eInk: benefit or harm?



    The other day I created a poll on Habr "Which e-book reader to give mom?" Suddenly, in one of the comment threads, a great comment came up from ave :

    The only argument of the supporters of the “harmful” myth of TFT, LCD, etc. - This is a fact of the screen backlight. Like, it's like a "light bulb in the eye." More advanced ones talk about the difference between screen and background lighting. This is closer to reality. Indeed, if you read at a high level of brightness in the dark, then your eyes will quickly "sit down". The solution is very simple: the screen brightness is twisted to the minimum level (or second), and the color of the "page" is set to comfortable gray or slightly yellowish (but this is for gourmets, usually just lowering the brightness is enough).

    At the same time, e-ink has a very serious drawback: they can be read only under the same conditions as a regular book, i.e. in good uniform lighting. When reading in the subway, in the morning bus or when the local light is attached, the eyes will deteriorate much faster than when reading the TFT. As with a regular book, by the way. I got my -2 in childhood, reading books with a flashlight under the covers.

    The myth about the dangers of LCD screens comes from the early 2000s, when they were really of terrible quality: large pixels, poor colors, poor contrast, flickering backlights, etc. These problems have long been resolved even in cheap screens.

    As a proof, just look around: almost all office workers nowadays sit 8-10 hours a day in front of the LCD. Then they come home and sit for a couple of hours at a laptop or home LCD screen. Then they turn on the TV with the same LCD screen. And nothing, normal. But a couple of hours to read a book - everything, the LCD is deadly. Suddenly.

    You just need to set a reasonable screen brightness and a reasonable font size (regular, not large and not small). And then you can read at least 10 hours in a row. I sometimes sit out at night with a book on my Archos 5IE - 6-8 hours after 10 hours in front of a cheap laptop screen. And nothing, normal.

    There are exactly two objective advantages of e-ink over the LCD: battery life and the ability to read in bright sunshine. If this is really important for you, then there are no options - only e-ink. If you are going to read mostly at home and are ready to charge the typewriter once or twice a week, then see for yourself.


    Indeed, having bought an iPad a few years ago, I saw a bunch of e-readers with excellent typography and soft color settings. The fact that the screen works without delay is not even worth talking about. It’s not necessary to say that having any tablet with a good screen, you can read any books and use all the Kindle and Nook pluses, and sometimes such pluses that are not expected in the near future (for example, Bookmate) . Well, a bunch of other applications.

    Before that I used Lbook. At any time, except for the early morning that I met on the porch of the house with a book reader, I always had problems with lighting . It was not possible to solve them in one fell swoop, you had to kick yourself and go buy some night lights, floor lamps, table lamps.

    I want to ask you a reader, especially if you have an eInk reader. Do you have a special source of lighting at home in absolutely all places where you read the reader? Are all the places where you read the reader in the afternoon located so that daylight always falls on the screen of the reader?

    Of course, eInk readers have their advantages: a record-breaking long time. In addition, this device is one task, I’m on the iPad, to be honest, I constantly jump from application to application, with a reader it is easier to focus on reading. Although ... And there I would jump from book to book :)

    However, creating the right lighting for reading books on electronic paper is not so simple.

    Summary


    Both types of screens are harmful in some cases, in both cases the operating conditions must be observed.

    In the case of eInk, you need to change the environment. Put floor lamps on all the chairs / sofas in which you will sit while reading. Hang a reading lamp by the bed. Put a table lamp on any table where you will sit with a reader. It's hard to take and do, but then it will work for you all the time.

    In the case of TFT, you need to constantly monitor the screen brightness and brightness / colors in the reader application. This is not difficult to do, but it must be done constantly, to be aware.

    What exactly is more difficult to do is your personal choice. But the fact remains: eInk is not a panacea. You can ditch your eyesight with eInk effortlessly.

    PS By the way, let's discuss color touch readers at the same time. What are they for, when there are iOS, Android and Windows tablets?

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