Questions about device/screen size

ragzy · 06-28-2010, 12:04 PM

Hello!

As I do not own and have not even held a e-reader myself I want to ask the experts here for advice.

I've been contemplating getting one since the release kindle 1, but the availability and range of devices
is still really low in Sweden. I'm currently thinking about buying the Jetbook Lite from ectaco Germany (a 5" device).
Everything seems good enough with this device, but I worry about the size.

I have been browsing this forum for a while and noticed that many of you own more than one device.

For the people that own both 5" and 6" devices and have bought them
both for personal use:
I'm interested in what you have to say about screen size

Which one did you buy first, why did you buy the second device?

For those of you who own a 5" device:

Is the screen big enough to read comfortably from?
Do you find yourself pressing the "next page" button too frequently?
How does the reading experience compare with reading from a normal sized pocket book.
Measuring one, I noticed that a 5" screen would show14 lines less text (37 lines) than the measured pocket
book 51 lines (small text in this book). As this text is rather small, I'd have to make the font a bit bigger and
thus loose a few more lines. Adding one inch would ad about 8 more lines in this example.

What about the size of the whole device from a ergonomic perspective?

Is it comfortable to hold (most devices seem to have roughly the same shape, but lets skip page turning
here since this can be too different from one device to another) for a longer session?
How do you hold the device while reading? (Bonus: 5" vs 6"?).

ty

mr ploppy · 06-28-2010, 02:51 PM

I have a 5" with a mock book cover stuck on with magnets. With a small sans serif font you can fit almost as much text as you would get on a real book page. If I got a bigger one I would probably just use a larger font size, so if you need fairly large text you would be better off going for the bigger screen.

PG4003 · 06-28-2010, 03:11 PM

I am a Kindle 2 owner (6" screen), and after having my Kindle for a couple of months, I bought a Sony PRS300 Pocket Reader (5" screen) mostly for borrowing library books, since the Kindle does not allow that. I have just recently sold my Sony 5" reader and ordered a Nook WiFi, which will have a 6" screen, same as Kindle, and allows borrowing of library books. I sold my Sony Pocket Reader with the 5" screen because -
1. The 5" screen just seemed so small, after I was used to reading on the Kindle 6" screen. I didn't feel like the page turns were excessive, but were noticeably slower than on the Kindle.
2. I like having the Next Page buttons on each side of the device. My Sony Pocket Reader had one round control button in the center at the bottom, and I found it hard to read one-handed like that, it was hard to hold it and reach across with my thumb to press the button for page turns.

Maybe if I had never read on a Kindle, the 5" Sony Reader would have been satisfactory, but since I was used to the 6" screen on the Kindle, I found the 5" to be too small. If I were making a recommendation to someone, and if you can afford it, I would definitely say get a 6" screen.

maxbookworm · 06-28-2010, 03:21 PM

I have to first caveat this by mentioning that before I bought an ereader, I was reading ebooks off of a Palm Pilot and then an iPod Touch.

That said, when I got my PRS-300 with the 5” screen, I was more than happy with the screen size, even though, with the font size choices I was using, I was actually reading more text per page on the iPod Touch than the Sony (lol). Of course, the font is physically much bigger and *much* more comfortable to read.

Yes, you have to flip the page fairly often on a 5” screen. However, all it takes to flip the page is a button press. For me, the way I hold the Sony, my thumb rests right on the button, so it takes almost no movement or effort to change the page. So flipping pages a lot is really not a big deal.

Now, I also have an Astak Mentor to read from, which has a 6” screen, and yes, that is even nicer, since more text displays per page. The 6” screen does cut down on portability, though, so if I were to limit myself to one reader, I would choose a 5” (more portable, and not a lot of loss of readability, in my opinion).

With both devices, I tend to read one-handed, using my left hand. With the Astak, because of the button placement, that means I read in landscape mode.

Finally, I find it best not to compare the reading experience to a physical book. It’s just not an apples-to-apples comparison. Because of the reduced contrast between background and text, you would probably not be comfortable reading on an e-ink screen at the same font size as a physical book (at least, that’s my experience), but that hardly matters as the content is still delivered to you in a perfectly readable format, and the physical movement involved in changing pages is so minimal.

Mickey330 · 06-28-2010, 03:39 PM

I have a Pocketbook 360, which has a 5" screen. Yes, it's small - especially when I compare it to my Irex DR800SG.

In FBreader, which is my primary reading software on the PB360, I've got my font set at 30 pitch, which is pretty big (but then, I like big fonts, what with my pitifully bad eyes). That gives me 18 lines of text on the screen. Yeah, not so much for displaying lots of text.

But.

I do not notice having to turn the pages all that often. Honest! Once I am in the book, it just flows. Plus, I have FBreader set up to only refresh the screen every six page turns (you can set it higher or lower), so the pages turn very quickly.

The bennies of the smaller reader is the weight. Instead of always trying to find a way for my hand to be comfortable supporting a book, be it a paperback or a hard cover, AND be able to turn a page with the other hand, I merely press a button. Big difference.

Yeah, a big screen is nice. But, having a smaller device just makes it easy to settle in for a long session of reading (and I read for 4-5+ hours at a time). My reader fits comfortably in one hand, with a page-turning button readily available to either thumb. Or, I can prop it on the sofa arm and use my forefinger. Regardless, the ability to just use a button to turn the page makes you forget that you ARE turning so many pages. If that makes any sense...

So, in a nutshell, yes, you will turn the page a lot more with a 5" screen (especially if you have a larger font size). But, if the novel is good, you really won't notice it.

Hope that helps.

Marilyn

Terisa de morgan · 06-28-2010, 03:46 PM

I try to answer you according to my experience: I have a Cybook Gen3 (6") and a Cybook Opus (5"), and I've been two years reading in a Palm.

For the people that own both 5" and 6" devices and have bought them
both for personal use:

Which one did you buy first, why did you buy the second device?

I bought first the Gen3 and later the Opus because I prefer the portability (I buy my bags according to the device I use to read and I can't buy big bags because of my back).

For those of you who own a 5" device:

Is the screen big enough to read comfortably from?
Yes, of course, I've been reading at a Palm after all
Do you find yourself pressing the "next page" button too frequently?
Define "too frequently". See answer before.
How does the reading experience compare with reading from a normal sized pocket book.
Measuring one, I noticed that a 5" screen would show14 lines less text (37 lines) than the measured pocket book 51 lines (small text in this book). As this text is rather small, I'd have to make the font a bit bigger and thus loose a few more lines. Adding one inch would ad about 8 more lines in this example.
Better, the reader weights less. Sorry but I don't count lines, I read.

What about the size of the whole device from a ergonomic perspective?

Is it comfortable to hold (most devices seem to have roughly the same shape, but lets skip page turning here since this can be too different from one device to another) for a longer session?
Well, I've been reading about two hours or more without problem, so I think it's comfortable.
How do you hold the device while reading? (Bonus: 5" vs 6"?).
In this, 5" is better than 6". 6" device, I can't get it with a hand, 5" yes. So, for traveling Opus is better for me because I can rotate 180% and hold it with left or right hand depending on how I hold myself.

fjtorres · 06-28-2010, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ragzy

[LEFT]
For the people that own both 5" and 6" devices and have bought them
both for personal use:
I'm interested in what you have to say about screen size[LIST][*]Which one did you buy first, why did you buy the second device?

I bought the 6" model first simply because it was the only size available.
As I used it I found that the software stability issues were *not* being addressed by the vendor and the vendor u-turned on DRM-support, abandoning the Mobipocket support that was one of the criteria by which I'd chosen that specific model.
I bought the 5" model because reviews here convinced me the firmware was more stable, more flexible, and better in tune to my needs. Also because the hardware appeared to be more ergonomic (it is), sturdier (ditto), and more convenient to carry around (and then some!).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ragzy

For those of you who own a 5" device:[LIST][*]Is the screen big enough to read comfortably from? [*]Do you find yourself pressing the "next page" button too frequently?[*]How does the reading experience compare with reading from a normal sized pocket book.

1- Yes, the screen is big enough to read on comfortably. It helps that the firmware lets me set my own margins, line-spacing, margins, font face, and font size in 1-point increments. It also helps that I can turn off page numbers and status bars and other distractions. The display is just nicely formatted text.

2- I don't think so. The immersion factor on a well-engineered reader means you lose track of page turns; all you really keep track of is the flow of the narrative. Part of this is that I have the page turn function assigned to a button that lies right under my thumb as I hold the reader, so turning pages is strictly a matter of a momentary increase of thumb pressure. That is one reason I *despise* touchscreens and page-swipe interfaces; too much effort in turning a page. The perfect ereader (and its coming) will track my eyes and automatically page as I reach the bottom of the page.

3- Favorably. It would have to be a very thin paperback to weigh in lighter than my reader. And most paperbacks are 3-4 times as thick. My 5" reader is exactly the size of a CD jewel case and about the same weight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ragzy

Is it comfortable to hold (most devices seem to have roughly the same shape, but lets skip page turning here since this can be too different from one device to another) for a longer session?
How do you hold the device while reading? (Bonus: 5" vs 6"?).

ty

1- Yes, I can comfortably hold it in either hand for extended periods. (The reader being symmetrical means I can rotate the screen display to account for a left- or right-handed grip and still keep my thumb on the paging button.

2- I hold it by resting the bottom edge atop my small finger, resting my thumb atop the paging button, and the other three fingers behind. The reader has a ridge running horizontally at the middle that falls right under my middle finger if I don't have the snap-on cover on the rear. Otherwise the texture of the cover provides the extra grip so it can't slip. It has a lot of subtle ergo touches I've not seen on either of my two 6" readers (I also own a Kindle but that's a different story) or their competitors.

Personally, and this is just me, most likely; I find 6" readers to be sub-optimal. They don't offer enough extra reading area to justify the loss of portability and added bulk vs the 5" models (which fit safely in my front pants pocket). Most also waste valuable surface area that would be better devoted to text display on keyboards, button pads or other interface touches that can just as easily be provided by a simple 5-way actuator. (Too many Kindle-wannabes and too few devoting any thought to actual human factors engineering.)
For bigger than 5" reading, I'm still not sure if the 7" wide-LCD format of the coming Android tablets would be better than the 8-9 inch 4x3 format eink readers. For my next purchase I'm keeping an eye out on the 9-in class of readers (for strictly in-house reading) but I might as easily buy another 5incher instead. 6 inchers? I seriously doubt it.

In other words: I really like the 5" form factor.

tvpupsik · 06-29-2010, 07:51 PM

I have two 6" readers and one 5" (all PocketBook models of course

) and for me a light weighted 6" reader which can be easily held and managed by one hand is more preferable for long reading sessions over 5" one.

J. Strnad · 06-30-2010, 12:22 AM

The 6" Kobo reader is excellent for one-handed reading IF YOU'RE RIGHT-HANDED. It's very light.

I tried 5" screens in the store and just thought they were too small.

I'm starting to enjoy smaller pages of text with larger type, and I might not find the 5" as objectionable anymore. Once I got past the notion that ebook reading should mimic print book reading, I felt freer to experiment with type size and words-per-screen. EPUB gives you this flexibility. It's one of the reasons I'm so fond of ereading.

GhostHawk · 06-30-2010, 08:44 AM

I have both a Jetbook, and a Jetbook Lite. As to your questions....

* Is the screen big enough to read comfortably from?

I think the screen is just fine to read comfortably with.
* Do you find yourself pressing the "next page" button too frequently?

Too frequently? LOL do you turn the pages of pbooks too frequently?
When you run out of words, you push the button, period.
* How does the reading experience compare with reading from a normal sized pocket book.
Measuring one, I noticed that a 5" screen would show14 lines less text (37 lines) than the measured pocket
book 51 lines (small text in this book). As this text is rather small, I'd have to make the font a bit bigger and
thus loose a few more lines. Adding one inch would ad about 8 more lines in this example.

Does it really matter? I do read in landscape mode, as that gives me longer lines which to me are easier to read. I'd be willing to bet that by your 2nd or 3rd ebook the whole process will have become automatic and you won't even think about it anymore.
Books just "flow" on the page and the reader is just the delivery system.

To me the decision of which reader to buy reflects more about what you read and where you expect to get your books. If you want to read the latest releases you may be better off getting something like a kindle or sony.

However if your ok with reading public domain books or the other free books out there, then I really can't recommend either of the Jetbook's highly enough.

You might want to browse through the Jetbook forum here at MR for some of the older threads. Lots of good hints, and tips in there, as well as some pictures and comparisions.

Sweetpea · 06-30-2010, 09:00 AM

I use a 3.4", a 5" and a 7" reader. Yes, I do turn pages more often on my 5", but I don't really notice it. The device has paging buttons on the right, left and bottom side, so, the pushing goes automatically and I don't have to switch positions.

My 3.4" is the older, then the 7" and finally I bought the 5". I bought it mostly because it's e-ink (the other two are LCD-based), and I figured 6" would be too large to take with me comfortably.

And how I hold my device? Depends on where I am. In bed, I often hold the device by its side, in the hammock on the bottom, when I'm eating, I often prop it up against something, and it's usually standing propped up against my monitor when I'm sitting behind my PC.

ragzy · 06-30-2010, 01:17 PM

Thanx for your replys everyone. As most of you has confirmed here the page turning and amount of text fitted on the screen doesn't seem to be much to worry about.

I apologize for the "weird" questions, but they do come form a guy who has never touched an e-reader before.=)

It seems to be more comfortable to read from these devices that reading from a book, which sounds great.

I would like to be able to read programming and other IT books in pdf format (or formated properly in a format that would be easy to convert the pfd to, all for a reasonable price of around $200 (no other bells and whistles needed). But this seems to be impossible at the time.

At he same time programming and similar types of books are not read in the same way as ordinary books and might not even be suitable to read in this manner. Of course I read other books new and old and that is what I'm planning to use the e-reader for.

As with everything else you cant get it all in one package for a nice price and I guess that is why so many of you guys here own more than one device.

Robertb · 06-30-2010, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ragzy

Thanx for your replys everyone. As most of you has confirmed here the page turning and amount of text fitted on the screen doesn't seem to be much to worry about.

I apologize for the "weird" questions, but they do come form a guy who has never touched an e-reader before.=)

It seems to be more comfortable to read from these devices that reading from a book, which sounds great.

I would like to be able to read programming and other IT books in pdf format (or formated properly in a format that would be easy to convert the pfd to, all for a reasonable price of around $200 (no other bells and whistles needed). But this seems to be impossible at the time.

At he same time programming and similar types of books are not read in the same way as ordinary books and might not even be suitable to read in this manner. Of course I read other books new and old and that is what I'm planning to use the e-reader for.

As with everything else you cant get it all in one package for a nice price and I guess that is why so many of you guys here own more than one device.

Dear Ragzy:

I am not allowed to advertise on here, but I can say that I work for an eBook Reader manufactruer/seller and we sell both 6 inch and 5 inch. The 6 inch came first and all devices were essentially 6 inch 1.2 years ago. Then Sony and Astak and a few others came out with 5 inch. I worried how people would react to the "small screen".

Ragzy, after a year I can say that people LOVE the 5 inch. They have daily been on my forum and there has been ONLY comments about the great features and about the size and about the ergonomics. The smaller screen reads just fine and presents no problems. WHY they love 5 inch is that it weighs 5.8 ounces and fits into a jacket pocket or lady's clutch purse. You can carry it anywhere and put it out-of-site easily. It is not cumbersome.

The point I am making is do not at all worry about the 5 inch screen readability... but be aware of the advantages of a 5 inch device as far as weigh, size, and carrying it around. Make sure your device you are thinking about has E-Ink. I doubt the model you mentioned has this. Backlit devices cost less but also only give 12-14 hours to a full battery charge. Most E-Ink devices allow you to read three novels on one charge and most feel they cause no eye strain and they allow reading in bright sunlight or indoors. I would recommend you pay more attention to the type of screen and E-Ink screens are outstanding!

theducks · 06-30-2010, 11:08 PM

If you reduce the on screen margins, the width of text on a 5" device is the SAME as a standard paperback text area, just a tad short on the 3:4 ratio vs 9:16 ratio of the paper version

Need larger text, go for the 6". the resolution per inch is not that much different and grey scale levels are improving for (mono-chrome) images.

06-28-2010, 12:04 PM	#1
ragzy Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Mini	Questions about device/screen size Hello! As I do not own and have not even held a e-reader myself I want to ask the experts here for advice. I've been contemplating getting one since the release kindle 1, but the availability and range of devices is still really low in Sweden. I'm currently thinking about buying the Jetbook Lite from ectaco Germany (a 5" device). Everything seems good enough with this device, but I worry about the size. I have been browsing this forum for a while and noticed that many of you own more than one device. For the people that own both 5" and 6" devices and have bought them both for personal use: I'm interested in what you have to say about screen size Which one did you buy first, why did you buy the second device? For those of you who own a 5" device: Is the screen big enough to read comfortably from? Do you find yourself pressing the "next page" button too frequently? How does the reading experience compare with reading from a normal sized pocket book. Measuring one, I noticed that a 5" screen would show14 lines less text (37 lines) than the measured pocket book 51 lines (small text in this book). As this text is rather small, I'd have to make the font a bit bigger and thus loose a few more lines. Adding one inch would ad about 8 more lines in this example. What about the size of the whole device from a ergonomic perspective? Is it comfortable to hold (most devices seem to have roughly the same shape, but lets skip page turning here since this can be too different from one device to another) for a longer session? How do you hold the device while reading? (Bonus: 5" vs 6"?). ty

06-28-2010, 03:46 PM	#6
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,581 Karma: 12595249 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	I try to answer you according to my experience: I have a Cybook Gen3 (6") and a Cybook Opus (5"), and I've been two years reading in a Palm. For the people that own both 5" and 6" devices and have bought them both for personal use: Which one did you buy first, why did you buy the second device? I bought first the Gen3 and later the Opus because I prefer the portability (I buy my bags according to the device I use to read and I can't buy big bags because of my back). For those of you who own a 5" device: Is the screen big enough to read comfortably from? Yes, of course, I've been reading at a Palm after all Do you find yourself pressing the "next page" button too frequently? Define "too frequently". See answer before. How does the reading experience compare with reading from a normal sized pocket book. Measuring one, I noticed that a 5" screen would show14 lines less text (37 lines) than the measured pocket book 51 lines (small text in this book). As this text is rather small, I'd have to make the font a bit bigger and thus loose a few more lines. Adding one inch would ad about 8 more lines in this example. Better, the reader weights less. Sorry but I don't count lines, I read. What about the size of the whole device from a ergonomic perspective? Is it comfortable to hold (most devices seem to have roughly the same shape, but lets skip page turning here since this can be too different from one device to another) for a longer session? Well, I've been reading about two hours or more without problem, so I think it's comfortable. How do you hold the device while reading? (Bonus: 5" vs 6"?). In this, 5" is better than 6". 6" device, I can't get it with a hand, 5" yes. So, for traveling Opus is better for me because I can rotate 180% and hold it with left or right hand depending on how I hold myself. Last edited by Terisa de morgan; 06-28-2010 at 03:50 PM.

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06-28-2010, 02:51 PM	#2
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	I have a 5" with a mock book cover stuck on with magnets. With a small sans serif font you can fit almost as much text as you would get on a real book page. If I got a bigger one I would probably just use a larger font size, so if you need fairly large text you would be better off going for the bigger screen.

06-28-2010, 03:11 PM	#3
PG4003 Addict Posts: 381 Karma: 987250 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Kentucky Device: Kindle PW I & II, Kindle Voyage, Fire HD 7", Fire HD 8.9"	I am a Kindle 2 owner (6" screen), and after having my Kindle for a couple of months, I bought a Sony PRS300 Pocket Reader (5" screen) mostly for borrowing library books, since the Kindle does not allow that. I have just recently sold my Sony 5" reader and ordered a Nook WiFi, which will have a 6" screen, same as Kindle, and allows borrowing of library books. I sold my Sony Pocket Reader with the 5" screen because - 1. The 5" screen just seemed so small, after I was used to reading on the Kindle 6" screen. I didn't feel like the page turns were excessive, but were noticeably slower than on the Kindle. 2. I like having the Next Page buttons on each side of the device. My Sony Pocket Reader had one round control button in the center at the bottom, and I found it hard to read one-handed like that, it was hard to hold it and reach across with my thumb to press the button for page turns. Maybe if I had never read on a Kindle, the 5" Sony Reader would have been satisfactory, but since I was used to the 6" screen on the Kindle, I found the 5" to be too small. If I were making a recommendation to someone, and if you can afford it, I would definitely say get a 6" screen.

06-28-2010, 03:21 PM	#4
maxbookworm Addict Posts: 372 Karma: 1122865 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle Voyage, Galaxy Note 2	I have to first caveat this by mentioning that before I bought an ereader, I was reading ebooks off of a Palm Pilot and then an iPod Touch. That said, when I got my PRS-300 with the 5” screen, I was more than happy with the screen size, even though, with the font size choices I was using, I was actually reading more text per page on the iPod Touch than the Sony (lol). Of course, the font is physically much bigger and much more comfortable to read. Yes, you have to flip the page fairly often on a 5” screen. However, all it takes to flip the page is a button press. For me, the way I hold the Sony, my thumb rests right on the button, so it takes almost no movement or effort to change the page. So flipping pages a lot is really not a big deal. Now, I also have an Astak Mentor to read from, which has a 6” screen, and yes, that is even nicer, since more text displays per page. The 6” screen does cut down on portability, though, so if I were to limit myself to one reader, I would choose a 5” (more portable, and not a lot of loss of readability, in my opinion). With both devices, I tend to read one-handed, using my left hand. With the Astak, because of the button placement, that means I read in landscape mode. Finally, I find it best not to compare the reading experience to a physical book. It’s just not an apples-to-apples comparison. Because of the reduced contrast between background and text, you would probably not be comfortable reading on an e-ink screen at the same font size as a physical book (at least, that’s my experience), but that hardly matters as the content is still delivered to you in a perfectly readable format, and the physical movement involved in changing pages is so minimal.

06-28-2010, 03:39 PM	#5
Mickey330 Addict Posts: 378 Karma: 1107420 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Western New York state (USA) Device: Kindle Oasis & the Kindle app on iDevices	I have a Pocketbook 360, which has a 5" screen. Yes, it's small - especially when I compare it to my Irex DR800SG. In FBreader, which is my primary reading software on the PB360, I've got my font set at 30 pitch, which is pretty big (but then, I like big fonts, what with my pitifully bad eyes). That gives me 18 lines of text on the screen. Yeah, not so much for displaying lots of text. But. I do not notice having to turn the pages all that often. Honest! Once I am in the book, it just flows. Plus, I have FBreader set up to only refresh the screen every six page turns (you can set it higher or lower), so the pages turn very quickly. The bennies of the smaller reader is the weight. Instead of always trying to find a way for my hand to be comfortable supporting a book, be it a paperback or a hard cover, AND be able to turn a page with the other hand, I merely press a button. Big difference. Yeah, a big screen is nice. But, having a smaller device just makes it easy to settle in for a long session of reading (and I read for 4-5+ hours at a time). My reader fits comfortably in one hand, with a page-turning button readily available to either thumb. Or, I can prop it on the sofa arm and use my forefinger. Regardless, the ability to just use a button to turn the page makes you forget that you ARE turning so many pages. If that makes any sense... So, in a nutshell, yes, you will turn the page a lot more with a 5" screen (especially if you have a larger font size). But, if the novel is good, you really won't notice it. Hope that helps. Marilyn

06-29-2010, 07:51 PM	#8
tvpupsik Addict Posts: 203 Karma: 502 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO Device: PB 360, PB 602, PB IQ	I have two 6" readers and one 5" (all PocketBook models of course ) and for me a light weighted 6" reader which can be easily held and managed by one hand is more preferable for long reading sessions over 5" one.

06-30-2010, 12:22 AM	#9
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	The 6" Kobo reader is excellent for one-handed reading IF YOU'RE RIGHT-HANDED. It's very light. I tried 5" screens in the store and just thought they were too small. I'm starting to enjoy smaller pages of text with larger type, and I might not find the 5" as objectionable anymore. Once I got past the notion that ebook reading should mimic print book reading, I felt freer to experiment with type size and words-per-screen. EPUB gives you this flexibility. It's one of the reasons I'm so fond of ereading.

06-30-2010, 08:44 AM	#10
GhostHawk Data Privateer! Posts: 586 Karma: 62887 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fargo ND Device: Ectaco Jetbook& Jetbook Lite	I have both a Jetbook, and a Jetbook Lite. As to your questions.... * Is the screen big enough to read comfortably from? I think the screen is just fine to read comfortably with. * Do you find yourself pressing the "next page" button too frequently? Too frequently? LOL do you turn the pages of pbooks too frequently? When you run out of words, you push the button, period. * How does the reading experience compare with reading from a normal sized pocket book. Measuring one, I noticed that a 5" screen would show14 lines less text (37 lines) than the measured pocket book 51 lines (small text in this book). As this text is rather small, I'd have to make the font a bit bigger and thus loose a few more lines. Adding one inch would ad about 8 more lines in this example. Does it really matter? I do read in landscape mode, as that gives me longer lines which to me are easier to read. I'd be willing to bet that by your 2nd or 3rd ebook the whole process will have become automatic and you won't even think about it anymore. Books just "flow" on the page and the reader is just the delivery system. To me the decision of which reader to buy reflects more about what you read and where you expect to get your books. If you want to read the latest releases you may be better off getting something like a kindle or sony. However if your ok with reading public domain books or the other free books out there, then I really can't recommend either of the Jetbook's highly enough. You might want to browse through the Jetbook forum here at MR for some of the older threads. Lots of good hints, and tips in there, as well as some pictures and comparisions.

06-30-2010, 09:00 AM	#11
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I use a 3.4", a 5" and a 7" reader. Yes, I do turn pages more often on my 5", but I don't really notice it. The device has paging buttons on the right, left and bottom side, so, the pushing goes automatically and I don't have to switch positions. My 3.4" is the older, then the 7" and finally I bought the 5". I bought it mostly because it's e-ink (the other two are LCD-based), and I figured 6" would be too large to take with me comfortably. And how I hold my device? Depends on where I am. In bed, I often hold the device by its side, in the hammock on the bottom, when I'm eating, I often prop it up against something, and it's usually standing propped up against my monitor when I'm sitting behind my PC.

06-30-2010, 01:17 PM	#12
ragzy Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Mini	Thanx for your replys everyone. As most of you has confirmed here the page turning and amount of text fitted on the screen doesn't seem to be much to worry about. I apologize for the "weird" questions, but they do come form a guy who has never touched an e-reader before.=) It seems to be more comfortable to read from these devices that reading from a book, which sounds great. I would like to be able to read programming and other IT books in pdf format (or formated properly in a format that would be easy to convert the pfd to, all for a reasonable price of around $200 (no other bells and whistles needed). But this seems to be impossible at the time. At he same time programming and similar types of books are not read in the same way as ordinary books and might not even be suitable to read in this manner. Of course I read other books new and old and that is what I'm planning to use the e-reader for. As with everything else you cant get it all in one package for a nice price and I guess that is why so many of you guys here own more than one device.

06-30-2010, 11:08 PM	#14
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,887 Karma: 59840450 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	If you reduce the on screen margins, the width of text on a 5" device is the SAME as a standard paperback text area, just a tad short on the 3:4 ratio vs 9:16 ratio of the paper version Need larger text, go for the 6". the resolution per inch is not that much different and grey scale levels are improving for (mono-chrome) images.