4 ms·

I can't help but think of the Kindle commercial on the beach where the iPad owner asks the Kindle owner, "It works in sunlight?"

runjake 15y ago
Funny tip: It was only last weekend I discovered than an iPad works with polarized sunglasses on, IF you use it in landscape mode. That was a major d'oh realization. I hope for Amazon's sake, the Fire works in sunlight.
- kenjackson 15y ago
  Great tip. Does that work in general (switching a device to landscape)? If so, this is something that should be more widely known.
  - runjake 15y ago
    I'm not sure. I was told that it has to do with the polarization inside the IPS display, so this tip may work the same for other devices with an IPS display. Supposedly, it's polarized in landscape orientation, but not landscape. That said, I don't know if this explanation is factual as I don't understand modern display technologies to a deep level.
    - mikeash 15y ago
      In my experience, the polarization angle varies a great deal. Some devices are polarized vertically, some horizontally, and some at about a 45-degree angle. So, there's no set angle that works for everything, but what will work for everything is rotating until you find the right spot. At that point you may end up with your head at a weird angle and decide it's not worth the trouble, of course.
  - yesbabyyes 15y ago
    In my experience, displays are usually polarized diagonally, so portrait and landscape both works. My current (Galaxy S2) and previous (Desire) both do this. I'm surprised the iPad doesn't.
  - bradleyland 15y ago
    It may not work consistently in landscape, but in general, if you look at an LCD with polarized glasses and can't see anything, try rotating the display (or your head) 90 degrees. Or just take the glasses off. This works because of the way LCDs function. An LCD actually uses polarization to turn pixels on and off, so introducing polarized optics at an angle perpendicular to the orientation of the LCD polarization means you see nothing. (Warning, lots of ads in this link) http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lcd2.htm http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lcd2.htm
  - capnrefsmmat 15y ago
    There's a good breakdown of how LCD monitors work with polarization here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiejNAUwcQ8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiejNAUwcQ8 (I'm amazed that a series of videos by "the Engineer Guy" have done so well on YouTube. He makes surprisingly accessible videos.)
- josefresco 15y ago
  Curiously, the iPhone 4 works in both modes with polarized glasses.
  - khafra 15y ago
    Weird. My iPhone 4 only works in portrait mode with polarized glasses, the glass turns opaque in landscape.
    - hartror 15y ago
      IIRC It depends on the direction of polarization of you glasses.
- wavephorm 15y ago
  Nice to know, but my iPad lasts no more than 10 minutes in direct sunlight. The thing starts burning up, and there is an early warning of impending doom when the display starts dimming.

runjake 15y ago

Funny tip: It was only last weekend I discovered than an iPad works with polarized sunglasses on, IF you use it in landscape mode. That was a major d'oh realization. I hope for Amazon's sake, the Fire works in sunlight.

kenjackson 15y ago
Great tip. Does that work in general (switching a device to landscape)? If so, this is something that should be more widely known.
- runjake 15y ago
  I'm not sure. I was told that it has to do with the polarization inside the IPS display, so this tip may work the same for other devices with an IPS display. Supposedly, it's polarized in landscape orientation, but not landscape. That said, I don't know if this explanation is factual as I don't understand modern display technologies to a deep level.
  - mikeash 15y ago
    In my experience, the polarization angle varies a great deal. Some devices are polarized vertically, some horizontally, and some at about a 45-degree angle. So, there's no set angle that works for everything, but what will work for everything is rotating until you find the right spot. At that point you may end up with your head at a weird angle and decide it's not worth the trouble, of course.
- yesbabyyes 15y ago
  In my experience, displays are usually polarized diagonally, so portrait and landscape both works. My current (Galaxy S2) and previous (Desire) both do this. I'm surprised the iPad doesn't.
- bradleyland 15y ago
  It may not work consistently in landscape, but in general, if you look at an LCD with polarized glasses and can't see anything, try rotating the display (or your head) 90 degrees. Or just take the glasses off. This works because of the way LCDs function. An LCD actually uses polarization to turn pixels on and off, so introducing polarized optics at an angle perpendicular to the orientation of the LCD polarization means you see nothing. (Warning, lots of ads in this link) http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lcd2.htm http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lcd2.htm
- capnrefsmmat 15y ago
  There's a good breakdown of how LCD monitors work with polarization here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiejNAUwcQ8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiejNAUwcQ8 (I'm amazed that a series of videos by "the Engineer Guy" have done so well on YouTube. He makes surprisingly accessible videos.)
josefresco 15y ago
Curiously, the iPhone 4 works in both modes with polarized glasses.
- khafra 15y ago
  Weird. My iPhone 4 only works in portrait mode with polarized glasses, the glass turns opaque in landscape.
  - hartror 15y ago
    IIRC It depends on the direction of polarization of you glasses.
wavephorm 15y ago
Nice to know, but my iPad lasts no more than 10 minutes in direct sunlight. The thing starts burning up, and there is an early warning of impending doom when the display starts dimming.