do have i this right? 6 inch screen?

[exo]

the kindle only has a 6 inch diagonal screen? how could this be? even a mass market paperback has a diagonal of 8 inches. trade paperbacks have a diagonal of 9.5 inches. so is it possible that people can read on the kindle?

[phenomshel]

LOL!! Well, I hope so, or we've got a forum full of deluded people around here that are imagining they're reading on Kindles!!

It's not as bad as it sounds, and believe it or not, the five inch models of dedicated ebook reading devices are quite popular too.

For that matter, there are also quite a few people around here that like to read on their smartphones, and those screens are considerably smaller than six or even five inches.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by exo

the kindle only has a 6 inch diagonal screen? how could this be? even a mass market paperback has a diagonal of 8 inches. trade paperbacks have a diagonal of 9.5 inches. so is it possible that people can read on the kindle?

I checked my Sony Reader (a PRS-505) and the screen measures 6 inches diagonally (3.5 inches wide by 4.75 inches high) and I find it very readable. One factor to consider is not just the screen size but also the text area size.

I took several handy standard paperback books (romance novels) and measured the text area (disregarding the header and footer). The text area for all of them worked out to (approximately) 3.25 inches by 5.5 inches, or about 6.25 inches diagonally.

A factor that enhances the readability of ebooks is that you can increase the size of the text. One thing I noticed is the size of the print in the books I checked and it is about 11 points. For me it is readable, but I'd prefer it to be a bit larger (I format my own ebooks with a base font size of 14 points). With printed books you are basically stuck with the text size that you get, but with ebooks increasing the font size is easy.

[daffy4u]

I repeat, 6 font sizes.

[basschick]

i find reading on a 6" screen to be easy and comfortable.

[LDBoblo]

Hi exo,

Yep, it's a 6 inch diagonal on the current midrange devices. There are some bigger ones available, and the future may yield some better designs with better screen-device size ratios, but 6" is what we have for now in general.

As another user said, although most paper books do have larger page dimensions, the effective size of the text block is usually quite a bit smaller. A normal mass market paperbook text block's diagonal measure is just a little over 6 inches. Since the device's bezel can act as a margin, I generally set my ebooks with only a 1mm margin, allowing me to use the screen pretty completely.

It's not perfect, and I do strongly hope for more 7-8" screens with more book-like aspect ratios, but 6 inches is plenty for reading paperbacks. For me, these devices are nothing but novel readers since the technology in them is so poor. In the future when ebook devices aspire to take on reading functions less limited than novels, 6 inches will not really be sufficient, nor will the current display quality or device speed.

[lene1949]

It's not as bad as it sounds, and believe it or not, the five inch models of dedicated ebook reading devices are quite popular too.

Yes, I didn't want a 6" screen as I find it too big... Might as well read an ordinary book... Maybe because I'm used to reading on my Palm with only a 3.25" screen... Still very easy to read on, and the pageturns are immediate.

My Hanvon with a 5" in screen is great, easy to read, easy to carry in the smallest of my bags.

[GhostHawk]

I have no problem reading on my 5" Jetbook screen.
Big enough to put a pile of words on the screen at any given point.

Small enough to slip into a pocket and take with me everywhere.

Weighs less than most paperbacks also. Trust me, until you've tried it you have no idea what your missing.

[Bremen Cole]

Agree.... my 5" PRS-300 seems huge to me after reading on PDA's and and iPhone for years...

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by exo

the kindle only has a 6 inch diagonal screen?

Yes, that's the standard screen size with eInk devices. I prefer my 8" screen though. There are some 10" devices as well, but IMO they're too big.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

There are some 10" devices as well, but IMO they're too big.

Certainly too big to carry around with you. Nice for reading at home, though. A 10" screen has roughly the same display area as a hardback book.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Certainly too big to carry around with you. Nice for reading at home, though. A 10" screen has roughly the same display area as a hardback book.

It's all about personal preference. My 8" device is almost exclusively used for reading at home though. Portability is certainly part of it for most people, but for me a 10" device is just too big, even for reading at home.

[HarryT]

Fair enough .

[Flub]

I bought a K2 Int when they launched and I'm certainly looking forward to the eventual launch of the DX. I have a Bag of Holding from Think Geek and a DX would certainly fit in there with no problems

6inches? No problem at all. I also read on my iPhone with no issues (Although that isn't for everyone) and I used to use the Mobipocket reader on an old Nokia smartphone with a much smaller screen.

[JSWolf]

The new Sony Reader PRS-900 is a 7.1 inch screen. That's closer to the size of a standard paperback. And if you do away with the margins, you may be able to get more text on screen then a paperback page with it's margins.