Sol Reader - e-Ink reading headset

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The resolution of the Sol Reader is terrible. The fonts used are awful. It's like reading on an 8-bit game console without color.

It's better and worse than an original 1989 Gameboy:
160 (w) × 144 (h) pixels, monochrome LCD with four levels of grey/white/black.

Sol
256 x 256 pixel, but strangely no greys? Just on/off pixels.

CGA on PC 1981:
320 x 200 pixels with 3 ghastly colors and black,
640 x 200 in mono, 720 × 348

Hercules 3rd party card 1982
720 x 348, 720 × 348

ACT Sirius1 / Victor 9000 1981
800 x 400 pixels, matte black and green

ZX Spectrum, 1982
256×192 pixels, but colour! a palette of 15 shades: seven colours at two levels of brightness each, plus black.

Palm III, 1998. This series of PDAs was the last thing to use low resolution square (or nearly square) displays.
192 x 192 pixel and 4 shade mono.

So, yes, JS Wolf is right. It's FORTY years out of date on display resolution.

NTSC TV limited consoles to 240 lines, less due to overscan. PAL TV 288 (but less due to overscan), hence the 192 to 200 lines.
UK 405 TV was turned off in 1985 (about 188 lines). The full 480, 576 or 377 resolution couldn't be used due to interlace. All detail had to be two lines high minimum to avoid flicker being half as fast.

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The display is indeed awful. I got a headache just from the demo.

There's a demo? I couldn't find anything on the site.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

There's a demo? I couldn't find anything on the site.

From BionicGecko's post:
In the “Product Specs” section, there are two buttons, “Reader” (the default), and “Navigation”. The latter brings up the display “demo”.

[Dsharma]

I gotta say, the idea of "noise-canceling for your eyes" is pretty darn cool. No distractions, just you and your book - sounds like a reader's dream​.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Dsharma

I gotta say, the idea of "noise-canceling for your eyes" is pretty darn cool. No distractions, just you and your book - sounds like a reader's dream​.

...until that reader gets overrun by a car, a train, a bike etc, like many folks with earphones have. Going by those accidents, plenty of people would be stupid enough to wear their immersive reading glasses on the street.

[Dsharma]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

...until that reader gets overrun by a car, a train, a bike etc, like many folks with earphones have. Going by those accidents, plenty of people would be stupid enough to wear their immersive reading glasses on the street.

That's true. Totally agree with you.
But anyway, I consider this a big step for readers. I would like to try it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dsharma

That's true. Totally agree with you.
But anyway, I consider this a big step for readers. I would like to try it.

After seeing the demo, this is going to be painful for the eyes.

[kandwo]

I agree, the demo was headache inducing. Not to mention the horrible website.

I find the idea intriguing, though. A problem with book reading is constantly looking down - combine that with sitting in front of a laptop screen, looking at a phone, etc - and your neck will start complaining. This kind of tech could potentially alleviate that.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by kandwo

I find the idea intriguing, though. A problem with book reading is constantly looking down - combine that with sitting in front of a laptop screen, looking at a phone, etc - and your neck will start complaining. This kind of tech could potentially alleviate that.

I don't look down in any of those scenarios, and at 51 I have no neck pains whatsoever. I hold my ereader in my hand and slightly downward from my eyes, but not so downward I have to bend my neck. The same with the phone. A laptop is used on a stand, so that the screen is again about the height of my eyes.

When I see kids looking at their phones with their chins practically on their chests, then my neck starts to hurt. I couldn't use any device in this position even for 10 minutes.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The display is indeed awful. I got a headache just from the demo.

I have to agree on the display. What's worse (and fitting into the stupid website comment), something in that screen demo (which seemed really simple) kicked my computer's fan into high gear. This is a little Optiplex micro computer. I NEVER hear its fan. I have no idea how they accomplished that but as soon as I left the site the fan went back to normal.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Dsharma

I gotta say, the idea of "noise-canceling for your eyes" is pretty darn cool. No distractions, just you and your book - sounds like a reader's dream​.

For me it looks claustrophobic.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by kandwo

I agree, the demo was headache inducing. Not to mention the horrible website.

I find the idea intriguing, though. A problem with book reading is constantly looking down - combine that with sitting in front of a laptop screen, looking at a phone, etc - and your neck will start complaining. This kind of tech could potentially alleviate that.

Except it's relatively heavy (about 2/3 the weight of a Kobo Clara HD, 105 grams) and that weight rests on your nose and ears. I can see where you might be inclined to hold your head in an abnormal position to keep it from slipping down on your nose. But it may be well-balanced and not uncomfortable.

[bbqncigars]

I would like to see something like an updated version of Google Glass. I get that full size lenses can be a more versatile display, but large lenses have their drawbacks. I wore glasses since third grade until Lasik fifteen years ago, and don't miss frequently cleaning them.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I have to agree on the display. What's worse (and fitting into the stupid website comment), something in that screen demo (which seemed really simple) kicked my computer's fan into high gear. This is a little Optiplex micro computer. I NEVER hear its fan. I have no idea how they accomplished that but as soon as I left the site the fan went back to normal.

A couple of hardware refreshes ago at work, any mobilread animated gif avatar would kick the Xeon CPU to 100% and the fan started to howl.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

A couple of hardware refreshes ago at work, any mobilread animated gif avatar would kick the Xeon CPU to 100% and the fan started to howl.

That's even weirder. I wonder what causes (caused) that?