eBook Reader ergonomics discussion

[LuBiB]

my top most important additions to eReader ergonomics have to be:

- size (preferably fitting into my pocket)

- weight

- readability (how long i can read before getting tired - color screens and backlit screens wont ever allow reading for a prolong period of time)

- design (has to sit in my hands properly without the feel like its gonna fall out)

i currently have the jetBook and jetBook LITE which occupy my 4 dimensions of compatibility (i sound like an eHarmony commercial lol)......i do love it and i think ereaders should have those 4 points down packed to be successful.

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by troymc

Oh, I completely disagree. I think the 505 with a cover is just about perfect ergonomically. If I hold it open with my left hand, like a paperback, my left thumb is right on the left-side page turn buttons. If I hold it with my right hand, my right thumb is right on the right-side page turn buttons. Even in landscape it's just about perfect in my left hand.

I agree 100% with you, Troy. The Sony 505's left-hand buttons are perfect for left-handed-only use, provided:

• you use the original cover (the lighted cover made for the Sony PRS-600 throws the balance way off), or a cover that works for your hand size, like neilmarr does.
• you hold the cover open a little more than 90 degrees. Voila, there's my thumb placed perfectly on the circle.

Or at least I used to think so. Odd how differently we are each shaped. So after reading the dissenting views, I will no longer marvel at the designers' acumen in button placement every time I read left-handed.

P.S. I hate the concave indent on the 505's right buttons--I've glued on plastic bumpers.

P.P.S. Recovering now from shoulder surgery, where it's desirable to immobilize against any shoulder muscle tightening, I've learned to not consider buying any e-reader that can't be read with either hand (i.e., it must have buttons on each side, or software to flip text for button use on either side).

[radius]

Originally Posted by Spiffy

Obviously different people have different tolerances (and you may have a much bigger one), but what I see in that first picture (your left hand pic) is you putting all the weight onto your fingers--the palm of your hand isn't involved at all. And that's where, for most people I think, the strength and stability is--using their palm to distribute the weight load. If you just use your fingers, all the strain is transferred pretty much directly to your wrist. Not that its immediately that heavy, but over time I think its cumulative.

Of course what we can't see from that picture is if the unit is also leaning on something at the same time. If so, that would explain the lack of finger/wrist strain.

I hold my Sony 505 the same way that troymc does in the first and third pictures.

When holding it in my left hand, I don't think I feel the strain that you are talking about because I hold the reader fairly vertically, so I don't need that much muscle and tendon strength to support it. This might be because I often read while standing on the bus instead of sitting down.

When I sit down, I often hold it as in picture 3. I support the book at the spine using my left hand and press either the original page turn button or the right navigator button to flip pages.