6 ms·

Reading up on the kindle paperwhite, I find this statement confusing: > Unlike a backlit tablet display, Kindle Paperwhite guides light towards the surface of

Reading up on the kindle paperwhite, I find this statement confusing: > Unlike a backlit tablet display, Kindle Paperwhite guides light towards the surface of the e-ink display from above so that the light never shines directly towards your eyes. The light will still end up "shining directly towards my eyes". That's the whole point of it. Is this just a marketing twist on lighting an e-ink panel, or does it have a real benefit over backlight? Side note: I'm converting away from Kindle after being disappointed by sloppy conversion from paper to kindle. Like: they won't convert a picture necessary for the text (and it's up to me to realize that there should have been a picture there), or they'll mess up chapter navigation tags, or text will be self-referential to the medium (like referencing the number of words on the current page). It's painfully clear that there is a very minimal editorial process to kindle books, if any at all.

phyalow 13y ago
>That's the whole point of it. Is this just a marketing twist on lighting an e-ink panel, or does it have a real benefit over backlight? Probably a marketing twist, but it is a very diffuse, even and non noticeable backlight. I use my kindle for probably 2 hours a day, it is just awesome. Also I've found pdf's quite readable on the device (why use kindle formats) - just set the orientation to landscape and knock yourself out with - http://gen.lib.rus.ec/ http://gen.lib.rus.ec/
- FireBeyond 13y ago
  I saw a link here just the last few days (or perhaps Gizmodo, looking now) that showed vastly improved PDF conversion - will edit/share when I find it again. Edit: PDF4Kindle: http://lifehacker.com/pdf4kindle-converts-pdf-files-to-native-kindle-books-762908817 http://lifehacker.com/pdf4kindle-converts-pdf-files-to-nativ...
FireBeyond 13y ago
Slightly more powerful than an "ambient" light. I can lie in my dark bedroom and read with it above my head and not feel eye strain, and not wake my partner. Agreed, though - the conversion process can make or break things. Some publishers do an astounding job at tweaking, hyperlinking, and the like - others barely do more than you get from some freeware conversion tools.

phyalow 13y ago

>That's the whole point of it. Is this just a marketing twist on lighting an e-ink panel, or does it have a real benefit over backlight? Probably a marketing twist, but it is a very diffuse, even and non noticeable backlight. I use my kindle for probably 2 hours a day, it is just awesome. Also I've found pdf's quite readable on the device (why use kindle formats) - just set the orientation to landscape and knock yourself out with - http://gen.lib.rus.ec/ http://gen.lib.rus.ec/

FireBeyond 13y ago
I saw a link here just the last few days (or perhaps Gizmodo, looking now) that showed vastly improved PDF conversion - will edit/share when I find it again. Edit: PDF4Kindle: http://lifehacker.com/pdf4kindle-converts-pdf-files-to-native-kindle-books-762908817 http://lifehacker.com/pdf4kindle-converts-pdf-files-to-nativ...

FireBeyond 13y ago

Slightly more powerful than an "ambient" light. I can lie in my dark bedroom and read with it above my head and not feel eye strain, and not wake my partner. Agreed, though - the conversion process can make or break things. Some publishers do an astounding job at tweaking, hyperlinking, and the like - others barely do more than you get from some freeware conversion tools.