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Kindle vs. iPad Displays: Up close and personal
- lsc 16y agois anyone selling e-ink or even just transflective displays for laptops/computers/etc/ that I could use in my day to day work? most current e-ink stuff would be too slow for most things... but eh, for a second or third monitor I could use when reading things that don't change, it could work. a transflective screen could also do the job... I had one of the little green OLPC jobbes for a while, and I really liked the transflective mode, though the device as a whole, imo, was fairly useless other than as a bulky e-reader. Still I'd pay money for transflective panels for my desktop, and I'd pay quite a bit of money for a transflective screen on my laptop.
- kxs 16y agoPixel Qi maybe, but 10" only atm, iirc. http://pixelqi.com/blog1/2010/03/07/diy-pixel-qi-kits/ http://pixelqi.com/blog1/2010/03/07/diy-pixel-qi-kits/
- lsc 16y agonice... that's almost enough for me to put up with a netbook keyboard, or at least enough to /look at/ netbook keyboards again. too bad it doesn't fit a thinkpad X series.
- kxs 16y agoI bought a Samsung N210 for my mother which has a surprisingly good keyboard. As a side note: IIRC there is a 10" thinkpad X netbook in Australia (for schools) and for a short time earlier this year, they displayed a 10" model on the lenovo website, so there may be hope... A 11.6" or 12" version of the pixel qi diy kit would certainly be great.
- lsc 16y agoThanks, I'll look at the N210, but generally the acceptability of a keyboard is rather dependent on hand size.
- wazoox 16y agoAnd everybody should see why and how eInk devices (Kindle, Sony PRS, etc) are hundred times better tools to read books and papers.
- rauljara 16y agoBe careful with the word 'everybody'. Surely someone would prefer higher contrast, the ability to change foreground/background color, and faster page turning (without that annoying black flash) over crisper text. Me? I still prefer print. Though I imagine that much like my preference for CDs over mp3s, my preference for print is doomed to die out over the next few years as the technology improves and I slowly get over my nostalgia.
- zootm 16y agoThis is definitely the main point in this "debate"; some people will just prefer one screen type over the other. A lot of people seem to be advertising these opinions as objective fact, and that's quite a dangerous trend. I'm personally of the opinion that e-Ink is what I'd prefer for reading, but I absolutely despise reading on screens; anything lengthy I print out. And while I think that e-Ink is better for reading, that's all that e-Ink devices (while being a lot cheaper than the iPad) do. If you read less and do other things more, then e-Ink is unlikely to even be an option for you unless you feel like shelling out for another device for the few times you do read at length.
- wazoox 16y agoI'm a rabid reader, and buying an e-ink device was a boon: though I've read many short papers on my laptops and a on my phone, I certainly wouldn't read thousands of pages at once on an LCD device, and I've precisely done so with my PRS. That, and the battery lasts 2 weeks of constant reading.
- Groxx 16y agoI dunno, it's pretty definitive that emissive displays cause more eye strain than a book (and E-ink is really close to a book). For any serious reader, eye strain seems likely to be at the top of their to-be-avoided list.
- ck2 16y agoWhat's with the wayward "pixels" on the eink display, is that dirt or what? I'll have to try a kindle someday. I had to wait for high resolution LCD because I am nearsighted and can literally see the pixel grid "screendoor" at HDTV resolutions on the desktop (even at 23" size) and it was driving me crazy - used a CRT until this year!
- yellowbkpk 16y agoThose aren't really the pixels, they're the "phosphor" of the display. The pixels are behind the little blobs goo and are little electrical contacts that induce a magnetic field. When the field is one way, the pixels are dark, and vice versa. The field affects the nearby blobs of goo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Electronic_paper_(Side_view_of_Electrophoretic_display).PNG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Electronic_paper_(Side_vie...
- PidGin128 16y agoWait, E-Ink is literally a magnadoodle?! I must bring a magnet to barnes&noble...
- StavrosK 16y agoErm, this guy lost the opportunity to make a few hundred bucks with that post, because I want that microscope!
- ZeroGravitas 16y agoThe image links to Amazon with what looks like a referral id in the URL if you want to kick him back a finders fee.
- StavrosK 16y agoI'll do that, thanks!
- yellowbkpk 16y agoThere are several here for <$50: http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.808~search.microscope%20camera http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.808~search.m...
- brkumar 16y agoThe exact model is available with free shipping throughout Europe at play.com - http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/11521117/Veho-VMS-004D-Deluxe-Discovery-Series-400x-USB-Microscope/Product.html http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/11521117/Veho-VMS-004D-Deluxe-...
- c1sc0 16y agoI wonder what the production cost of an iPad with TWO displays would be? The iPhone now has glass on both sides, what if the front could be LCD and the back E-Ink? Since E-ink is permanent, it could also be a great way to "personalize" your iPad with e.g. a custom design on the 'back'. Steve, are you reading this?
- T-zex 16y agoI'd prefer the iPhone with solar batteries on the backside.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- krschultz 16y agoE-ink displays are very expensive. The one in the kindle costs > $60 to the manufacturer.
- judofyr 16y agoThat reminds me of Pixel Qi, a display that's a mixture a normal LCD and E-Ink: http://www.pixelqi.com/home http://www.pixelqi.com/home
- ubercore 16y agoIt's not actually the same as E-Ink, it's still an LCD screen when in low power reflective mode. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Qi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Qi
- mikecane 16y agoI'm surprised the eInk particles look like rocks at the bottom of an aquarium. All this time I was led to believe they were uniform, like tiny spheres.
- kjrose 16y agoI can't wait to get my next kindle. The iPad is nice from the perspective of video and the like, but it is still very much a computer screen. The Kindle simply feels exactly like mutating paper. It'll be really cool if Amazon ever figures out colour on the kindle.
- mmorris 16y agoIt'll be really cool if Amazon ever figures out colour on the kindle. Actually, the display is made by eInk, not by Amazon. There are color versions in development, last I heard they should be going in to mass production around the end of this year. I'd guess that Amazon will have a color version of the Kindle soon after the displays are available.
- AlexMuir 16y agoCan someone fire one up on the iPhone 4 display?
- senki 16y agoApple Retina Display: Under the microscope comparisons with 1G and 3G: http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/2010/06/apple-retina-display/ http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/2010/06/apple-retina... Discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1461213 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1461213
- gte910h 16y agoHaving used both Kindles and iPads to read things, I don't understand how people can think it's such a clear choice (see comments, etc of article) It honestly feels like the "kindle is awesome" side of the clearly made up their mind people have some amounts of vision trouble which has gone uncorrected. I don't understand at a slightest, the feeling they're talking about, nor do several of the iPad owners of various ages I've talked to. It honestly feels like the "iPad is a clearly superior reading device" group don't ever walk into the sun though. Honestly, even with the contrast controls, that shiny screen gets you in troubles in sunlight heavy situations. And really many don't get that the kindle is meant to be used the same places books are? So many people seem to not understand you need just as much light to use it then complain about the lack of light.
- crad 16y agoI own both a Kindle and an iPad and have used both for reading books. I prefer reading on the Kindle because of the eInk screen, weight of the device and the orientation of the buttons. I do find the iPad has a much more engaging screen and is a very usable reader, except when it comes to reading outside. I made the mistake of taking my iPad with me to the park to read; the glare was far too much, even in the shade. Ultimately for me it feels better to read on the Kindle. The Kindle is made for reading and it shows in the engineering, just as the iPad is a multimedia device that has a few apps for reading books.
- thedragon4453 16y agoAgreed. Kindle makes the most sense as a dedicated reader, and indeed if that were all I were using it for, then the Kindle would win. The compelling thing about the iPad, for me at least, is that it isn't just a reader.
- jpdbaugh 16y agoI think the "kindle is awesome" crowd are people who use a reader to read novels. The Kindle is simply almost identical to the experience reading a printed book. However good the iPad is as a reader, it is not even close to the same as a printed book mainly because of the backlight.
- Kilimanjaro 16y agoNow compare the iPad display with one of a PSP, then a TV, a CRT, an LCD, an XRAY film, a Chess board, a canvas, etc. That's what I use the iPad for.
- zootm 16y agoWell, yes, obviously the comparison is only informative for the "reading" application of the iPad. This is also the reason that comparing the prices and some other aspects of the devices is pretty worthless. But if you're interested in the differences in screen technology this is a very neat comparison.
- kadavy 16y agoAdditionally, the Kindle doesn't shoot beams of light at your eyes.
- mortenjorck 16y agoIt bounces them, though. Sometimes from the sun!
- Synaesthesia 16y agoThis is basically the fundamental difference between the screens.
- rdez6173 16y agoI don't know how much it matters what the screen looks like under magnification. I think it's a matter of preference and which best suits your lifestyle; there are pros and cons of both.
- nnash 16y agoThe simulated fibers on the Kindle's eInk screen are pretty incredible.
- Tycho 16y agoThe answer here seems straight forward enough: just get an iPad and an eInk reader. Seriously, the eInk devices are great for replacing books (reading outside, avoiding glare, not caring about battery life), the iPad is great for internet/apps and augmenting the reading experience (eg. the way you can zoom and scroll so effortlessly makes reading those awkwardly formatted PDFs much easier. in fact you get a sort of entirely novel tactile experience)
- ghshephard 16y agoYes. You nailed it - I carry both of them with me 100% of the time. When I'm on the road, I _tear_ through books on my iPad in Hotel Rooms (Dark Light.) During the day, or while on the beach - the Kindle comes out and I also disappear in reading (Nobody in their right mind even attempts to read on an iPad in the sun - even with the Matte screen.) And, best part of all - I have a MiFi (I spent many, many hours trying to decide whether to go with the 3G Ipad) - and I am astonishingly happy over the fact that I can now support the K3 (WiFi Support - Yay!), my iPad, my Laptop, and my iPhone with my 5 Gigabyte Capacity Sprint MiFi.