Do I really want an eink eBook reader?

[Nausicaa]

I like reading, so I buy eink readers, the Sony PRS-500, the Kindle Keyboard, Paperwhite 2+3. I rarely use it, always put books on there to read and never do, but I still read on my laptop, I recently wondered why, I am trying a cheap 6in 1080 IPS phablet with popsocket and seem to read more on it. Is it that I prefer reading on LCDs? I thought that eink was better but I really don't read on it at all compared to an LCD. I have a jail broken PW3, a buttonless slow device it just plain sucks for reading IMO. With awful PDF support, it's expensive and cumbersome, only goes by pages (rather than being able to scroll comfortably), the software is really bad because it is proprietary or koreader. Having a white font on black screen is supposed to be a premium feature for instance. So strange that the device is somehow too small for me, but a smaller LCD isn't?
The Chinese eink are way more expensive than I am willing to have what a monochrome screen could do with good refresh instead of the tradeoff of slow refresh for $$$.

Right now I am wondering if its the PPI, slow refresh, bad software, or perhaps the size (in the case of PDFs). Has anyone had good experiences with OLED displays for reading or seem to prefer to read on LCD screens?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Nausicaa

... I have a jail broken PW3, a buttonless slow device it just plain sucks for reading IMO. With awful PDF support, it's expensive and cumbersome, only goes by pages (rather than being able to scroll comfortably), the software is really bad because it is proprietary or koreader. Having a white font on black screen is supposed to be a premium feature for instance. So strange that the device is somehow too small for me, but a smaller LCD isn't? ...

Sounds like you read PDFs a lot more than I do. For me there is no comparison between an eReader and a tablet, but I mostly read ePubs and Mobi books so my experience is probably different than yours.

[j.p.s]

Well, if you have both, and read on LCD and not eink, I guess you don't really want eink.

[4691mls]

The main reasons usually given for e-ink instead of LCD:

1. Easier to see in bright light (if you like to read outdoors)
2. Battery life
3. Avoiding eyestrain (for some of us - there are plenty of people who read comfortably on LCD)

If these things don't matter to you then you might as well stick with LCD since it seems to be working for you.

[Nausicaa]

The 3rd part about eyestrain is what interests me. I tend to read more on an LCD although it is not as good at night, which is why I think that OLED should be the best general choice. My main question is... why? I love the idea of eink screens, but I found myself reading less on them. It makes no sense to me because they imitate books the best, but I wonder if I am alone on this or did someone find something lacking on them that made them use it more.

[ilovejedd]

Well, you prefer scrolling over paginated so that's a major plus for LCD already. Also, PDF + 6" e-ink isn't a particularly good combo regardless of software.

I read on both LCD and e-ink. I read epub/mobi and prefer paginated and e-ink works fine for those. I used to find page refresh on (old) e-ink devices too slow but that hasn't been an issue in years. I tend to gravitate towards LCD when convenience is paramount: fast/easy browsing, can buy from any ebook store and read right away (no need to dedrm/convert), can read fanfics directly in-browser.

When I get migraines though, LCD's an absolute no-go whereas I can still tolerate frontlit e-ink and paper (very dim lighting).

[Sirtel]

The question is, what exactly are you reading? The eink is really good for novels (and nonfiction) that are mostly text. It's not so good for books with tables and pictures, or studying. It mostly sucks at PDFs.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Nausicaa

The 3rd part about eyestrain is what interests me. I tend to read more on an LCD although it is not as good at night, which is why I think that OLED should be the best general choice. My main question is... why? I love the idea of eink screens, but I found myself reading less on them. It makes no sense to me because they imitate books the best, but I wonder if I am alone on this or did someone find something lacking on them that made them use it more.

We've had a number of discussions on Mobileread about e-ink vs LCD and eyestrain. Some of us do get eyestrain using LCD and we prefer to stick with e-ink. However, numerous Mobilereaders report that they read regularly on LCD with no problems. So if you are not experiencing any difficulty reading on LCD then you probably don't need to worry about it.

[Nausicaa]

I currently have a 6in smartphone, although its smaller than the kindle it works better for me. I found an OLED phone that I will try, as well.

I read mostly text with a bit of text. I complained about PDF because its annoying, its not something I usually use but I have a few.

I have no idea what to search for to find similar topics. I looked up LCD vs eink and found nothing relevant. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/se...rchid=13963881 What should I be searching for?

[4691mls]

I can never seem to find what I want when searching Mobileread, either by searching on the site or by using Google. I found this for you via looking through my posting history since I knew I had posted in a thread about this topic in the past few months.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=315504

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Nausicaa

The 3rd part about eyestrain is what interests me. I tend to read more on an LCD although it is not as good at night, which is why I think that OLED should be the best general choice.

In the end does the eyestrain issue even matter? Whether it is true or not doesn't matter if you just don't enjoy eInk.

To answer your question of "Do I really want an eink eBook reader?" the answer is clearly 'no'

I like the idea of a smart watch. I had one for a while, but didn't use it nearly as much as I thought I would. I still think they are neat, but I realized that neat as they might be, my spending money on another would just be a waste.

[4691mls]

Just because a technology exists and other people like it doesn't mean you need to use it if it doesn't work for you!

A while back I posted a question in the Lounge forum asking people what they used their connected home devices (Alexa, Google Home, etc.) for. I keep seeing these devices advertised but could never see why I would need one. After reading the responses to my question I still can't see why I would need one. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the technology, just that it's not for me.

If you are happy reading on LCD, then give away or sell your e-ink devices and forget about them!

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Just because a technology exists and other people like it doesn't mean you need to use it if it doesn't work for you!

A while back I posted a question in the Lounge forum asking people what they used their connected home devices (Alexa, Google Home, etc.) for. I keep seeing these devices advertised but could never see why I would need one. After reading the responses to my question I still can't see why I would need one. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the technology, just that it's not for me.

If you are happy reading on LCD, then give away or sell your e-ink devices and forget about them!

Yep. For example, I don't have a smart TV, a music system, or even a car. Don't need or want them. So what if other people use them? I may use something most of those other people don't need or want, like an e-reader. To each their own.

[mobama]

As a heavy reader of ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf, and djvu files), I have found that I need at least three devices to read on.

One: An ereader as huge as possible, say Onyx Boox Max2 Pro or at least Likebook Mimas, for serious research with somewhat paperlike experience.

Two: A pocketable ereader, max 6.8" screen size, to read stuff on the run or at random stops or in passing.

Three: A PC to complement the research for what the ereaders cannot do.

[Nausicaa]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

In the end does the eyestrain issue even matter? Whether it is true or not doesn't matter if you just don't enjoy eInk.

I like the idea of a smart watch. I had one for a while, but didn't use it nearly as much as I thought I would. I still think they are neat, but I realized that neat as they might be, my spending money on another would just be a waste.

I want to be preventative with my electronic usage. I also liked the idea more than the execution just like your example of the smartwatch.

In case you do want one still, I used a pebble, but now I have a miband 2, does notifications, time, and fitness tracking as well as heart rate monitor with 1 month battery life. New one is $35 (on MiBand 4 now), seems to solve every problem I had with smart watches.

I will switch to AMOLED for now and wait to see if eink will wow me back. Thanks everyone. I wondered why I didn't like it, as if I was using it wrong. For pleasure reading its great but for technical stuff or manuscripts, its not acceptable.