Screen quality of current eReaders

johanp · 12-26-2012, 05:23 PM

Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade my e-reader, the Sony PRS-600. I'm extremely disappointed with the Sony screen with it's dark grey text on light grey background (seems to have got worse with time), and currently I use a tablet or smartphone instead. Now however I want to get an e-ink reader again, since the technology seems to have improved so much. So my prime requirement is a very good contrast and super crisp text.

I walked into Sony Center today and looked at the PRS-T2 and I was very pleasantly surprised. It seemed, at least with the store lighting to have very good contrast and crispness (although a bit yellowish, perhaps this was the lighting). I had my PRS-600 with me to compare and it was really night and day. The PRS-600 to me is basically unusable, but the PRS-T2 looked really good and booklike. Since this was in a well lit store however, I don't know what it would be like in a less luminous enviroment. Of course the T2 is so much more responsive and faster also, which really improves the experience. The T2 (and T1) are really the only current readers I can check out in stores. So I now have two questions.

Firstly, are there siginificant differences in screen quality (especially contrast) among the 800x600 Pearl screens from different manufacturers, or can they all be considered basically the same? Specifically I'm interested in comparing Pocketbook Touch to the PRS-T2 here. I would prefer to get the Pocketbook due to dictionary support but I'm concerned about screen quality. I have been watching numerous Youtube videos and it seems like the Pocketbook does not have as good contrast as the Sony but it is so difficult to judge from a video. I know that the Pocketbook uses capacitive touch and the T2 infrared. Does this make a difference for contrast?

Secondly, would contrast and crispness be significantly improved by going to the new 1024x758 screens with lighting (i.e. Kindle PW, Kobo Glo, Cybook Odyssey HD), while using in a well lit environment?

Thanks in advance.

Zetmolm · 12-26-2012, 06:27 PM

The Sony PR-T2 and the PocketBook Touch have basically the same screen. The type of touch does not make any difference.

The way fonts are displayed may make a small difference. Also the choice of fonts makes quite a difference. An advantage of the PocketBook Touch is that you can install any font you like (I found quite a number of free fonts that work very well on an E Ink screen). Another advantage of the PocketBook Touch is that you can install CoolReader on it, and in that app you can modify settings for font hinting, gamma, anitaliasing, etc, to make the fonts look even better.

davidfor · 12-26-2012, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johanp

Secondly, would contrast and crispness be significantly improved by going to the new 1024x758 screens with lighting (i.e. Kindle PW, Kobo Glo, Cybook Odyssey HD), while using in a well lit environment?

I can't comment on the rest, but I have a Kobo Touch and a Kobo Glo. The Touch has a 600*800 e-ink pearl screen which is probably the same as the PRS-T2. The screen on the Glo is noticeable better looking than the Touch. I find I have gone down a point or so in font size since I have changed device.

Skillganon · 12-30-2012, 10:05 AM

I have just bought a T2 to replace an old prs 600 and it was welll worth the £99.99 the screen is much better and the reader is much quicker and more responsive. Never been very interested in lighted screens

johanp · 01-02-2013, 04:09 PM

Thanks all for the advice.

I decided to order a PocketBook Touch, hoping the screen is good enough. I actually would prefer a lighted reader but I prioritize dictionary support, epub support and SD card. I know that PocketBook will release a lighted reader in 2013, so my plan is to upgrade in about a year or so when that is mature.

12-26-2012, 05:23 PM	#1
johanp Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Device: Kobo Glo, PocketBook Touch 622	Screen quality of current eReaders Hi all, I'm looking to upgrade my e-reader, the Sony PRS-600. I'm extremely disappointed with the Sony screen with it's dark grey text on light grey background (seems to have got worse with time), and currently I use a tablet or smartphone instead. Now however I want to get an e-ink reader again, since the technology seems to have improved so much. So my prime requirement is a very good contrast and super crisp text. I walked into Sony Center today and looked at the PRS-T2 and I was very pleasantly surprised. It seemed, at least with the store lighting to have very good contrast and crispness (although a bit yellowish, perhaps this was the lighting). I had my PRS-600 with me to compare and it was really night and day. The PRS-600 to me is basically unusable, but the PRS-T2 looked really good and booklike. Since this was in a well lit store however, I don't know what it would be like in a less luminous enviroment. Of course the T2 is so much more responsive and faster also, which really improves the experience. The T2 (and T1) are really the only current readers I can check out in stores. So I now have two questions. Firstly, are there siginificant differences in screen quality (especially contrast) among the 800x600 Pearl screens from different manufacturers, or can they all be considered basically the same? Specifically I'm interested in comparing Pocketbook Touch to the PRS-T2 here. I would prefer to get the Pocketbook due to dictionary support but I'm concerned about screen quality. I have been watching numerous Youtube videos and it seems like the Pocketbook does not have as good contrast as the Sony but it is so difficult to judge from a video. I know that the Pocketbook uses capacitive touch and the T2 infrared. Does this make a difference for contrast? Secondly, would contrast and crispness be significantly improved by going to the new 1024x758 screens with lighting (i.e. Kindle PW, Kobo Glo, Cybook Odyssey HD), while using in a well lit environment? Thanks in advance. Last edited by johanp; 12-26-2012 at 05:29 PM.

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12-26-2012, 06:27 PM	#2
Zetmolm Guru Posts: 615 Karma: 2362786 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: PocketBook Verse Pro Colour	The Sony PR-T2 and the PocketBook Touch have basically the same screen. The type of touch does not make any difference. The way fonts are displayed may make a small difference. Also the choice of fonts makes quite a difference. An advantage of the PocketBook Touch is that you can install any font you like (I found quite a number of free fonts that work very well on an E Ink screen). Another advantage of the PocketBook Touch is that you can install CoolReader on it, and in that app you can modify settings for font hinting, gamma, anitaliasing, etc, to make the fonts look even better.

12-30-2012, 10:05 AM	#4
Skillganon Connoisseur Posts: 61 Karma: 19822 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: UK Device: Sony prs 600 and T2	I have just bought a T2 to replace an old prs 600 and it was welll worth the £99.99 the screen is much better and the reader is much quicker and more responsive. Never been very interested in lighted screens

01-02-2013, 04:09 PM	#5
johanp Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Device: Kobo Glo, PocketBook Touch 622	Thanks all for the advice. I decided to order a PocketBook Touch, hoping the screen is good enough. I actually would prefer a lighted reader but I prioritize dictionary support, epub support and SD card. I know that PocketBook will release a lighted reader in 2013, so my plan is to upgrade in about a year or so when that is mature.

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