6" ain't big enough. - Page 2

CazMar · 08-06-2011, 03:41 AM

I would also like a bigger screen for reading PDF files, but carrying a bigger device would discount a lot of the ebook reader's portability. It just has to be trade-off. Remember the gigantic "portable" sound systems of the 80's compared with a modern MP3 player?

rhadin · 08-06-2011, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charleski

So, if that's what you want, it's [the Sony 950] available to buy (for a bit more money).

And well worth the "bit more money"! I'd spend the premium again on the 950 if I needed another ereader.

My Sony 950 has caused me to decrease the number of pbooks I buy for my library and because I enjoy the reading experience greatly, it has caused me to purchase both p and e versions of nonfiction books, rather than just the p version. (The p version gets put in my library and I read the e version, using the p version just for figures, charts, and the other things that do not seem to work well on ereaders yet).

Pablo · 08-06-2011, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhadin

And well worth the "bit more money"! I'd spend the premium again on the 950 if I needed another ereader.

I agree!!! A friend of mine has the 950 and I can say it's a fantastic device. I would buy one for myself, but it seems it's out of stock everywhere.

patrickt · 08-06-2011, 08:24 AM

A. I agree with those who say a 6" screen is adequate.
B. Anyone who thinks an ereader at triple the price is "a bit more" must be using Apple computers.

I had never seen an ereader, and it didn't look like I would, and since I don't see well I ordered the Kindle DX. I liked it but it was awkward to carry around. Of course, less than a month after I got the DX I saw a standard K2 and was amazed that I could read it quite well. So, sold my DX and now I have a Kindle 3. Works for me, too.

kacir · 08-06-2011, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

I don't know how everybody settled on 6", but it's pathetically small. Not even the size of a mmpb,

I had 6" reader previously and I was very satisfied with the amount of text on a screen.
Now I have highly configurable reader with 5" screen and I am very, VERY happy with the size. Plus, it fits in my pocket.
There is absolutely NO reason for having an insanely large margin on the text on an e-ink reader. The bezel on device provides "margin". I know what I am talking about, having used passive LCD and e-ink readers for more than 10 years.

A friend of mine raised the same question the other day.
I have made a paper "model" of 6" screen, with the text exactly the size that I am using on a reader and with very narrow margin around the text. Then I grabbed several paperbacks I had laying around and when I placed my 6" paper model on the page, my friend was extremely surprised to see that the width of the screen is the same as the width of text on paper page.

If you take time to learn some things about typography, you can find out that there is optimal number of characters on line(*) for the best readability. If the lines are too short there are very few words on page, and the right margin is too ragged (in case the text is left justified) or the distances between words are too inconsistent (in case the text is fully justified). Also, your eye has to move to the next line too often. On the other hand if you have 24 inch wide-screen monitor and if you display text on full width, the text is almost unreadable, because as your eye travels back to the beginning of the next line you loose vertical position and also because you eye needs more than 3 "jumps" to scan the text.

(*) the most widely accepted number for optimum line width is 55 - 75 characters, in practice it is up to 85 characters.
Just grab a random book (**) and count number of characters on average line.

(**) the older the better, because nowadays everyone that can use MSWord at beginner level considers himself/herself a typographer and the books are churned as quickly as possible, with as small budget as possible.

OtterBooks · 08-06-2011, 08:50 AM

I've always thought that 6.25" would be about perfect.

kacir · 08-06-2011, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Just gotta teach the brain how to do it. While the left eye is reading the left page, ...

Kim Peek was able to do just that.
Except he was able to do the [left-eye, right-eye] reading simultaneously and he was able to recall astonishing number of facts many years later. Sadly, he was unable to button up his shirt or brush his teeth. Everything comes with a price.

abookreader · 08-06-2011, 09:39 AM

Just another example of one size doesn't fit all.

lestatar · 08-06-2011, 09:59 AM

It ain't the size of the ship...It's the motion of your eyeballs

macdonald79 · 08-06-2011, 10:03 AM

Six inches is the perfect size for reading text. Ideally, I'd like to have two ereaders: a 6" screen for general reader, and a much larger screen for graphic novels, photobooks, etc.

lestatar · 08-06-2011, 10:36 AM

^ Yeah.

Seriously, IMO the K3/Nook/Sony/etc 6" screens are just fine for normal book reading [99.9% of what I read at least]. The associated form factor is also just about right as well. The 2 page display thing is something I can understand but I do think the size compromise at present is pretty OK.

SCION · 08-06-2011, 10:41 AM

I prefer the size of the Sony 900/950. You constantly notice the difference when you go back to 6".

rhadin · 08-06-2011, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCION

I prefer the size of the Sony 900/950. You constantly notice the difference when you go back to 6".

I agree. Every time I look at my Sony 505's 6-inch screen, I notice the difference and prefer my 950's 7-inch screen. Fortunately, my wife loves the 505 and refuses to give me access to it except to side load books for her.

Barty · 08-06-2011, 11:38 AM

The 950 is too rich for my blood.

I want to see a 7" screen in the same form factor as the kindle 3. It can be done by removing the keyboard, and perhaps using a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio, while keeping the price under $200. Alas no one seems willing to differentiate themselves beside Sony.

I've already eliminated the margins on my kindle and use my own custom font with carefully tweaked size and weight for my eyes. I use pretty big font and only get around 40 chars across. The dx may be good for my eyes, but not so much my hand and pocketbook.

teadonkey · 08-06-2011, 11:48 AM

I think there will always be something for some people to complain about.

That said, I have noticed sometimes when I turn the page on my Kindle, I think to myself "drat I'll have to do that again in a few moments." I guess a bigger screen size would help with that, but it's definitely not a big enough problem to warrant shelling out extra money.

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08-06-2011, 03:41 AM	#16
CazMar Book Geek Posts: 596 Karma: 1499085 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Adelaide, Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Asus MemPad 7" tablet, Nexus 5, Asus 10" tablet	I would also like a bigger screen for reading PDF files, but carrying a bigger device would discount a lot of the ebook reader's portability. It just has to be trade-off. Remember the gigantic "portable" sound systems of the 80's compared with a modern MP3 player?

08-06-2011, 08:24 AM	#19
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	A. I agree with those who say a 6" screen is adequate. B. Anyone who thinks an ereader at triple the price is "a bit more" must be using Apple computers. I had never seen an ereader, and it didn't look like I would, and since I don't see well I ordered the Kindle DX. I liked it but it was awkward to carry around. Of course, less than a month after I got the DX I saw a standard K2 and was amazed that I could read it quite well. So, sold my DX and now I have a Kindle 3. Works for me, too.

08-06-2011, 08:50 AM	#21
OtterBooks Wizard Posts: 1,262 Karma: 2979086 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle 4, iPad Mini/Retina	I've always thought that 6.25" would be about perfect.

08-06-2011, 09:39 AM	#23
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	Just another example of one size doesn't fit all.

08-06-2011, 09:59 AM	#24
lestatar LB's lolz Mutt Minion Posts: 2,902 Karma: 5700001 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Hong Kong now but NYC forever Device: Kindle3, GalaxyTab, BB Bold9700, BB 8300, Sony Clie, Palm Vx, Palm III	It ain't the size of the ship...It's the motion of your eyeballs

08-06-2011, 10:03 AM	#25
macdonald79 Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Kindle	Six inches is the perfect size for reading text. Ideally, I'd like to have two ereaders: a 6" screen for general reader, and a much larger screen for graphic novels, photobooks, etc.

08-06-2011, 10:36 AM	#26
lestatar LB's lolz Mutt Minion Posts: 2,902 Karma: 5700001 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Hong Kong now but NYC forever Device: Kindle3, GalaxyTab, BB Bold9700, BB 8300, Sony Clie, Palm Vx, Palm III	^ Yeah. Seriously, IMO the K3/Nook/Sony/etc 6" screens are just fine for normal book reading [99.9% of what I read at least]. The associated form factor is also just about right as well. The 2 page display thing is something I can understand but I do think the size compromise at present is pretty OK.

08-06-2011, 10:41 AM	#27
SCION Séduisant Posts: 4,706 Karma: 2107018 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Texas, USA Device: Boox Note Air2+; Kobo Libra2; Kindle Scribe, Oasis3; iPad Mini6	I prefer the size of the Sony 900/950. You constantly notice the difference when you go back to 6".

08-06-2011, 11:38 AM	#29
Barty doofus Posts: 2,543 Karma: 13088847 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	The 950 is too rich for my blood. I want to see a 7" screen in the same form factor as the kindle 3. It can be done by removing the keyboard, and perhaps using a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio, while keeping the price under $200. Alas no one seems willing to differentiate themselves beside Sony. I've already eliminated the margins on my kindle and use my own custom font with carefully tweaked size and weight for my eyes. I use pretty big font and only get around 40 chars across. The dx may be good for my eyes, but not so much my hand and pocketbook.

08-06-2011, 11:48 AM	#30
teadonkey Zealot Posts: 132 Karma: 2179008 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	I think there will always be something for some people to complain about. That said, I have noticed sometimes when I turn the page on my Kindle, I think to myself "drat I'll have to do that again in a few moments." I guess a bigger screen size would help with that, but it's definitely not a big enough problem to warrant shelling out extra money.

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