I’ve never used one but it struck me as odd that people would use a seperate device for smth so easily done on your phone.
Is there smth special about the hardware? Is it better somehow?
E-ink screens are amazing, they looks very different to normal displays, they actually look almost like paper, and does not strain you eyes like a phone or computer display.
After understanding that the rest is easy, an ebook reader is small, lightweight, has a battery life of several weeks of active use, and can hold vast ammounts of books.
Books are awesome, but ebooks are more conveniet in the modern world.
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Others have commented on how the display looks like paper but I will add that the battery life is incredible, the devices are very lightweight, and because they’re only designed to display books you don’t get any distractions from notifications or any other things you might do with your cell phone.
At the risk of making it sound like a cult, I didn’t understand either until I got one (although in my case, I didn’t understand why people would want one instead of an actual book, not instead of a phone).
Honestly it’s really handy. Super lightweight so I don’t get a wrist pain from holding it up at an awkward angle. Battery lasts for months so I can just pick it up and throw it in a bag for a holiday and never think about it. All of my books neatly organised. No notifications interrupting like you would end up with on a phone. Much bigger screen than a phone despite being much lighter, so more text on one page. All of that on top of the reduced eye strain, it’s a no-brainer for me.
I have one of the backlit, touchscreen ones these days and the light is useful I keep it on warm light and the dimmest possible for use at night. But I have to admit the older version with the side buttons was better than the touchscreen, I often find myself accidentally skipping pages with the newer one.
Lack of notifications and other distracting apps is a big reason I prefer my ebook over reading on my phone. I have pretty bad ADHD, if what I’m reading doesn’t have me hyperfocused I’ll switch over to another app completely unconsciously.
Reading in the dark is the main reason I prefer my ebook over an actual book. It’s so easy to keep reading after my husband goes to sleep. Mine is old enough to have a power button, but they stupidly put it on the bottom edge so I frequently click it and turn my book off lol
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All the things you said are true. I would like to add that along with being lightweight compared to a real book. It’s also uniform in size so no hand cramps like if were reading a big hard cover.
And the newer ones allow to read in full sunlight without any glare.
I was the same, I didn’t really see the point of them until I tried out my sister’s eBook reader. Then I was sold!
Also, while I still prefer physical books, I can’t deny that it’s nice to just be able to carry my entire library around in a bag.
so I can just pick it up and throw it in a bag for a holiday and never think about it.
I understand some other arguments, but I never understood this as a ‘pro e-reader’ argument. Unless you’re going on a “no-electricity available for days” kind of vacation, how is this even a factor?
I charge my phone every night while I’m sleeping, and I have my phone with me everywhere I go. So I NEVER have to think about whether I need to throw an e-reader into my bag or decide whether to grab it on my way out the door. Wherever I am, if I have time to read, my phone is already right there, so I just read it on my phone.
And as long as I’m not playing 3D video games on my phone, the battery easily lasts all day, even with the screen on while reading, so that’s never been a factor for me.
I’m not much of a phone person so tend to leave it places or forget to charge it quite often. Would be annoying trying to read myself to sleep only to find out there’s like 10% battery left.
I have a Kobo eReader, it’s mostly because the display is way closer to an actual sheet of paper than anything else. I can read for longer without having a headache, and I even send long web articles to it using the Pocket service.
The battery life is also incomparable to our phones, which can be measured in weeks on a single charge. It’s nice when travelling, no need to worry about wasting your phone’s battery and spare it for emergencies.
Yes, they have e-ink screens which look like paper. Very high resolution and very low power draw with perfect viewing angles and no issues with direct sunlight make it worth it to buy an extra device.
Though the amazon ones are software-locked afaik, so you can’t put your own books on there.
The sunlight is a huge one for me especially going abroad, my phone on full brightness would be a strain and would drain in a few hours
You can easilly load custom epubs onto kindle, it isn’t locked down like that at least on my older Kindle Voyage - you ofc don’t get xray and highlights etc
Got a massive export of epubs in like 2010 and its still going strong
They’re also far easier on the eyes compared to reading on a phone (even if you’re using amoled mode), especially if you’re reading in bed in a darker environment.
You can email books to your kindle
To add onto this, I’ve had an e-reader on my radar for a bit since some of them can do more of a night time mode, so I can read without the blue light of a phone keeping me up.
Your phone has a tiny screen that needs charging daily, maybe even twice per day.
My Kindle lasts a month in a single charge and the screen is exactly sized like a book.
The main lure of Kindle or any other e-link device is its screen.
E-Link, unlike your standard LED/OLED screens on your phone/computer/tablets has lightbulbs pointed DOWN, there’s a mirror that reflects the lgiht back up, because of this, the light that hits your eyes are much weaker and thus cause less strains (I would imagine Paperwhite and Voyage are worse with eye strains than Keyboard as Keyboard does not have lights). (This actually applies to the LED Kindles, such as Paperwhite and on, rather than the general e-link display)I have Kindle KB, Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Voyage, aside from KB where the battery is dead, both Paperwhite and Voyage are still in service and it is my best purchase to date.
That said, there are still times when I miss the weight of physical book on my hand, so I still borrow physical books from libraries and purchase physical books. Through the years I saw many arguments that tends to pose this “problem” as “either/or” situations, as if having one format is a distain for the other. That is simply not true, I devour ebooks, breathe physical books and seek articles on my computer.
As to why have a dedicated device for one purpose? Because it is the best at what it does. Phone/tablet computers possess too much distractions, even unprovoked I’m bombarded with notification popups. Kindle, just read. No distractions.
Your description of the technology is not quite correct.
Thank you, I knew I was missing something, I was thinking of this when I replied it.
That’s a nice graphic!
This was actually Amazon’s manual that came with the first Paperwhite, I don’t know if they still does though.
My Kindle is more than 10 years old, one of the ones with physical buttons to turn the Pages. No crappy software/spyware, enough storage to hold tons of books, and one of those E ink screens that don’t shine at you. When the battery on this one finally dies I will be performing surgery on it and replacing the battery rather than buying a new one
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The simplicity is great because I can cut out all the internet distractions, the battery life is fantastic, and most of all, my eyes don’t get strained nearly as much.
It’s just so much easier to look at and hold for long periods.
Personally, my ranking of reading formats is: Book > E-reader >>> Phone/Tablet
1- Kindle generally has a smaller attack surface for reading books compared to an Android tablet. The Kindle’s operating system is more specialized and focused on reading, reducing potential vulnerabilities compared to the more multifunctional and complex Android operating system.
2- If you have dealt with representational trauma in cyber warfare, the Kindle would be a refuge psychologically speaking as it wouldn’t cause much disorientation and have a lesser impact on your brain chemistry, of course, there are valid reasons you have fallen victim to consumerism here too, so learn to secure all your devices rather than scapegoating!
If you have dealt with representational trauma in cyber warfare, the Kindle would be a refuge psychologically speaking as it wouldn’t cause much disorientation and have a lesser impact on your brain chemistry, of course, there are valid reasons you have fallen victim to consumerism here too, so learn to secure all your devices rather than scapegoating!
What is representational trauma? I have trouble finding anything on the web about it.
I’ve got the tablet version of the Kindle, rather than the e-ink versions other people have mentioned.
I got it because it’s a much larger screen than my phone, and because I only use it for books, the battery lasts for a lot longer. I do get notification popups now and again, but I only tend to get them once or twice a day, so they’re not too annoying.
I’ve got the Kindle app on my phone too, but as everyone else has mentioned, you get a lot more interruptions, and the screen is a lot smaller.
On top of that, the tablet fits perfectly in my hand :)
I just got rid of my Kindle after accidentally turning on the wi-fi after 4 years. The new “updates” pissed me off. I recreated my old Kindle experience on an Android mini. Even have the same wallpapers!
The main thing is that it has an e-ink screen, which doesn’t hurt your eyes and doesn’t trick your brain into staying awake.
Also, I don’t have a tablet, and my phone is too small to read comfortably on.
Wow, this post is 5 months ago.
The whole point of kindle and other ebook readers are its screen. All smartphone/tablets shines bright backlit light to your eye and casuing eye strain (most people do it so long that they don’t tend to notice it anymore). First generation e-link screens doesn’t have light, and it tends to be more paperlike than your screen. Also unlike your smart phone/tablets, it is distraction free. The hardware specs are low and you can’t switch to chatting, surfing the web, turn on music or watch a video. Books and only books. Also, with phones, I always need to watch the battery and ebook readers can last months if not weeks on one charge (depends on how much you use it).
Newer readers (like for the last decade), all have frontlit screens, which is unlike the backlit smart devices. Light shines from the top to the bottom, through layers of screen and reflected back at the bottom, thus diminishing its effect and lessen eye strain. Ebook readers strives to achieve the quality of reading on paper with the ease of taking it everywhere (try log around a doorstopper around for few days.
That’s a cool explanation, thanks!
In essence, ebook reader try to keep reading as close to paper as possible, to avoid/lessen eye strain (front the early lightless ebook readers to newer lighted readers), with the benefit of taking it everywhere (have you tried carrying some doorstoppers around?). Though media tends to portray ebook vs paper as neither / or, while in reality you’ll see many people perfer both. I myselft purchases physical books because I love the smell of paper books, and I devour books on my kindle (I have 3, from kindle keyboard (no light), paperwhite (first gen with light) and voyage).
