Reflective lcd's vs e-ink

[DawnFalcon]

Accusations? Grudges? You are the one who made a public poll and then started researching what devices the voters used so you could tell them their opinion wasn't worthy.

If you don't want people to call you on it, don't do it.

(I didn't know you from Jack before, but your little crusade has certainly caught my attention now)

[GhostHawk]

He didn't say their opinion wasn't worthy, he just commented on where there opinion came from.

Big difference.

[HansTWN]

How can you leave battery life out of any discussion about e-ink displays? The long battery life is a direct function of the display, and the display only. The fact that the display only draws power when you go to a different page is one of the main features.

If you don't care about charging frequently, then reflective LCD may be fine, though the choices are rather limited.

Originally Posted by HansTWN

How can you leave battery life out of any discussion about e-ink displays?

This is the original poster's request (bold is mine). Nothing was mentioned about battery life.

"Some people claim that Reflective LCD devices such as Aluratek Libre pro & Ectaco jetbook are at par with the e- ink based ones.

Please discuss which technology is better of the two, in terms of strain caused on eyes & page turning capability.
THanks"

The long battery life is a direct function of the display, and the display only. The fact that the display only draws power when you go to a different page is one of the main features.

Isn't battery life also a function of the battery type and size?

If you don't care about charging frequently, then reflective LCD may be fine, though the choices are rather limited.

What do you mean by frequent? I get a few days worth on mine as do others.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by akira28

Isn't battery life also a function of the battery type and size?

What do you mean by frequent? I get a few days worth on mine as do others.

Of course, there are other factors having an influence on battery life. But all other things being equal you get an increase in battery life by a factor of 6-10 just by using an e-ink screen instead of a reflective LCD.

You get a few days, we get a few weeks.

[bob1xxx]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

I'm going to sell my Aluratek. Not because of the screen, even though I prefer eInk the nonreflective LCD is far better than backlit LCD, but because the Aluratek Libre doesn't work with Calibre. I can sideload the books but I'd rather not.

Really? very time I used cailbre it works fine and just see it as a jetbook? For me I like my Lbre, the lcd screen is great for me, its compact size I can carry it everywhere I go, I like it support of drm books and I dont consider having to charge it once every 7 days Horrible life draining burden and sense I'm using 100% time for reading books (not pdf blue prints of the bismark ) for the money is the perfect e reading device for now....ask me again in six to eighteen months I might have a different answer for you

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Of course, there are other factors having an influence on battery life. But all other things being equal you get an increase in battery life by a factor of 6-10 just by using an e-ink screen instead of a reflective LCD.

You get a few days, we get a few weeks.

All things being equal you are correct, but they aren't always equal. A case in point I use my PRS-505 and generally top off the charge every 3 or 4 days.

The reason for this is because I'm 51 years old and in order to avoid reading glasses I increase the font size. This increased font size means that for every 1 page in an ePub book I have to flip through about 9-10 screens. That means that for one 400 page ePub novel I will have turned through about 4000 screens.

So you can see that I would be recharging as often with my Sony as I expect to with my Jetbook (recharge about every 20-22 hours of use) I just bought for $99. I concede that for most folks there is a substantial increase in battery life using e-ink but it is not always so cut and dry.

Of course all that said I like the fact that eInk uses minimal power when just sitting around waiting for me to read. My use of the jetbook will require me to turn it on and off much more often.

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

...But all other things being equal you get an increase in battery life by a factor of 6-10 just by using an e-ink screen instead of a reflective LCD.

You get a few days, we get a few weeks.

Hans, I don't think that this is correct. My understanding is that a moderate user of an eInk device will get four weeks between charges, and a moderate user of a jetBook will get two weeks. I know that I get about two weeks between changing batteries with my jetBook Lite.

Going four weeks without a charge is great, but jetBook aficianadoes here often point out that charging every other week is not an inconvenience.

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Of course, there are other factors having an influence on battery life. But all other things being equal you get an increase in battery life by a factor of 6-10 just by using an e-ink screen instead of a reflective LCD.

You get a few days, we get a few weeks.

Hans,

In all the reviews I've read about the dr800sg its been said that it only gets about one week which is probably about the same as most people get on the Jetbook and that's fine with me. But is the life that much shorter than on your Sony?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by akira28

Hans,

In all the reviews I've read about the dr800sg its been said that it only gets about one week which is probably about the same as most people get on the Jetbook and that's fine with me. But is the life that much shorter than on your Sony?

What I have read from others in this forum it is about 2 weeks. I cannot comment on this at the moment, since I am downloading a lot of stuff every day via USB (which will recharge at the same time). I am trying out newspaper direct and work PDFs, etc at the moment. The only time I have used it for heavy reading over the weekend without charging at all for 2 days I did not notice any movement in the battery indicator. I will also be using it as a business tool and note book (the Sony cannot do any of that), so my usage cannot be compared.

I had the Sony with me on a 14 day vacation once (with many hours of reading every day) and didn't have to charge it.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by bob1xxx

Really? very time I used cailbre it works fine and just see it as a jetbook? For me I like my Lbre, the lcd screen is great for me, its compact size I can carry it everywhere I go, I like it support of drm books and I dont consider having to charge it once every 7 days Horrible life draining burden and sense I'm using 100% time for reading books (not pdf blue prints of the bismark ) for the money is the perfect e reading device for now....ask me again in six to eighteen months I might have a different answer for you

Yes, the Libre is seen as a Jetbook but Calibre doesn't load the files into the root of either the SD or the main memory so my Libre doesn't see them. If I drag those files to the root then I get a message saying that the file cannot be read.

If I load the ebooks directly from the Calibre directory bypassing Calibre then the books can be opened by the Libre. I've noticed that Calibre names the files differently when it downloads the files to the Libre adding "#" to the file name. Maybe that's why the Libre can't read the file. I'm running the latest version of Calibre.

Yes, the ADE support is great and I could easily load even my non secure ePUbs into the ADE software and use that to download to the Libre but I use Calibre for library management and don't want another program just for the Libre. Since it's trivial to remove the ADE DRM I prefer to use Calibre for all my library needs.

The Libre is a nice device just not the right one for my needs.

[astra]

There is nothing better than e-Ink for me.

The best type of screen for reading for my eyes and superb battery life.

[wodin]

I have a Sony PRS505, and a JetBook. Regarding readability; they are about equal even though the Sony has a 6" screen and the JetBook is only 5". The Sony's battery life is much better, but the speed of page changes on the JetBook more than makes up for having to charge it more often.

The Sony’s firmware (and my wife's K2) is very much better than the JetBook’s, but that has nothing to do with the screen technology. Given the choice, and if the firmware was equal, I’d prefer the reflective LCD.

[bob1xxx]

Do this poll a year to a year and a half from now and I will bet a e reader with reflective lcd with L.e.d back lighting will be the the hands down winner They'll be cheaper than e-ink , faster, most will have flexible Grey/ color lcd screens and thank god will be non apple so they will have decent prices lol. Yes they'll have shorter battery life you'll have to condensed to charge it every 7 to 10 days but really is that such a horrible burden? . The vast majority of things in life are usually livable successful compromises , tech devices are no exception to this rule. For ME right now the Aluratek Libre pro is the best reasonably price e book reader that suits MY personal needs excellently , Hey for someone else who 200 hour battery life is a big deal some slow 1st gen e ink reader would be the hot set up, but at the end of the day what e reader suits your need best is what you should buy

[astra]

LEDs don't solve the problem for me.
My netbook is backlit by LEDs and I cannot read texts on it for longer than 15 minutes without feeling eye strain.

I work with computers every day, all day long. Working with a computer, such as browsing the Internet, typing in word, editing pictures is a whole different kettle of fish experience. It cannot be compared to "a static" reading of text. At the very least it is different for me. I am not saying I don't get tired but not as fast. Also, it is unavoidable. On the other hand, reading fantasy is a pure relaxation for me and when I read printed books my eyes don't get tired, eInk grants me the same gift.