E-ink or LED displays for ebook reading

[AprilHare]

Well, which is best: e-ink or LED displays for ebook reading?

[Nexutix]

Well, for immersive reading, E-ink is best. But for efficiency, LED wins. (at least for now)

[Quexos]

I'd say E-ink over LED
But I might one day say OLED over E-ink if things ever went that way.

[lindsayw]

e-Ink definitely for the reading experience, but that's pretty immaterial. eReaders are gaining size, touch-screens, function... in short, they are all morphing into Tablets. To compete with other Tablets, they will mostly have to go with the same touch-screens that other Tablets use, so we will all be reading on LED or whatever pops up before next Tuesday lunch-time. Dedicated eReaders will be seen as poor cousins to Tablets, because Tablet users have already discovered that they don't need to own both a Tablet AND an eReader, and they also get a computer, camera, phone...

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by lindsayw

. Dedicated eReaders will be seen as poor cousins to Tablets, because Tablet users have already discovered that they don't need to own both a Tablet AND an eReader, and they also get a computer, camera, phone...

Which is why swiss army knives have replaced toolboxes.

Multipurpose devices are great for people who have short attention spans or are casual towards something, but for those that are more serious, a single purpose device is generally superior.

[bevdeforges]

E-ink is far better for me. But I spend a large part of my day sitting at a computer screen (i.e. LED) and if nothing else, the change in media helps me enjoy my reading more.

DH just got a tablet and is going nuts trying to get it set up (3G connection, coodinate with his mobile phone, etc. etc.). For him, I think having technical manuals available on the same device he's working on is probably a good idea, but he rarely reads for fun.

Different strokes, and all that...

[Sweetpea]

Neither. Or both. But neither those options are in the poll.

[Valkrider]

Depends. eInk is great for sunlight but LCD is better for low light imho so I couldn't vote either.

[beachwanderer]

Sorry. Can't answer. Depends.

(As has been said above already: E-Ink is for long linear texts; LCD or LED for speed, jumping between different textparts and texts and multimedia. Which is why I got an enTourage eDGe for working in/with texts and still have that Hanlin V3 for pure reading without netaccess, too. )

[amward]

Eink for me, I don't like the backlit screen for long periods of time, and I only want my ereader for reading, ie instead of a book. I don't want to use it as a computer or anything else.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by lindsayw

Dedicated eReaders will be seen as poor cousins to Tablets, because Tablet users have already discovered that they don't need to own both a Tablet AND an eReader, and they also get a computer, camera, phone...

Bosh

A dedicated ereader will still be the best choice for those people who just want to read, not be constantly distracted by catapulting birds, SMS, email and facebook.

I have yet to see a commuter on a train hold an iPad to their ear either.

Tablets will replace netbooks in the long term, but never an ereader.

[toddos]

I voted LED, but the poll is wrong on several counts.

1. There are no LED displays that are portable. Or even viewable for closer than ~50-100ft. The poll should be about LCD displays (LCD displays lit by LEDs as backlights are still LCDs) edit: I guess technically AMOLED could be considered a form of LED, but it's relatively rare (only a handful of phones use it, and some phones that did use it stopped doing so due to production shortages) and it's distinct from a traditional LED (those can't be made small enough to be usable as a pixel grid for close-up viewing).
2. There's no variance for display size and pixel density.

When it comes to LCDs, size and pixel density are what really matter. For best reading comfort you need something with a pixel density of 150ppi, ideally higher (over 200ppi). That rules out pretty much every PC display in existence as well as pretty much every tablet over 7". It's not until you get down to phone size devices (3.5-4.5" devices with 480x800) that you break the 200ppi barrier (the non-retina iphones are acceptable with 3.5" screens at 320x480 and 165ppi, but just barely). This is why reading on my 4.3" 480x800 phone is as comfortable to me as reading on my Nook STR, but reading on the girlfriend's iPad (132ppi) is painful for more than brief usage like web browsing.

With proper lighting control e-ink will always be better. However I rarely read under ideal lighting situations and the portability of a phone means I always have the device on me and thus LCD is where I do 90% or more of my reading.

For those that think backlights give them headaches, try a high-ppi device in night mode (white text on black background). I bet you'll find that's much more comfortable than reading black text on a white background on your 15.6" 1366x768 (100ppi) laptop.

[EowynCarter]

For those that think backlights give them headaches, try a high-ppi device in night mode (white text on black background). I bet you'll find that's much more comfortable than reading black text on a white background on your 15.6" 1366x768 (100ppi) laptop.

I tried, it's dreadful. Unless by night.
Best is black on a clear background (not pure white).
I full sunlight, i DO appreciate the darker sPix background actually. Ideal would be some color e-ink where you can adjust the contrast depending on luminosity.

[JoeD]

eInk for the sole reason that every LCD based device I have used is pretty much unreadable sat outside. Other than that, I've no issue reading on LCD or eInk for any stretch of time.

[Phogg]

Depends.

For outdoors or in bed at night?