Why do "LCD e-Book reading devices" keep coming

[kjk]

Originally Posted by JeremyZ

OK, Donnageddon, we get it. You love your iPad. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings enough so that you feel the need to make snippy little comments every so often.

No offense, but you have definitely posted your share of snippy/disparaging comments about LCD users in the last couple threads..just sayin.

[hgwlackey]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Its amusing when I see people in the Nook forum complaining about the battery running down in a week when the iPad would probably be two days at most .

As much time as I spend on my iPad, I need to plug it in when I go to bed if I want to get a full day's use out of it the next day. Not having to plug in my Kindle 2 was neat but not necessary, and more often than not it got plugged in every night before I turned out the bedside lamp, just out of a habit of plugging things in at the end of the day.

The only time I would be up crap's creek would be if a power outage lasted more than two days (which would suck dry both the iPad and the iPhone)--but the loss of Internet would send me to a hotel at that point anyway, 'cause I've gotta have Internet to work, and I'm not using up my vacation days on a power outage.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

True, but I would say from a viewing perspective... you can usually turn up the lights.. but it can be awfully hard to turn down the sun .

That being said, the viewing qualities of LCD versus eInk mean far less to me than the very long battery life eInk allows. Its amusing when I see people in the Nook forum complaining about the battery running down in a week when the iPad would probably be two days at most .

--
Bill

Which is exactly why I have both an iPad and eInk devices. There is no one "best" technology, and for me at least, other factors are at least as important as battery life. Given that you mention the nook, though, I've seen in the nook forum that people report getting something like 12h reading time from a battery charge. That's actually pretty similar to the usage time of the iPad on a single charge.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Which is exactly why I have both an iPad and eInk devices. There is no one "best" technology, and for me at least, other factors are at least as important as battery life. Given that you mention the nook, though, I've seen in the nook forum that people report getting something like 12h reading time from a battery charge. That's actually pretty similar to the usage time of the iPad on a single charge.

Another thing that is often overlooked when discussing the iPad's "10 hour" battery life...it really has a decent standby mode (unlike most notebooks)...I find it drains very little power when in sleep mode-its not like you have to charge it every 10-12 hours...unless you are using it for that long actively.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Which is exactly why I have both an iPad and eInk devices. There is no one "best" technology, and for me at least, other factors are at least as important as battery life. Given that you mention the nook, though, I've seen in the nook forum that people report getting something like 12h reading time from a battery charge. That's actually pretty similar to the usage time of the iPad on a single charge.

From reading the Nook forums, I got the impression that the 12 hours reading time was more along the lines if the wifi and/or 3G on. I think I read that it drained at about 4% per hour of reading w/o which would give about 25 hours reading between needing to recharge.

That being said, maybe an actual nook owner can comment on that . But for a basic vanilla reader like the Sony PRS-505, PRS-300 or the Kobo, it can take quite a while indeed to drain a battery.

--
Bill

[leebase]

If you are looking at a nook, you are looking at a light source just as when you look at the moon. There is no difference to your eyes, light is light. Paper and eink screens are ale ays in balance with the ambient light, that is the eye strain advantage.

Unless, of course, the ambient light is not a good reading light level. Read a book at high noon in a white sands beach and you'll strain your eyes, Read a book in dim light and you will strain your eyes.

If you balance your ipads brightness to the room light, you will not experience eye strain for most people most of the time.

Lee

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by leebase

If you are looking at a nook, you are looking at a light source just as when you look at the moon. There is no difference to your eyes, light is light. Paper and eink screens are ale ays in balance with the ambient light, that is the eye strain advantage.

Unless, of course, the ambient light is not a good reading light level. Read a book at high noon in a white sands beach and you'll strain your eyes, Read a book in dim light and you will strain your eyes.

If you balance your ipads brightness to the room light, you will not experience eye strain for most people most of the time.

Lee

The funny thing is many people that prefer backlit lcd readers as they like to read in the dark.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Dopedangel

The funny thing is many people that prefer backlit lcd readers as they like to read in the dark.

I am one of those people. Reading in night mode (white text on black) with the screen turned down is very comfortable on the eyes for reading in dim light or no light at all.

Not having to have a room light on, or a lamp, is a big plus.

For someone like me, that is more useful than reading in full sunlight. I read just fine in the shade...as I am doing right now.

If the room was dark, and my iPad was bright, yeah - that would fry my eyes. I know....when I switch from reading in night mode to looking at the internet...and my iPad isn't turned way down....it's decidedly unpleasant

Lee

[SplogSplog]

I can hardly read for more than a few minutes using the LCD screen on my PC. The eye-strain really gets to me. So, I bought an iRex DR1000s - and there were no eyestrain problems - and I could read for hours.

Then, with some caution, I recently bought an iPad. I assumed I would not use it much for reading (due to eye-strain issues), but was surprised to find I could read for hours on it without any issues. It baffles me, but the eye-strain issues I had reading on my PC simply don't exist with the iPad. As a result, my DR1000S now sits on a shelf unused.

So, for the folks with eye-strain issues when using LCD screens - I say give an iPad (or similar device) a try - and you may find that you don't experience those issues with that device.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by SplogSplog

Then, with some caution, I recently bought an iPad. I assumed I would not use it much for reading (due to eye-strain issues), but was surprised to find I could read for hours on it without any issues. It baffles me, but the eye-strain issues I had reading on my PC simply don't exist with the iPad. As a result, my DR1000S now sits on a shelf unused.

It's probably because the PC is in a fixed position and you can't move it to a comfortable reading position as you can with a hand-held reading device.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's probably because the PC is in a fixed position and you can't move it to a comfortable reading position as you can with a hand-held reading device.

probably the single most important reason why I don't utilise my PC/attached LCD monitor for reading, even my laptop is cumbersome.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's probably because the PC is in a fixed position and you can't move it to a comfortable reading position as you can with a hand-held reading device.

There have been numerous studies and recommendations available to assist users in finding the optimum distance and viewing angle for fixed monitors, especially in the workplace. (These were largely derivations of studies and recommendations that were originally done for CRT monitors, and redone for LCDs.) This is why a vast number of workers (including myself) can work in front of LCD monitors for a solid 8-hour day without significant fatigue.

These same recommendations apply to handheld LCD screens, and for that matter, any other kind of display device. I've experienced eye fatigue when reading an eInk device, because the ergonomics were wrong... but I can read from my smartphone all day long if the ergs are right.

But the biggest thing to take away from all this is that everybody's different: What works for one person doesn't work for another; and there's plenty of room for both.

[MobileTechReview]

In my review of the Kindle 3, I included macro shots (using a Canon EOS 50D DSLR with a 60mm Canon macro lens) of the iPad and Kindle 3 displays with moderate magnification. This isn't extreme magnification with a microscope, yet you can see the RGB grid array easily. I do agree that LCD vs. E-Ink is a matter of personal preference and also hinges on ambient lighting conditions, but to my eyes the LCD tech is harder on the eyes. The macro shots are 3/4 down in my Kindle 3 review: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/gadg...n-Kindle-3.htm .