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Phones - at least the mainstream smartphones - are shining light directly at you every time you look at them. It's harder on your eyes and harder on your phone'

Phones - at least the mainstream smartphones - are shining light directly at you every time you look at them. It's harder on your eyes and harder on your phone's battery. These are not what you want for a good reading experience. Not to mention that you get to see and hear notifications - even the "silent" ones - while you're reading. E-readers can go weeks between charges, are easier on your eyes, and - when you're using them instead of your phone - actually help your phone's battery last longer too. And unless your phone is a "phablet" or a Galaxy Z Fold, that "amazing" screen is probably quite smaller than most e-readers. Which isn't a problem for people with good vision, but for those who need larger fonts to read comfortably, screen size can be a major factor.

hollerith 2y ago
>Phones - at least the mainstream smartphones - are shining light directly at you every time you look at them. There is light coming directly from the book into your eyes when you read a paper book, too. Since human vision is complicated and I'm not an expert on all the complications, I'm not going to say there are no visual advantages to an e-ink display, but "in a smartphone, the light shines directly at you" is emphatically not a satisfactory technical explanation of why an e-ink display is easier on your eyes. Also I own an early model of the Kindle Paperwhite, which of course has an e-ink display, and I don't notice any visual advantages. Also: my Paperwhite's backlight cannot be turned off while the user is using it to read, and it has a "diffuser" to spread the light evenly around the screen just like a backlit LCD display does. I.e., it is shining light directly in my eyes whenever I am using it using exactly the same components that a smartphone with an LCD display does, namely LED lights positioned at the edges of a diffuser. Is the product described by the OP actually different in this regard? I'm not sure, but the OP does discuss the product's backlight. Sorry if this comment sounds a little angry, but this non-explanatory explanation you've made and that I've quoted has been repeated many times over the years on this site.
- WolfeReader 2y ago
  For sure, it's definitely not a technical explanation. Here's the technical explanation you want: https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsid.1191 https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsid.1191
  - hollerith 2y ago
    OK, that is relevant. I've been using the wrong terminology: I wrote that the Kindle Paperwhite has a backlight. The correct terminology is frontlight.

hollerith 2y ago

>Phones - at least the mainstream smartphones - are shining light directly at you every time you look at them. There is light coming directly from the book into your eyes when you read a paper book, too. Since human vision is complicated and I'm not an expert on all the complications, I'm not going to say there are no visual advantages to an e-ink display, but "in a smartphone, the light shines directly at you" is emphatically not a satisfactory technical explanation of why an e-ink display is easier on your eyes. Also I own an early model of the Kindle Paperwhite, which of course has an e-ink display, and I don't notice any visual advantages. Also: my Paperwhite's backlight cannot be turned off while the user is using it to read, and it has a "diffuser" to spread the light evenly around the screen just like a backlit LCD display does. I.e., it is shining light directly in my eyes whenever I am using it using exactly the same components that a smartphone with an LCD display does, namely LED lights positioned at the edges of a diffuser. Is the product described by the OP actually different in this regard? I'm not sure, but the OP does discuss the product's backlight. Sorry if this comment sounds a little angry, but this non-explanatory explanation you've made and that I've quoted has been repeated many times over the years on this site.

WolfeReader 2y ago
For sure, it's definitely not a technical explanation. Here's the technical explanation you want: https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsid.1191 https://sid.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsid.1191
- hollerith 2y ago
  OK, that is relevant. I've been using the wrong terminology: I wrote that the Kindle Paperwhite has a backlight. The correct terminology is frontlight.