High contrast mode vs B/W e-ink

[shalym]

Originally Posted by markbot

In the Kindle reader there is a built in high contrast mode if you go to the menu where you can change font...turns the background black.

Ah...ok. I can't use that mode. I have a bad astigmatism, and when I try to use that mode, the letters just merge into one long string. It will also trigger a migraine if I persist.

I was hoping "high contrast mode" would make fonts darker/more bold or something.

Shari

[SleepyBob]

Originally Posted by shalym

Ah...ok. I can't use that mode. I have a bad astigmatism, and when I try to use that mode, the letters just merge into one long string. It will also trigger a migraine if I persist.

I was hoping "high contrast mode" would make fonts darker/more bold or something.

Shari

From what I could tell, it makes black text slightly blacker, but it also outlines white text with a black border, which I found very hard on the eyes.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

This subject comes up over and over again, and I'll just copy/paste the same answer over and over again.

At this point in time, there is no substitute for e-ink.

A phone or tablet become very reflective, especially if the background is set black. To be able to read in very bright light, the screen has to be set at full power, which causes battery life to be very short. Even at full power, many LCD screens are often too reflective, and not bright enough to read in bright light; which is something I do a lot in public transport/outside while waiting.

I don't really care if I read on e-ink or LCD, but at this time, e-ink just works best: huge battery life, almost no reflections and (since the backlight introduction) works in both bright light and darkness.

Transflective LCD, Works great in my hiking sat nav (colour) & Jetbook (B&W)

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

Ebook retailers have noticed that customers who have a dedicated [e-ink] ereader read faster, read for longer, and -- most importantly -- spend more on ebooks than customers who don't.* As long as that remains the case I think e-ink readers will continue to be developed and sold, at least by those retailers whose main business is ebooks.

* E.g. see "What the platform tells us" in Kobo's April 2016 report.

Maybe this is an open door, but I assume that an e-reader doesn't make people read books faster, longer, or buy more, or more expensive books: I think it's people who read faster, more, and longer are the ones buying e-readers

You're not going to buy an e-reader if you only read two books during your summer holidays and then don't read again until next year.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by SleepyBob

From what I could tell, it makes black text slightly blacker, but it also outlines white text with a black border, which I found very hard on the eyes.

Yeah...I noticed the outlines on the white text after I posted that, and turned it off. Not sure what is "high contrast" about that.

Shari

[barryem]

Turning the background black with white text is usually called Night Mode and it's not the same thing as high contrast mode. It is somewhat beneficial when reading on an LCD screen since it makes more of the screen dark and shines less light into your eyes as you read.

High contrast mode is available on most devices. It's usually a feature of the device and not the app, although there may be apps that provide it as well. It leaves the background white or sepia, depending on how it's set, and increases the darkness of the font. It also mutes the background a bit to help with the glare from the backlight.

If you google high contrast mode you'll mostly find what Windows calls high contrast mode, which does make the screen black. That's a Windows thing. In Android, and presumably IOS, although I don't really know about IOS, it modifies the colors a bit and increases the contrast without reversing the text and background.

Also someone mentioned that LCD is reflective and that is part of the reason it doesn't work well in sunlight but it's only a minor part of the reason. It's more about the way LCD works. An LCD panel gives no light off at all. It simply changes colors. To make that visible there's a backlight behind the LCD panel and the light shining through is changed by the color of the LCD panel creating the image (or text) we see. If the light on the near side of the panel is already so bright, as it is in sunlight or even shade on a sunlit day, the light behind the panel can't compete and has little effect. Look at a pair of headlights at night and then in the daytime and you'll see the difference.

One of the problems in deciding which is better is that it's really a very individual thing. Some people's eyes aren't bothered by staring into an LCD. Others are. Mine are so I have to do it carefully.

Some people like to read outdoors and they're certainly better off with e-ink but a lot of people, such as me these days, read mostly indoors. I've done a lot of reading outside all my life but as I've gotten older indoor reading has become my main thing. I still read outside at times and I always use my Kindle for that. Inside, too, actually. But the phone is always in my shirt pocket and it's really handy and my phone has a bright enough display that I can read in most situations although it's certainly not optimal in bright daylight.

It's like most techy things, there is no "best". It's what works best for you that matters.

Barry

[markbot]

I will read a novel in "high contrast" and report back. I think that it will be as good as e ink in terms of eye strain...but will require an adjustment period. If this is the case, I'm going to sell my Kindle and read everything on my tablet or phone instead. One less device to purchase and carry with me.

[barryem]

A lot of people are comfortable reading on LCD. If it works for you then that's a good thing.

Barry

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by markbot

I will read a novel in "high contrast" and report back. I think that it will be as good as e ink in terms of eye strain...but will require an adjustment period. If this is the case, I'm going to sell my Kindle and read everything on my tablet or phone instead. One less device to purchase and carry with me.

Hope it works for you. But remember everyone's eyes are different.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by markbot

I will read a novel in "high contrast" and report back. I think that it will be as good as e ink in terms of eye strain...but will require an adjustment period. If this is the case, I'm going to sell my Kindle and read everything on my tablet or phone instead. One less device to purchase and carry with me.

Until, at some point, you're sitting at the beach, or outside while on vacation in Spain, and try to read a book... and then discover it doesn't work because your LCD-screen doesn't go bright enough, or reflects either your own face back at you, the sky, or everything that's behind you :P

When reading inside, a tablet does well enough though.