Dual display navigation - New Scientist article

ePossum · 06-26-2008, 02:40 AM

Brief article on a paper that was delivered at a conference in April this year about research on navigation techniques using dual display e-reading devices.

Link: Dual-display e-book reader lets you flip pages naturally

The paper is titled "Navigation Techniques for Dual-Display E-Book Readers", written by Nicholas Chen, Francois Guimbretiere, Morgan Dixon, Cassandra Lewis, and Maneesh Agrawala.

Link: EBookReaderCHI08.pdf

BookishDreamer · 06-26-2008, 09:07 AM

This is an intriguing concept. Personally, I'm happy with a single screen for reading, but I'm sure there are people who would make use of both screens, together or separated. I'd be interested to see how much the device weighs. It looks a little too bulky to fit in my purse.

Dreamer

DixieGal · 06-26-2008, 09:44 AM

It's not something I'm interested in either, but I can see it being a big advantage for students and such - IF it can run different books on different sides. Otherwise, it seems like it would be heavy and clumsy. IMHO, it seems to me that if one needed that much viewscreen, then perhaps they would be better off with a notebook PC.

But, that's just my opinion. I'm spoiled to having a simple lightweight reader and wouldn't change a thing about it.

Elsi · 06-26-2008, 11:20 AM

The researcher keeps making reference to "documents". So it seems obvious to me that he's talking about a device used for one's work or study. I can see no advantages to such a device when reading the latest "Cat Who" book from Ms. Braun.

DaleDe · 06-26-2008, 11:22 AM

the OLPC folks have shown a 2nd generation product that includes this concept. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/21...ght-direction/
They can use the second screen for a keyboard as well as a dual page book.

Dale

tirsales · 06-26-2008, 11:25 AM

They would need to shrink the size of the frames - no (or nearly no) frame between the two displays would be better.
They have some interesting (so no new) techniques - lets hope some companies adopt it.

BKeeper · 06-26-2008, 11:27 AM

Interesting but not really useful.

Screens are the weakest and most expensive part of ebook readers. I recently broke my cybook screen and it's not worth it to repair it. I'm buying a new one.

Dual screens mean at least double the cost and make the device unnecessarily complex , bulky, (and breakable).

IMHO a dual screen offers no advantage over a good window manager.

Interface advantages such as natural flips will be easily replicated with flex displays, which will finally allow up to A4 sizes without sacrificing mobility.

daffy4u · 06-26-2008, 11:31 AM

I thought the demo was cool but I was getting eye strain just from the video.

pilotbob · 06-26-2008, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BKeeper

Interesting but not really useful.

Screens are the weakest and most expensive part of ebook readers. I recently broke my cybook screen and it's not worth it to repair it. I'm buying a new one.

Dual screens mean at least double the cost and make the device unnecessarily complex , bulky, (and breakable).

IMHO a dual screen offers no advantage over a good window manager.

Interface advantages such as natural flips will be easily replicated with flex displays, which will finally allow up to A4 sizes without sacrificing mobility.

What someone should do is engineer a reader that has the ability to hing/connect to a second reader on the left and right side. This way, you can buy a second reader (third reader?) if you want a two page reader. The interconnect would allow the readers to operate in tandem with a single book, or display seperate books if desired.

BOb

tirsales · 06-26-2008, 11:33 AM

Yes, this would actually be pretty cool. One problem with that approach is the framesize - at least for my liking.
I dont like to big frames between two diplays, especially if I e.g. look at an image spanning over both displays.

Alisa · 06-26-2008, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

What someone should do is engineer a reader that has the ability to hing/connect to a second reader on the left and right side. This way, you can buy a second reader (third reader?) if you want a two page reader. The interconnect would allow the readers to operate in tandem with a single book, or display seperate books if desired.

BOb

That would be perfect. I'd love to have those in A6-sized panels. The trick would be getting the screens to sit close together with little to no gap.

TheJohnNewton · 06-26-2008, 01:55 PM

I have to agree with those above I'm not sure how usefull this would be for the typical user. Even when I was in college I wasn't comparing multiple texts to each other. I have no problem navigating with buttons. I'm not sure what advantage physically flipping a page brings other than familiarity. It actually seems a step backward to me. What problem are they trying to solve here?

Ea · 06-27-2008, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheJohnNewton

<snip>
What problem are they trying to solve here?

That was my thought also. Sounds as if they want it to look like a p-book. But why? You don't need two screens for reading fiction, and I can't think of much non fiction or scholarly texts where it would be an advantage - except perhaps if you could also annotate, but then we're looking more and more on a type of tablet PC or such. One thing I like about my e-reader, is that it is light and easy to hold with one hand - I find p-books rather cumbersome now.

tirsales · 06-27-2008, 08:48 AM

* when using bigger charts - you could plug two devices together to display the chart without having to zoom.
* Solving the problem of slow display updates - just turn the device around and the second display already shows the next page.
* Easier to use for "eReader newbies"
* One display text, one display notes
* etc

Why do people use multi-screen display? Or 22'' screens?

TheJohnNewton · 06-27-2008, 11:33 AM

Tirsales,

So in other words it doesn't do much for the typical user of a small, portable, reading device like myself.

Multi or large screen displays have their uses but I would not use them for reading books. Often if I have to read a large amount of text on a big computer display I'll make the window for the text smaller than the display size as I find it much easier to read that way.

Being on a site called Mobileread I assume the focus here is on portable reading devices so I'm looking at it from that perspective. Perhaps it has other applications?

06-26-2008, 02:40 AM	#1
ePossum Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 11 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iliad v.2, Dana Alphasmart	Dual display navigation - New Scientist article Brief article on a paper that was delivered at a conference in April this year about research on navigation techniques using dual display e-reading devices. Link: Dual-display e-book reader lets you flip pages naturally The paper is titled "Navigation Techniques for Dual-Display E-Book Readers", written by Nicholas Chen, Francois Guimbretiere, Morgan Dixon, Cassandra Lewis, and Maneesh Agrawala. Link: EBookReaderCHI08.pdf Last edited by Alexander Turcic; 06-26-2008 at 09:34 AM. Reason: slightly edited for frontpage

06-26-2008, 01:55 PM	#12
TheJohnNewton Addict Posts: 256 Karma: 144599 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Boox Nova 2	I have to agree with those above I'm not sure how usefull this would be for the typical user. Even when I was in college I wasn't comparing multiple texts to each other. I have no problem navigating with buttons. I'm not sure what advantage physically flipping a page brings other than familiarity. It actually seems a step backward to me. What problem are they trying to solve here? Last edited by TheJohnNewton; 06-27-2008 at 10:48 AM.

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06-26-2008, 09:07 AM	#2
BookishDreamer Cultural Artist Posts: 1,128 Karma: 12829 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Georgia Device: Sony 505, Kindle 2	This is an intriguing concept. Personally, I'm happy with a single screen for reading, but I'm sure there are people who would make use of both screens, together or separated. I'd be interested to see how much the device weighs. It looks a little too bulky to fit in my purse. Dreamer

06-26-2008, 09:44 AM	#3
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	It's not something I'm interested in either, but I can see it being a big advantage for students and such - IF it can run different books on different sides. Otherwise, it seems like it would be heavy and clumsy. IMHO, it seems to me that if one needed that much viewscreen, then perhaps they would be better off with a notebook PC. But, that's just my opinion. I'm spoiled to having a simple lightweight reader and wouldn't change a thing about it.

06-26-2008, 11:20 AM	#4
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	The researcher keeps making reference to "documents". So it seems obvious to me that he's talking about a device used for one's work or study. I can see no advantages to such a device when reading the latest "Cat Who" book from Ms. Braun.

06-26-2008, 11:22 AM	#5
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,470 Karma: 13095790 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7	the OLPC folks have shown a 2nd generation product that includes this concept. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/21...ght-direction/ They can use the second screen for a keyboard as well as a dual page book. Dale

06-26-2008, 11:25 AM	#6
tirsales MIA ... but returning som Posts: 1,600 Karma: 511342 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Germany Device: PRS-505 and Really not owning a PRS-700	They would need to shrink the size of the frames - no (or nearly no) frame between the two displays would be better. They have some interesting (so no new) techniques - lets hope some companies adopt it.

06-26-2008, 11:27 AM	#7
BKeeper Groupie Posts: 186 Karma: 728 Join Date: Jul 2006 Device: Kindle PW	Interesting but not really useful. Screens are the weakest and most expensive part of ebook readers. I recently broke my cybook screen and it's not worth it to repair it. I'm buying a new one. Dual screens mean at least double the cost and make the device unnecessarily complex , bulky, (and breakable). IMHO a dual screen offers no advantage over a good window manager. Interface advantages such as natural flips will be easily replicated with flex displays, which will finally allow up to A4 sizes without sacrificing mobility.

06-26-2008, 11:31 AM	#8
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	I thought the demo was cool but I was getting eye strain just from the video.

06-26-2008, 11:33 AM	#10
tirsales MIA ... but returning som Posts: 1,600 Karma: 511342 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Germany Device: PRS-505 and Really not owning a PRS-700	Yes, this would actually be pretty cool. One problem with that approach is the framesize - at least for my liking. I dont like to big frames between two diplays, especially if I e.g. look at an image spanning over both displays.

06-27-2008, 08:48 AM	#14
tirsales MIA ... but returning som Posts: 1,600 Karma: 511342 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Germany Device: PRS-505 and Really not owning a PRS-700	* when using bigger charts - you could plug two devices together to display the chart without having to zoom. * Solving the problem of slow display updates - just turn the device around and the second display already shows the next page. * Easier to use for "eReader newbies" * One display text, one display notes * etc Why do people use multi-screen display? Or 22'' screens?

06-27-2008, 11:33 AM	#15
TheJohnNewton Addict Posts: 256 Karma: 144599 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Boox Nova 2	Tirsales, So in other words it doesn't do much for the typical user of a small, portable, reading device like myself. Multi or large screen displays have their uses but I would not use them for reading books. Often if I have to read a large amount of text on a big computer display I'll make the window for the text smaller than the display size as I find it much easier to read that way. Being on a site called Mobileread I assume the focus here is on portable reading devices so I'm looking at it from that perspective. Perhaps it has other applications?

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