Asus DR-570 ebook reader

[guyanonymous]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

But a 6" screen on a color reader??? What can you read that you need color for that can be displayed comfortably on a tiny 6" screen? For browsing or video it is not much better than a good phone. For books with pictures and/or diagrams you would have to constantly zoom in and out or pan around. And at 6" it is too big to be pocketable. Why not make it 9 or 10" instead?

I'm thinking decent photo-sharing, comic books with that program that magnifies the speech bubbles when you tap them, kids books. Not everything is a full size magazine. Hmm. I bet this is the next big porn media distribution channel (having thought about it for 30 seconds just now). And as a media player.

And the screens are quite a bit larger than those on phones in actual use. I find that even the iPhones don't allow enough text on screen to make it comfortable reading experience. I'm page flipping/sliding too much.

Yeah, they're not pants/shirt pocket-able, but I find I take my e-reader everywhere with me, even though it's a bulky old ebookwise 1150. I'd love if it had the connectivity of a cell phone, and I could just use a bluetooth headset with it. Cell phones/iPhones don't display enough text on screen for me at one time.

I think that the larger device size would, due to larger batteries, allow for longer battery life when used as a cell phone. This is important to me. I've grown used to only charging my device every 2 to 3 books. I wouldn't get that on any cell phone currently available (~15 hours reading time).

One device would do it all for me, and the size works better for me than a cell.

[HansTWN]

Iphone at 3.5" is quite small. HTC now has one at 4.3" and that is still quite "small" in total dimension. So they could squeeze out perhaps 4.5-4.7 with almost no bezel and it would still fit in my pants' front pocket. That is already very close to the 5" of a lot of readers, but a lot more portable. Not for everyone, sure, but much more usable than in the past and the difference is so small that it might make an extra reader hard to justify for many.

[DawnFalcon]

And when you get an important, long call, if you've been using the phone as an e-reader...well, you end up being cut off.

No, very much sticking to having a separate (and cheap) mobile.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Yes 5 days would be remarkable, if it were the actual figure. 12 hours is believable, 122 not so much.

I'm not so cynical about ASUS. The network model I have promises 6+ hrs; I get up to 8 hrs in places where that matters (where Bluetooth and Wifi are turned off). So, if they are floating the notion of 5 days, I'd expect they mean it.

The 6 inch screen gives me pause, however: what we need is some practical reading device which handles "typical" magazines -- think National Geographic or Hello Magazine in balance of form factor, text, colour, pictures. Something approaching 8x11, 9x12, A4, etc ... but 6"? Erm, not so much.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

I'm not so cynical about ASUS. The network model I have promises 6+ hrs; I get up to 8 hrs in places where that matters (where Bluetooth and Wifi are turned off). So, if they are floating the notion of 5 days, I'd expect they mean it.

The 6 inch screen gives me pause, however: what we need is some practical reading device which handles "typical" magazines -- think National Geographic or Hello Magazine in balance of form factor, text, colour, pictures. Something approaching 8x11, 9x12, A4, etc ... but 6"? Erm, not so much.

Have you considered that the 122 hours may be a simple typo? A sudden 10 fold increase, how can that be correct?

[Shemmy]

Originally Posted by kolrone

I don't know how the OLED screen would perform in sunlight. I have a Zune HD and the screen isn't that great when it's bright outside.

Depending on how the OLED screen is implemented, it could be wonderful in sunlight. I have a Samsung Omnia II, which has an AMOLED screen. When I'm indoors, I usually keep the backlight turned off - when I go outside, I turn it on, and I have no problems with visibility, even on the brightest days.

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

To get the most battery life out of text with this, you'd probably need to invert the colors to get white or off-white text on a black background.

Freda displays white text on a black background when run on my Omnia II, and it works very well on the AMOLED screen. I think that would definitely make it easier to read (you could turn off the backlight) and help with the battery use. However, now that I have an e-ink reader, I can defintiely say that for long-term book reading, e-ink is easier on the eyes (YMMV).

[astra]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Ugh, there was another thread on this.

As I said, the 122 hours is probably just a typo.

As I replied

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by astra

As I replied

Except OLED is not designed to wipe the floor with LCD in terms of power consumption. The advantages of OLED relative to LCD are more for visual quality, display thinness and flexibility, and long-term costs.

And again, 122 hours is a ridiculous number from not only a practical standpoint, but also from a marketing one. It is 10x any conventional device, and is specific to the hour, then claim based on "general usage"? That's complete tosh. OLED screens on a video-capable tablet/reader device can conceivably achieve 12 hours, which is pretty excellent considering the limitations.

Assuming that any display, including e-papers, will suddenly magnify a video-capable device's battery life tenfold is ridiculous. Just wanting it to be does not make it so.

Of course, that's assuming your response was serious...

[astra]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Of course, that's assuming your response was serious...

It was serious but maybe I am mistaken about OLED.
I thought OLED screens consumer very little power vs. LCD?

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by astra

It was serious but maybe I am mistaken about OLED.
I thought OLED screens consumer very little power vs. LCD?

They consume very little power when they display black compared to LCD. I believe they generally consume more power when displaying white. For mixed application, I believe they are roughly comparable.

Actually I should amend that. They're roughly comparable in some conditions. They do have some power consumption advantages over LCDs, but it's hyped far beyond reality. Could see a reduction of tens of percent (of display power, ignoring everything else in the device which is not insignificant), but nothing that would magnify a device's battery life enormously.

[astra]

OK. Then I stand corrected. I don't know where I got this idea about OLED. I think it is dated from a few years ago when I read about Sony walkman mp3 players with OLED screens vs LCD screens.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

And when you get an important, long call, if you've been using the phone as an e-reader...well, you end up being cut off.

No, very much sticking to having a separate (and cheap) mobile.

Why should that be? You mean the battery runs out, because you were reading too much? You can always carry a spare. Sure, the phone is not a full fledged reader, but it is always available. My main point was that a color reader should have a 9" or 10" screen. A 6" screen is not much better than some devices we already have.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by astra

OK. Then I stand corrected. I don't know where I got this idea about OLED. I think it is dated from a few years ago when I read about Sony walkman mp3 players with OLED screens vs LCD screens.

Samsung's new phones are all with OLED screens. And they have hyped it to the max. While the colors do look great indoors, from what I have read most users find it virtually unusable outdoors. I have only seen them indoors.

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Actually I should amend that. They're roughly comparable in some conditions. They do have some power consumption advantages over LCDs, but it's hyped far beyond reality. Could see a reduction of tens of percent (of display power...

True enough for early passive screens, but you can get considerably more savings with the AMOLED screens now reaching the market. Of course, they're even less readable in direct sunlight...