Tablet versus lighted E Ink e-reader

[jeankap]

I read eInk in bed before sleep.

I read LCD the rest of the time.

For those of you wondering about the whole "light in the eyes" thing, I can tell you that I _can_ fall asleep with an eInk reader in my hand. This has pretty much never happened with an LCD screen (I can only think of a handful of times this has happened, and then it only happened with my iPhone).

The amount of light getting into your eyes does make a difference in sleep patterns for many people. I am one of them.

I read on LCD screens the rest of the time because I'm reading non fiction, or tech stuff, or work stuff, or something that I want to markup, annotate, or otherwise do something with.

Annotation features have improved on eInk devices, but not to the state of usability currently available on tablets and laptops.

For the record, I had a 2012 Nexus. I have a 2013 Nexus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, iPad Retina/Mini/Phone, Kindle PW, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Glo, and Nook STR with light. I've done some reading on all of these devices. My goto for before bedtime reading is whichever eInk device with the book I'm currently reading (or whichever one a grab first from the bedside table).

Oh... And,, yeah, I'm a device hoarder, but it's not what you think. Much of this is occupationally required. I'm the go to person WRT reading device user experience/functionality for my employer.

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by jeankap

For those of you wondering about the whole "light in the eyes" thing, I can tell you that I _can_ fall asleep with an eInk reader in my hand. This has pretty much never happened with an LCD screen ... The amount of light getting into your eyes does make a difference in sleep patterns for many people.

Actually, this is an interesting point that I never thought about. This may apply to me, too. I haven't kept an eye on it , but it seems true that I get naturally sleepy when I'm reading on an e-ink device while a tablet keeps me awake, and I do fall asleep more often with the e-ink reader on my chest or next to my head. This doesn't happen with the tablet, though that's probably partly also because I know subconsciously that the reader can afford falling off the bed, while the tablet is more fragile.

Originally Posted by Mivo

Actually, this is an interesting point that I never thought about. This may apply to me, too. I haven't kept an eye on it , but it seems true that I get naturally sleepy when I'm reading on an e-ink device while a tablet keeps me awake, and I do fall asleep more often with the e-ink reader on my chest or next to my head. This doesn't happen with the tablet, though that's probably partly also because I know subconsciously that the reader can afford falling off the bed, while the tablet is more fragile.

Similar case here. On the other hand, I wonder if it's because LCD screens tend to have brighter backlights (even at the minimum setting) or if it is because the material that I'm reading requires more concentration.

[PurpleStar]

I tried reading a bit on the iPad and didn't like it much. The light on the Kobo Glo is definitely easier on the eyes. Plus the iPad is so big and clunky. I do use the iPad a lot for the internet and games. It's fine for that.

[Ndaara]

When I got my tablet, I switched to reading on that. After a year, I found I was unable to read novels, although I was still reading magazines and blogs (RIP Google Reader). This year, I happened to try my Sony 350 again, and was surprised to find that I had no trouble reading at all - plus I started sleeping like a rock again (normal for me). Unbelieving, I went back and forth, a week at a time, between tablet and Sony for reading in bed, and determined that I am definitely one of those who has issues with backlit screens. Darn it, a single device seemed so much simpler!

Also have a Kindle Fire 1, same issues with backlighting as my Le Pan II. Haven't tried a Nexus. I'm intrigued.

So now I'm curious if the front-lit screen would cause me issues.

[amgoforth]

Originally Posted by Julius Caesar

Even with brightness all the way down, I couldn't stand reading a book with an LCD screen. Not for long.

Even with brightness all the way up, I have no problem reading a book with a Kindle Paperwhite for hours. Even in a dark room.

When you say not for long, how long are you talking about reading on the LCD screen with the brightness all the way down.

[jbjb]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

I wonder why they haven't solved the problem of flicker with front/backlights. If I recall correctly, the intensity of an LED is related to the current passing through it. A simple approach involves using a potentiometer, which I understand isn't popular because it isn't software controlled. (Again if I recall correctly,) transistors can use voltage to control current as well, so it should be easy to design a software controlled way to control the intensity of a backlight using transistors.

Is there something that I'm missing?

PWM has the advantage of being very power efficient. The PWM waveform can be driven in many ways, but they mostly come down to some sort of transistor-based "switch" controlling the current. This switch is either open (zero current through it) or closed (zero voltage across it, for an ideal switch). In either case, given that power is current multiplied by voltage, the power dissipated in the switch (and hence wasted) is zero (or negligibly small, in the case of real-world switches with finite on-resistance).

A design which controls brightness by modulating the current in an analogue way, for example by controlling it with a transistor or variable resistor of some kind, will dissipate power in the controlling element (i.e. it will have non-zero voltage across it and non-zero current through it). For low brightness settings this can typically result in more power being wasted in the controlling load than is used by the LED.

The wasted power is lost as heat, which may also cause thermal issues in some applications.

For mains-powered devices like TVs this may not matter, but it may be significant for low-power devices.

/JB

[ahmed_sabry]

Greetings every body

It is a nice discussion over here and I want to participate with the following page link
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20.../#.Ui9N-2thiK0

[ahmed_sabry]

Another link about the negative effect of LCD
http://www.ehow.com/list_7478611_neg...-monitors.html

[leebase]

Originally Posted by crich70

Nope. Only on laptop/netbook computer screen and of course my desktop.

FYI - I could never read a book or most long form on my computers (laptop, desktop). I don't know if it's the light, or the reading position, the size of the screen. Whatever. But that's completely different than reading on my iPhone or iPad's. My wife's iPad mini is a dream reading machine. Just the right mix of size and lightness.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Katie1

I agree Most people that complain about LCD have the backlight way too high!! BUT I need to know is the Backlight adjustable on the new ink ereaders??

Or perhaps they haven't discovered "night mode" in their reading app of choice. Dim white text on a black background is far easier on my eyes than reading with a book light ever was.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by leebase

Or perhaps they haven't discovered "night mode" in their reading app of choice. Dim white text on a black background is far easier on my eyes than reading with a book light ever was.

This really isn't true for everyone--if I try to use this mode to read, it will cause a headache within a few minutes. I know that it affects others the same way.

Shari

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by shalym

This really isn't true for everyone--if I try to use this mode to read, it will cause a headache within a few minutes. I know that it affects others the same way.

Shari

Yes, exactly. I'm the same way - that kind of thing is instant headache material. I can't even read websites that use light text on black background on my iPad - if it's something I really want to read, I'll go to my computer and use a zap colours bookmarklet to turn it into black-on-white instead.

I can read on a tablet on a sepia/tan background, but it's still less comfortable than my Kindle, either my current Paperwhite or my old Kindle 3.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by Yapyap

Yes, exactly. I'm the same way - that kind of thing is instant headache material. I can't even read websites that use light text on black background on my iPad - if it's something I really want to read, I'll go to my computer and use a zap colours bookmarklet to turn it into black-on-white instead.

I can read on a tablet on a sepia/tan background, but it's still less comfortable than my Kindle, either my current Paperwhite or my old Kindle 3.

Same here.

After years of trying it on and off, I've found I can't read with a black background, no matter what color the text. Eye strain and head aches follow pretty quickly.

Sepia is okay, although right now on the iPad mini using "Marvin" I like the "Light ePaper" and "Dark ePaper" themes with black text the best so far. I'm sticking with it for a while to see how it holds up.

For eInk, so far I like my Kobo Aura the best for light. The fonts seem to be less transparent than on the Nook or Paperwhite. I don't feel like they're blue and fading away.

[pruss]

For reading on a black background in the dark, I think an important distinction is between LCD and OLED. With OLED devices, the background is almost completely black--no backlight seeping through. (There is still a faint glow, but it's an order of magnitude dimmer than on LCD.) The only light is the text.

Personally, I reallly like reading in the dark with green text on a black background. :-) (Moonreader and APV PDF Viewer support green on black, and with other apps I can force that with my free GalacticNight on my phone.) But then I grew up with green-on-black screens.