As long as you get something with an e-ink screen, you'll have no problems at all. Ordinary screens are back-lit, and refresh 60 times a second or more. You're staring at a bright, flickering thing all day long. An e-ink screen is much more natural. It's not backlit, and the picture is only refreshed when you push a button, such as to turn a page. It actually works a lot like one of those etch-a-sketch kids toys, on a more impressive level.
So yeah, you get no more eye-strain than you would reading a regular book. The words stay still, and the only light you have is whatever comes from your environment. The other benefit of not being lit and not refreshing all the time is spectacular battery life. On a typical screen you'd be lucky to read for a few hours. With an e-ink device, you're likely to finish several books before you need to charge. They advertise around 10,000 page flips, and the trickle charge needed to power the buttons and whatnot is very small. It will standby for months if you don't use it.
You should get one. I've personally tried the Sony PRS-505 and 705 (think it's 705? the newest one, anyway) and the kindle, and prefer the 505. The kindle is plastic, and doesn't feel solid in your hands. It's not very natural to hold. The 705 is thinner and newer than the 505, but it has a touch screen, which is actually bad. Whatever coating they put on to make it touch sensitive, or protect it from finger oils, or whatever it's for, produces some serious glare, and the text doesn't look as good. Anyway, I'd get the 505.
So yeah, you get no more eye-strain than you would reading a regular book. The words stay still, and the only light you have is whatever comes from your environment. The other benefit of not being lit and not refreshing all the time is spectacular battery life. On a typical screen you'd be lucky to read for a few hours. With an e-ink device, you're likely to finish several books before you need to charge. They advertise around 10,000 page flips, and the trickle charge needed to power the buttons and whatnot is very small. It will standby for months if you don't use it.
You should get one. I've personally tried the Sony PRS-505 and 705 (think it's 705? the newest one, anyway) and the kindle, and prefer the 505. The kindle is plastic, and doesn't feel solid in your hands. It's not very natural to hold. The 705 is thinner and newer than the 505, but it has a touch screen, which is actually bad. Whatever coating they put on to make it touch sensitive, or protect it from finger oils, or whatever it's for, produces some serious glare, and the text doesn't look as good. Anyway, I'd get the 505.
Amazon Accepts Macmillan’s Demand for Higher E-Book Prices
01/02/2010 04:21:35 PM
- 1271 Views
Amazon lost me as a customer over all this *NM*
01/02/2010 05:52:53 PM
- 356 Views
Why's that?
01/02/2010 06:55:35 PM
- 892 Views
I sum it up here
01/02/2010 08:42:02 PM
- 1154 Views
That's an interesting point. And I have an opposite reaction.
01/02/2010 08:56:16 PM
- 740 Views
I like that they are public - I dislike that they affect the public so directly
01/02/2010 08:59:41 PM
- 901 Views
To each his own. I come away with the opposite reaction and like Amazon even more.
01/02/2010 09:35:10 PM
- 654 Views
I think his complaint is that he feels Amazon is using public opinion to pressure suppliers.
01/02/2010 09:04:16 PM
- 641 Views
It's a good tactic. I would have done the same thing. *NM*
01/02/2010 09:36:31 PM
- 355 Views
Is it though - Amazon's stock is way down today. Seems the tactic failed *NM*
01/02/2010 09:53:06 PM
- 330 Views
Apple stocks have gone down on days after major announcements too.
01/02/2010 10:04:04 PM
- 609 Views
agreed - short term doesn't mean much *NM*
01/02/2010 10:08:01 PM
- 330 Views
Macmillan will lose out when people like myself choose to find the book elsewhere.
01/02/2010 06:46:10 PM
- 629 Views
How easy is it to find books now?
01/02/2010 06:53:43 PM
- 578 Views
Pretty easily, actually.
01/02/2010 07:07:11 PM
- 992 Views
That's excellent.
01/02/2010 08:19:55 PM
- 796 Views
Screens are good.
01/02/2010 08:50:08 PM
- 837 Views
Two words: Leather cover.
01/02/2010 08:54:37 PM
- 671 Views
True, I do remember liking the cover. It's much nicer than what comes with the Sony.
01/02/2010 09:02:56 PM
- 864 Views
Unless you like a lot of old books, or have fairly eclectic tastes, you should be all set.
01/02/2010 07:11:30 PM
- 1036 Views
$12.99 to $14.99 for a fiction ebook is ridiculous. *NM*
01/02/2010 07:44:20 PM
- 400 Views
Then again, it's half the price of a print version, for essentially the same product / experience.
01/02/2010 07:50:29 PM
- 611 Views
Not really. I buy new hardcover releases at Borders for around 18 to 20.
02/02/2010 12:34:08 AM
- 775 Views
I don't know about that.
01/02/2010 08:21:05 PM
- 670 Views
People pay that sort of money for DVd and more for Blue Ray
01/02/2010 08:00:47 PM
- 647 Views
Physical copy is rather important in that case, you know... at least to me.
01/02/2010 08:54:05 PM
- 804 Views
Good for MacMillan. I'll cheer on anyone who takes a stab against e-books.
02/02/2010 04:00:05 AM
- 723 Views
Whaaa?
02/02/2010 04:08:50 AM
- 675 Views
Yes, of course.
02/02/2010 04:33:13 AM
- 773 Views
In ten years you'll have an ebook reader.
02/02/2010 05:34:57 AM
- 798 Views
I know. That's the problem. *NM*
02/02/2010 12:56:32 PM
- 336 Views
Oh, hush. Go sit in the corner and listen to your 8-track while the rest of us enjoy The Future. *NM*
02/02/2010 02:37:33 PM
- 307 Views
The lower prices, the increased profit, or the ecological benefit? *NM*
02/02/2010 05:17:13 PM
- 280 Views
The gradual loss of physical books. *NM*
02/02/2010 05:32:39 PM
- 286 Views
Mmm. I detect an illogical argument.
02/02/2010 05:35:14 PM
- 580 Views
It will increase the number of books available
02/02/2010 01:55:05 PM
- 785 Views
One apt analogy is the widespread use of recording tools like Pro Tools.
02/02/2010 08:07:22 PM
- 764 Views
Uh, so what you want to dictate is the medium by which people read? You have no right.
02/02/2010 08:01:09 PM
- 734 Views