Dedicated E-Readers: They're History

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by BenLee

But the scientific evidence would be interesting just to know which screen is potentially doing more harm to my eyes. It could turn out that e-ink, for whatever reason, is slowly damaging my eyes over time. Science doesn't always give the answers we'd like.

Exactly why I asked my original question. I simply would like to be informed or to at least have that information to be available if I wish to study it.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by BenLee

That's a good point. I think it ultimately just comes down to what you personally like and what's out on the market. But the scientific evidence would be interesting just to know which screen is potentially doing more harm to my eyes. It could turn out that e-ink, for whatever reason, is slowly damaging my eyes over time. Science doesn't always give the answers we'd like.

Lol. My Mom has nagged me since childhood about reading too much, saying I would go blind. My reply: I'll learn braille.

[mdmorrissey]

I wouldn't hold my breath for "scientific" studies proving anything. With all the different commercial interests involved, there is "science" for whatever you want to push. What ticks me off is the constant drive for "new and better," which is always "new and maybe a little better but much more expensive and with additional flaws." That's ok, of course, but I wish there were some people who would concentrate on perfecting the technologies that are already tried and true. I don't need a cell phone that will fix dinner for me, and I don't need a laptop or tablet that uses e-ink (or the equivalent), not at least for many years until the price becomes affordable. E-ink readers are too expensive now. But the technology is there. Improve them and reduce the price is the way I hope things will go, but they won't. They will keep adding crap to keep the price up. Phooey. I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop that I can carry around, and if I can get my Pocketbook 360 to work the way it's supposed to, I'm happy.

[RyanMWilliams]

I find the whole LCD vs e-ink discussion to be fascinating. I'm just glad so many people are reading! None of my Palm OS devices had e-ink and I doubt they were the best screens to read on but I never had any problem. My biggest frustration with them was battery life. Now I think the e-ink looks great but the battery life savings is still one of the benefits. I always plugged in the Palm OS devices each night but there were still some days I had to stop reading because I'd run the battery too low.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by RyanMWilliams

I find the whole LCD vs e-ink discussion to be fascinating. I'm just glad so many people are reading! None of my Palm OS devices had e-ink and I doubt they were the best screens to read on but I never had any problem. My biggest frustration with them was battery life. Now I think the e-ink looks great but the battery life savings is still one of the benefits. I always plugged in the Palm OS devices each night but there were still some days I had to stop reading because I'd run the battery too low.

Same here! Which prompted me to buy my e-ink device. So I could read, during the day, wherever I wanted, however long I wanted. The limited battery life on my LCD device doesn't bother me, when I read at night. Actually, it's often a saviour of my sleep!

[John F]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I think you missed something. I disagreed with an absolute statement, not with a personally expressed opinion.

...

Nope, I just took his post as his opinion, your post as your opinion, and I just posted my opinion. Just having a little fun.

[nashira]

I read on my ipod touch and my laptop and it's generally fine, though I would prefer something less lit up.

...Though I would like some way to explain to bookreaders en masse that ebooks aren't out to eat your soul and not all devices are LCD/Backlit/Like Staring at a Light All The Time.

I ran into another book forum earlier and I nearly joined just to point out there are several different technologies present or coming up that aren't like current LCD's (which they seemed to hate the idea of reading on. I don't mind most of the time, as I said).

[BenLee]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

Lol. My Mom has nagged me since childhood about reading too much, saying I would go blind. My reply: I'll learn braille.

Err...I like reading too, but I wouldn't go blind for it

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by BenLee

Err...I like reading too, but I wouldn't go blind for it

Just kidding. I take those kinda "warnings" as a joke, as I do e-ink fans' cautions about LCD. When I want eye care advice, I go to my eye doc. I earn my living with my eyes, so I take good care of 'em -- regular exams, limited direct sunlight to eyes, etc.

E-ink fans will warn about LCD and then tout e-ink reading in direct sunlight. From what I understand about eyes, reading in direct sunlight can contribute to cataracts.

[BenLee]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

Just kidding. I take those kinda "warnings" as a joke, as I do e-ink fans' cautions about LCD. When I want eye care advice, I go to my eye doc. I earn my living with my eyes, so I take good care of 'em -- regular exams, limited direct sunlight to eyes, etc.

E-ink fans will warn about LCD and then tout e-ink reading in direct sunlight. From what I understand about eyes, reading in direct sunlight can contribute to cataracts.

I like reading outdoors, but not under direct sunlight. That is probably the fastest route to skin cancer one can take.

Have any e-ink fans been "warning" about LCD around lately?

[TallMomof2]

LCD vs eInk debate reminds me of the differences between my DH and myself as regards to comfort and ergonomics. I bought him a very nice task chair that he ended up hating because he likes extra firm support where I prefer softer support. I ended up with the task chair and reupholstered an armless dining room chair for his home office. The seat is very firm (basically high density foam and batting over a wood board) and the back is curved wood and he's very happy. We have a bed that allows us to individually adjust the firmness of each side. He has his side set at 100% and my side is at 40%. It's simply a matter of personal preference.

Same with LCD and eInk. I prefer eInk and hope that it or a similar technology is around for a long time.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

E-ink fans will warn about LCD and then tout e-ink reading in direct sunlight. From what I understand about eyes, reading in direct sunlight can contribute to cataracts.

Both displays have issues in direct sunlight. LCD cannot be read well, e-ink fades. As an Aussie, I stay out of sunlight as much as possible and read inside. Skin cancers run strong in my family, both my maternal grandmother and my aunt dying from melanomas.

Naturally, the benefit of reading inside means I can chose any display type as required. I do prefer e-ink though as it is more comfortable for my eyes.

[Dulin's Books]

e-ink does not fade due to sunlight.

the fading issues were from a bad production run and were a problem with the TFT layer of the display and not the e-ink film.

It was a quality control problem and has since been fixed. Displays produced before and after that production run do not experience fading in sunlight.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

e-ink does not fade due to sunlight.

the fading issues were from a bad production run and were a problem with the TFT layer of the display and not the e-ink film.

It was a quality control problem and has since been fixed. Displays produced before and after that production run do not experience fading in sunlight.

Yep. Know that thanks...

Where I live, sunlight is very bright and either display does get very hard to read simply due to that. My apologies, I should have clarified that far better than I did.

I cannot even read a dead tree publication in direct sun as it is too bright.

[Dulin's Books]

agreed- i cant read it direct sunlight either- prefer being outside but slightly shaded