparing with the Sony 500 and the Kindle 1, neither of which is readily available. The 500 had already been replaced and was out of production when the Jetbook was first released.

Other issues include the idea that E-Ink tires the reader's eye - something that has not been mentioned elsewhere to my knowledge. Yes the display on the 500 is less than perfect - but it had already been replaced by a better device with a better screen by the time the Jetbook was released. It's very misleading and puts any other statements on the website into question.

The Jetbook itself is a perfectly decent device - I just don't trust that matrix.

Why not then rather say that the chart is in desperate need of updating? IMO it needs to now show the jetBook alongside Sony's 5" offering, as well as the Astak Pocket Pro and the Opus. Here's a question: does anyone actually know when that chart was first published? Perhaps it was first made as marketing material before the jetBook's release and while the Sony PRS-500 and Kindle 1 were the latest e-reader devices. Just a thought.

I have seen read people complaining about the e-ink flash and saying it bothers their eyes. But it is a stretch to say that it bothers everyone. Just typical marketing slant.

[Kralik]

Looks like the jetBook was officially released March 2008: About six months after the Sony PRS-505 and a year before the Kindle 2.

[pking36330]

Originally Posted by akira28

I am a little disappointed in your answer.

You, and one other poster within this thread, have pretended not be bashing the device, but whenever the product is mentioned you can't seem help yourselves and go all out bashing the company and not even mention the positive attributes of the product.

I might be tempted to enquire as to why a darker e-ink gray screen meets your "needs" better than a lighter, slightly green one.

You are correct, my response was far too harsh and personal. Me culpa.

I am NOT bashing the device (though certainly bashing their marketing chart). I was on the website to get some size and performance specs to pass to a guy in the office who was thinking of buying a Kindle DX to display his approach plates. Having reviewed the info about the Jetbook and seen one some time ago, I immediately thought of Jetbook as a cheaper alternative to the KDX to provide this limited reference capability the guy was looking for. I planned on sending him a link about Jetbook, but was seriously turned-off by this incorrect and misleading data on their website. Jetbook appears to be a fine device if it meets your needs.

Personal perception, like beauty, must be in the eye of the beholder. You indicate that e-ink screens are darker gray than the lighter green TFT LCD that Jetbook hosts. I don't perceive it the same way and in fact exactly the opposite. But fortunately for the different manufacturers, we are likely to continue to perceive this at polar extremes, and that means the free market has more room to build devices that satisfy each of us (and that's why there are Fords and Chevys). Best of luck with your Jetbook and I hope the device sells well, continues to evolve and improve, and the company thrives. Because ultimately, the more devices available and in users hands, the better it is for me by improving ebook availablity, visibility of the marketspace, and driving industry-wide improvements to hardware and software standards.

All the best.

[Dr. Drib]

I believe it's time now to speak as a Moderator:

Let's be very clear to everyone involved in this thread, and to future newcomers and participants - MobileRead will not tolerate personality bashing. Agree or disagree on anything jetBook or Ectaco, but do it nicely and with courtesy.

Keep personalities out of the mix as discussion moves forward.

Thank you,
Don


Disclosure: I own a jetBook, but I am acting only as a Moderator with this posting.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Kralik

Why not then rather say that the chart is in desperate need of updating?

Because the fact that it would have been outdated even when the Jetbook first came out suggests bad faith.

- Ahi

[Lemurion]

The chart has been up for over a year and has given a completely wrong impression of the Sony device for the entire time.

It also measures the Jetbook's battery life in page turns when that's completely inappropriate for an LCD display since it isn't bistable. Sure you could derive it by dividing the refresh rate into the battery life but it's not a relevant measure the way it is with E-Ink.

This comparison has also been mentioned repeatedly in that time frame. Add in the misinformation about book availability and the impression is less than stellar. At least from my perspective.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I believe it's time now to speak as a Moderator:

Let's be very clear to everyone involved in this thread, and to future newcomers and participants - MobileRead will not tolerate personality bashing. Agree or disagree on anything jetBook or Ectaco, but do it nicely and with courtesy.

Keep personalities out of the mix as discussion moves forward.

Thank you,
Don


Disclosure: I own a jetBook, but I am acting only as a Moderator with this posting.

I just want to say that you guys (i.e.: the MobileRead moderators) are very professional and manage (as far as I'm concerned) to avoid even the perception of abuse of authority. I wish all boards had guardians as great!

- Ahi

[Teyrnon]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

The chart has been up for over a year and has given a completely wrong impression of the Sony device for the entire time.

Any comparison chart produced by the manufacturer should never be trusted. They're always designed to make the manufacturer's product look best. From what I've seen they're never made up by someone who has looked at the competitor's products fairly and in fact are more likely to be based on hearsay more than any factual review. They really should lose the chart altogether as it just makes them look sleazy and petty.

[dmaul1114]

It's a biased take on eInk for sure, given the tech their screens use.

But I do think the value of eInk is over stated by some. Yes, it's a great thing for the avid reader who is reading several hours a day. But it doesn't matter so much for the more casual reader who hardly ever reads for more than 30-60 minutes at a time etc.

I love my Kindle, but I'm so busy and have other hobbies above reading that I generally only read it for 30 minutes or an hour before sleeping a few nights a week. So I could see myself going to some LCD device as I'd love a multi function device that I could surf the net, watch movies, play games etc, and also read books on. Even better if it has a really nice touch screen with a stylus so I can mark up academic PDFs etc.

Some I'm pretty interested in the rumored Apple Tablet, especially if it has access to the Kindle store. But I wouldn't buy one for a few generations until the kinks are worked out and prices drop.

[Kralik]

Originally Posted by Teyrnon

Any comparison chart produced by the manufacturer should never be trusted. They're always designed to make the manufacturer's product look best. From what I've seen they're never made up by someone who has looked at the competitor's products fairly and in fact are more likely to be based on hearsay more than any factual review. They really should lose the chart altogether as it just makes them look sleazy and petty.

Agree 100%.

In a world of (mostly) e-ink, I think they were trying to show people that their non-backlit LCD is a viable alternative. Hence the comparison to page turns (since e-ink measures their battery life in that manner). But it was poorly (and misleadingly) executed. I got the most useful information leading to my jetBook purchase by this forum, and the opinions of satisfied jetBook users. The chart was interesting, but not enough to sway me -- the price was.

How about this: how many pages do you read in an hour? 60? 120? 200?
Let's say you read 200 pages/hour (seems fast to me). The device is supposed to get 20-24 hours of continuous use (never believe manufacturer's battery life claims!) 20 hours * 200 pages/hour = 4000 page turns. Doesn't really rival e-ink in that regard. Even with the jetBook battery being 2800 mAh vs. the typical 1000 mAh.

Oh, and speaking of a "green" screen (though it doesn't appear green to me)... my last device was an EB-1150 -- you've seen that one, haven't you?

[Dr. Drib]

Interesting, about the page turns that Kralik mentions, the jetBook seems to handle a number screens equated to a page turn.

I don't recall having seen this mentioned, although I could be mistaken. I personally don't like it, as I'm not certain how many screens to multiply to equal one page.


Don

[Kralik]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Interesting, about the page turns that Kralik mentions, the jetBook seems to handle a number screens equated to a page turn.

I don't recall having seen this mentioned, although I could be mistaken. I personally don't like it, as I'm not certain how many screens to multiply to equal one page.


Don

Are you talking about how with ePUB you can turn the page a few times before the number changes? This is indeed very odd... it doesn't do it for TXT or for PDF. I haven't tried other formats in depth. Perhaps ECTACO could change this behavior.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Kralik

Are you talking about how with ePUB you can turn the page a few times before the number changes? This is indeed very odd... it doesn't do it for TXT or for PDF. I haven't tried other formats in depth. Perhaps ECTACO could change this behavior.

Yes, but it doesn't seem to be related only to ePubs. Right now, I'm reading a Mobi file (a Richard Prather mystery) that I purchased from Fictionwise.

It appears to be also present on an RTF file (I just now confirmed that, as well.)

It's not really a problem - just an oddity, I suppose.


Don