5 ms·

Am I the only one who remembers that the entire point of an e-reader is e-ink? Seems like the reader market is merging into the tablet market.

burningion 16y ago
The whole reason I'm even interested in an e-reader is because of the opportunity to give my eyes a break. I don't care about color if it means I'm still staring at a computer screen all day. But then again, maybe we aren't the target market...?
- lsc 16y ago
  hell, I'd buy an e-ink display for my laptop. I don't care about color, but it's a portable device... it'd be nice to be able to use it outside (or in the passenger seat of a car on a sunny day)
  - borism 16y ago
    Toshiba had (has?) some laptops with transflective displays.
    - rbanffy 16y ago
      Well... The T-1000 was transreflective. And the Data General One...
  - rksprst 16y ago
    Totally agree. I would love to have a laptop that has an e-ink screen (color or not); as long as the refresh rate was normal. Backlit displays cause too much eyestrain. Every chance I get I browse the web on my Kindle - even though the browser sucks + refresh rate sucks; at least my eyes are comfortable. I'm already staring at a laptop coding ~18 hours a day.
  - gvb 16y ago
    You can buy a Pixel Qi 10" display and retrofit it into a netbook type laptop. This is a follow-on of the OLPC screen. http://www.pixelqi.com/products http://www.pixelqi.com/products $275 + some bravery http://www.pixelqi.com/where_to_buy http://www.pixelqi.com/where_to_buy => http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPQ01 http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPQ... Please note: These screens replace those found in the Samsung N130 & Lenovo S10-2. Although they do work in other models, we can only guarantee compatibility on those 2 specific netbooks. We are testing other models, and will update the list as needed.
    - lsc 16y ago
      that looks pretty great... except the lenovo S10-2 has a keyboard that is just as unusable as everything else in it's size class. It's sad, really, 'cause other than that it looks like a really solid netbook. (the only thing I've been able to type on that comes close to that size is the sony vaio P-series, which seems to be built around the keyboard, though even that, though usable, was not even close to the keyboard on a 12" ThinkPad X series.) I had a last-generation OLPC, and oh man, even if they haven't improved the screen at all it was still better than any other laptop screen I have seen. Of course, the keyboard on the OLPC takes 'unusable' to a whole 'nother level.
- flogic 16y ago
  In my anecdotal experience, decreasing screen size has a significant impact on eye strain. I get the most train when I'm using the TV as a screen and the least on the iPhone. Well actually, the nook still has the least but the iPhone is negligible. Makes a fair amount of sense if the cause is due to excess light.
rbanffy 16y ago
Actually the point of an e-reader is the e-book, not the e-ink. E-ink is just a way to show text in a way that drains little battery and gives little eye strain. It has, however, a couple very significant drawbacks. And it seems more expensive to manufacture than a very good LCD.
- SteveC 16y ago
  What drawbacks are you thinking of? Lack of colour and refresh time?
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    Mostly yes. And also the difficulties of attaching a touchscreen to the e-paper display (there must be a reason why only Sony does it). Being unable to read in low-light conditions also bothers me sometimes. I keep Stanza installed on my iPod for that.
- docgnome 16y ago
  You are of course right. An e-ink display is the only reason I would purchase such a device, however. I've used LCDs for reading and I find them difficult to read on for more than an hour or so straight.
- rodh257 16y ago
  I disagree, if I wanted to read e-books on an LCD why wouldn't I just use my laptop or computer monitor? The answer for me is because they aren't enjoyable to read on, too much eye strain. E-ink solves this.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    A laptop has a clamshell design that does not support the same "operating modes" a book does. A tablet, maybe. You won't cover all use cases - static text and video/animation - with a single design (PixelQi has a good compromise for the screen) If my experience serves as a guide, the source of eye strain is the brightness. If you lower the LCD brightness to be more or less the same as what would be reflected from ambient conditions, you will see a marked improvement.
kalid 16y ago
Exactly. I don't see the immediate need for color ebook reader -- when was the last time I read a color book? I see the Kindle and iPad as complements, not competitors, and I don't think straddling the middle will work.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  The touchscreen LCD offers a good enough experience with books, specially with ease and speed of zoom (something e-paper is nasty at) and an order of magnitude better experience with web browsing while at a price that's half the iPad. Does it have 3G to go along with the wifi? Does it allow capacity expansion through an SD card?
  - docgnome 16y ago
    Why is the speed of zooming text an issue? How much zooming do you do that you can't wait for half second>
    - rbanffy 16y ago
      Any zoom that's interactive. It divides my attention between reading the book and operating it.
- docgnome 16y ago
  I can see color being nice for text books or any book with diagrams. However, not at the expense of the wonderful eye pleasing display that is e-ink. Which, as I stated before, is to my mind, the only reason for purchasing such a device. Otherwise why not just buy a netbook?

burningion 16y ago

The whole reason I'm even interested in an e-reader is because of the opportunity to give my eyes a break. I don't care about color if it means I'm still staring at a computer screen all day. But then again, maybe we aren't the target market...?

lsc 16y ago
hell, I'd buy an e-ink display for my laptop. I don't care about color, but it's a portable device... it'd be nice to be able to use it outside (or in the passenger seat of a car on a sunny day)
- borism 16y ago
  Toshiba had (has?) some laptops with transflective displays.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    Well... The T-1000 was transreflective. And the Data General One...
- rksprst 16y ago
  Totally agree. I would love to have a laptop that has an e-ink screen (color or not); as long as the refresh rate was normal. Backlit displays cause too much eyestrain. Every chance I get I browse the web on my Kindle - even though the browser sucks + refresh rate sucks; at least my eyes are comfortable. I'm already staring at a laptop coding ~18 hours a day.
- gvb 16y ago
  You can buy a Pixel Qi 10" display and retrofit it into a netbook type laptop. This is a follow-on of the OLPC screen. http://www.pixelqi.com/products http://www.pixelqi.com/products $275 + some bravery http://www.pixelqi.com/where_to_buy http://www.pixelqi.com/where_to_buy => http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPQ01 http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKPQ... Please note: These screens replace those found in the Samsung N130 & Lenovo S10-2. Although they do work in other models, we can only guarantee compatibility on those 2 specific netbooks. We are testing other models, and will update the list as needed.
  - lsc 16y ago
    that looks pretty great... except the lenovo S10-2 has a keyboard that is just as unusable as everything else in it's size class. It's sad, really, 'cause other than that it looks like a really solid netbook. (the only thing I've been able to type on that comes close to that size is the sony vaio P-series, which seems to be built around the keyboard, though even that, though usable, was not even close to the keyboard on a 12" ThinkPad X series.) I had a last-generation OLPC, and oh man, even if they haven't improved the screen at all it was still better than any other laptop screen I have seen. Of course, the keyboard on the OLPC takes 'unusable' to a whole 'nother level.
flogic 16y ago
In my anecdotal experience, decreasing screen size has a significant impact on eye strain. I get the most train when I'm using the TV as a screen and the least on the iPhone. Well actually, the nook still has the least but the iPhone is negligible. Makes a fair amount of sense if the cause is due to excess light.

rbanffy 16y ago

Actually the point of an e-reader is the e-book, not the e-ink. E-ink is just a way to show text in a way that drains little battery and gives little eye strain. It has, however, a couple very significant drawbacks. And it seems more expensive to manufacture than a very good LCD.

SteveC 16y ago
What drawbacks are you thinking of? Lack of colour and refresh time?
- rbanffy 16y ago
  Mostly yes. And also the difficulties of attaching a touchscreen to the e-paper display (there must be a reason why only Sony does it). Being unable to read in low-light conditions also bothers me sometimes. I keep Stanza installed on my iPod for that.
docgnome 16y ago
You are of course right. An e-ink display is the only reason I would purchase such a device, however. I've used LCDs for reading and I find them difficult to read on for more than an hour or so straight.
rodh257 16y ago
I disagree, if I wanted to read e-books on an LCD why wouldn't I just use my laptop or computer monitor? The answer for me is because they aren't enjoyable to read on, too much eye strain. E-ink solves this.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  A laptop has a clamshell design that does not support the same "operating modes" a book does. A tablet, maybe. You won't cover all use cases - static text and video/animation - with a single design (PixelQi has a good compromise for the screen) If my experience serves as a guide, the source of eye strain is the brightness. If you lower the LCD brightness to be more or less the same as what would be reflected from ambient conditions, you will see a marked improvement.

kalid 16y ago

Exactly. I don't see the immediate need for color ebook reader -- when was the last time I read a color book? I see the Kindle and iPad as complements, not competitors, and I don't think straddling the middle will work.

rbanffy 16y ago
The touchscreen LCD offers a good enough experience with books, specially with ease and speed of zoom (something e-paper is nasty at) and an order of magnitude better experience with web browsing while at a price that's half the iPad. Does it have 3G to go along with the wifi? Does it allow capacity expansion through an SD card?
- docgnome 16y ago
  Why is the speed of zooming text an issue? How much zooming do you do that you can't wait for half second>
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    Any zoom that's interactive. It divides my attention between reading the book and operating it.
docgnome 16y ago
I can see color being nice for text books or any book with diagrams. However, not at the expense of the wonderful eye pleasing display that is e-ink. Which, as I stated before, is to my mind, the only reason for purchasing such a device. Otherwise why not just buy a netbook?