The future of e-book readers - Page 7

Dave_S · 09-18-2009, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansTWN

OLED screens are an improvement over LCD screens, no doubt. My next phone probably will have one, or rather an AMOLED screen. But, at least for me, not up to the comfort level I get from e-ink. Haven't looked at one for more than a short time, though.

Another aspect is that while OLED requires less power than LCD, OLED does require constant power to the display to be able to view the display. It should be great for a cell phone though, because the screen does not need to be constantly on. When I saw the first cell phone prototypes a few years ago they looked great even then.

Crowl · 09-18-2009, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slite

Why wouldn't OLED work for a reader? I think that is one of the solutions Asus is looking into for their "foldable" e-reader if I'm not misstaken.

It would work for a reader and would be better than lcd, but as far as battery life and comfortable to the eyes its closer to an lcd than it is e-ink.

dmaul1114 · 09-18-2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crowl

It would work for a reader and would be better than lcd, but as far as battery life and comfortable to the eyes its closer to an lcd than it is e-ink.

Yep, but it would be fine for those of us who seldom read for more than an hour or two in any one stretch and are almost always near an outlet etc.

But it wouldn't be a true replacement for an e-ink reader in eye strain or long battery life for those who truly need those features.

Lucien21 · 09-18-2009, 05:28 PM

The Ipod Tablet device has been widely rumoured for some time now.

I was surprised it wasn't announced at the latest Apple event. However the genreal concensous is that it will be launched early 2010. It will basically be a 9.6" Ipod Touch.

Sound great in theory and would be decent for viewing movies, comics, books etc but is a tad too large to be pocket size and will probably be hideously expensive.

Personally I would like to see a smaller version of the Asus concept laptop.

Probably about the size of a Dvd case when shut, so that it would fit in the pocket.

dmaul1114 · 09-18-2009, 05:51 PM

Something like that has potential. Doesn't have to be smaller as I really want a 9 or 10 inch screen, or even letter sized. I'm not so worried about portability--as long as it's light and doesn't weigh down a brief case as much as a laptop.

scveteran · 09-18-2009, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crowl

There's clearly more people with access to ebook software on multifunction devices, whether its being actively used is another matter.

Same sort of requirements as dmaul then, what sort of size screen would you deem suitable for the reading, surfing and videos while still fitting the easy to carry criteria though?

6" would do.

scveteran · 09-18-2009, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

What if they do not happen? It is really mostly in the field of computers where such rapid progress is being made, but sooner or later limits will be reached.
e-Ink is a long way from displaying videos and it may never get there. With its refresh rate being so low, it is best suited for ebooks. Other displays are faster but consume more energy and are not very good for reading. It is not at all guaranteed that we will get fast e-ink like displays.

Also ebook readers are to large to use as a PDA. PDAs are too small to read.

I think that you are not fully educating yourself on the advancements being made. There have been many advances in battery technology over the last few years. I am convinced that in just a few years we will have batteries that will be able to do the job. Some battery research has shown that they can store almost 1,000% more energy. That would mean at least 10 times the length of usage.

There is also the new technology that allows you to do away with both the power cord AND the battery. So you could leave it on forever without worrying about the battery. (I will admit that this system will likely have a small battery for when you are out of range of the system.)

We are also making huge advances that allow us to cut power consumption. Again, that will mean that power should not be a problem in the next few years.

Also, I really don't care if the system has e-ink or not. I use a laptop with no eye strain and I am considered low vision already. So I don't see a problem with an LCD screen.

scveteran · 09-18-2009, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave_S

Another aspect is that while OLED requires less power than LCD, OLED does require constant power to the display to be able to view the display. It should be great for a cell phone though, because the screen does not need to be constantly on. When I saw the first cell phone prototypes a few years ago they looked great even then.

How often do you look at the same page for more than a minute or two?

I really could not care less that it requires a constant power supply for the screen. After all, when I change pages on an e-ink device it uses power, and I do change pages pretty fast.

Daithi · 09-19-2009, 12:07 AM

I'd love to have a tablet PC about the size of my Kindle DX (especially the thinness), and it should be connected to the internet through a 3G (or 4G) connection. Hint to phone carriers -- tie this in with my phone so that I only have one bill. I also like e-ink, so if this device used some future color e-ink with a refresh rate capable of video that would be even better. Since I'm dreaming, I also want this device to use a polymer/plastic substrate instead of glass, and I want at least a TB solid state hard drive.

Dave_S · 09-19-2009, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scveteran

How often do you look at the same page for more than a minute or two?

I really could not care less that it requires a constant power supply for the screen. After all, when I change pages on an e-ink device it uses power, and I do change pages pretty fast.

That may work for you then. However, there is a big difference between a small number of milliamperes for a page turn and many more milliamperes constantly regardless of page turns. The number of available pages per charge would probably be reduced by a couple orders of magnitude.

dmaul1114 · 09-19-2009, 11:29 PM

Battery life really depends on your usage. As long as my device can last through at least a day of typical usage I'm fine with it. No big deal to plug it in every night or two just like I do my cell phone.

But it's more of an issue for people reading several hours every day.

Dylrob · 09-20-2009, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Battery life really depends on your usage. As long as my device can last through at least a day of typical usage I'm fine with it. No big deal to plug it in every night or two just like I do my cell phone.

But it's more of an issue for people reading several hours every day.

Interestingly with OLED it could also depend on something as simple as background and text color preferences. That is because every RGB sub-pixel is really just a tiny colored light. Furthermore green OLEDs apparently consume the least amount of power, followed by red, with blue being the most power hungry. So presumably a black [off] background with green text would be the most battery friendly configuration.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-21-2009, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

What if they do not happen? It is really mostly in the field of computers where such rapid progress is being made, but sooner or later limits will be reached.
e-Ink is a long way from displaying videos and it may never get there. With its refresh rate being so low, it is best suited for ebooks. Other displays are faster but consume more energy and are not very good for reading. It is not at all guaranteed that we will get fast e-ink like displays.

There are a lot of display types out there (plenty of us are perfectly happy with LCDs), we have a long way before their practical "limits" are reached, and battery technology is poised to undergo a radical improvement, thanks to nanotechnology developments increasing capacity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

Also ebook readers are to large to use as a PDA. PDAs are too small to read.

That's a matter of opinion. I read on a PDA all the time, and I'm perfectly comfortable doing that all day long. And larger devices can be used as a digital assistant if desired... they only need the right apps loaded on them, and you have to be used to carrying it around. Ask any woman who carries a purse everywhere she goes: Getting used to carrying something with you is not that hard.

Like many other things, if you want to do something bad enough, you can get used to doing it in new ways (Jordan's Theorem: You get used to what you want to get used to). E-books require that dedication to want to do something new, but that amount of dedication will lessen over time.

dmaul1114 · 09-21-2009, 08:47 PM

Yeah I'd be fine using something like a 9" or 10" tablet as a PDA. I'd just carry it around in my briefcase. Easier (or as easy) to carry that around vs. a PDA, Kindle, MP3 player, netbook etc. to have all that functionality.

I don't use my PDA very actively anyway. I mainly just use the Palm Desktop pc software and synch up often and just look at the PDA every once in a while when on the go, or at a conference etc.

Solicitous · 09-22-2009, 07:07 AM

I have to ask, what is the fascination with the new line of ereaders really starting to push the use of touch screens? I can see some benefits to usability of the device with a touch screen, but I can't think of anything worse than trying to sit back, enjoy reading whilst trying to not focus on dirty fingerprints on the screen.

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09-18-2009, 05:28 PM	#94
Lucien21 Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Scotland Device: Sony Reader	The Ipod Tablet device has been widely rumoured for some time now. I was surprised it wasn't announced at the latest Apple event. However the genreal concensous is that it will be launched early 2010. It will basically be a 9.6" Ipod Touch. Sound great in theory and would be decent for viewing movies, comics, books etc but is a tad too large to be pocket size and will probably be hideously expensive. Personally I would like to see a smaller version of the Asus concept laptop. Probably about the size of a Dvd case when shut, so that it would fit in the pocket.

09-18-2009, 05:51 PM	#95
dmaul1114 Wizard Posts: 2,300 Karma: 1121709 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle 1	Something like that has potential. Doesn't have to be smaller as I really want a 9 or 10 inch screen, or even letter sized. I'm not so worried about portability--as long as it's light and doesn't weigh down a brief case as much as a laptop.

09-19-2009, 12:07 AM	#99
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	I'd love to have a tablet PC about the size of my Kindle DX (especially the thinness), and it should be connected to the internet through a 3G (or 4G) connection. Hint to phone carriers -- tie this in with my phone so that I only have one bill. I also like e-ink, so if this device used some future color e-ink with a refresh rate capable of video that would be even better. Since I'm dreaming, I also want this device to use a polymer/plastic substrate instead of glass, and I want at least a TB solid state hard drive.

09-19-2009, 11:29 PM	#101
dmaul1114 Wizard Posts: 2,300 Karma: 1121709 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle 1	Battery life really depends on your usage. As long as my device can last through at least a day of typical usage I'm fine with it. No big deal to plug it in every night or two just like I do my cell phone. But it's more of an issue for people reading several hours every day.

09-21-2009, 08:47 PM	#104
dmaul1114 Wizard Posts: 2,300 Karma: 1121709 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle 1	Yeah I'd be fine using something like a 9" or 10" tablet as a PDA. I'd just carry it around in my briefcase. Easier (or as easy) to carry that around vs. a PDA, Kindle, MP3 player, netbook etc. to have all that functionality. I don't use my PDA very actively anyway. I mainly just use the Palm Desktop pc software and synch up often and just look at the PDA every once in a while when on the go, or at a conference etc.

09-22-2009, 07:07 AM	#105
Solicitous Wizard Posts: 1,434 Karma: 1525776 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: TAS, Australia Device: Astak Pocket Pro (Black), 2 x Kindle WiFi (Graphite), iPod Touch 4G	I have to ask, what is the fascination with the new line of ereaders really starting to push the use of touch screens? I can see some benefits to usability of the device with a touch screen, but I can't think of anything worse than trying to sit back, enjoy reading whilst trying to not focus on dirty fingerprints on the screen.

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