Why do I use a E-reader instead of a Tablet?

As been said above, battery life, easy on the eyes, lighter to hold, cheaper and it does what I want it to do, which is to allow me to read books.

I got no need for a tablet, so why would I spend the extra amount on one?

Would you read a book in the dark? Why would you want to read from an e-reader in the dark?

Its not a myth as its the high intenstiy artifical light shining directly into your eyes that's the problem. Its why ever since the introduction of computers into ever day life we have been advised to take breaks from staring at the light emitting screen atleast 5-10 minutes every hour.

And while lowering brightness can help a bit it doesn't remove the problem.

And finally there is a major difference between a device that's is lit from the rear and one lit from the front because once again a front lit isn't shining directly into your eyes. Its more akin to having a light on to read

Such lights are still not as good as an LCD or OLED, especially when the particular reader app is put into night mode and the page goes black and the text itself is the source of light. In fact, such night modes is what I always use to read books on my iPad in very dim or completely dark scenarios. It's very easy on the eyes and much easier to read than the newer e-readers with lights.

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Obviously because you can. That said, many people read in bed or in the dark on an airplane or train and do not want to disturb the person next to them. With an LCD/OLED tablet one can easily switch over to night mode on the particular app and easily read without disturbing anyone.

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It is a myth proven through studies. Eye strain when reading is caused by things that cause text to be hard to read.

The "artificial light" theory is nonsense. If the light is of sufficient brightness and neutral enough in color temp then it will be easy to read, assuming the resolution of the screen is high, contrast is good, text is large enough and your vision is OK.

Any LCD or OLED based tablet can adjust its brightness for comfort.

LCDs or OLEDs are shining diffused light. Diffused light is diffused light, whether it comes from the sides of a dedicated e-reader, through ambient lighting or the backlight of a tablet as long as the intensity is sufficient enough to illuminate the text it will be easy and comfortable to read.

As long as your computer has a high resolution screen, has sufficient contrast and can be adjusted to a comfortable brightness then taking breaks away from the screen is unnecessary. It's like low kids used to be told that watching TV close will harm their eyes. That's simply not true.

I guess we are all different but I much prefer to read on my kindle paperwhite (with built in light) than my ipad at night. I find that the ipads light is too harsh even on the lower settings.

Yet another thread derailed by a poster trying to impose his iPad loving ways on other people.

Battery life is the main issue for me, I've got tablets, laptops and phones but none of them last ages when reading. I can use my kindle for weeks between charges. They'll never replace real books for me but when away from home its nice to have a few hundred books to choose from.

His making an app for dissarming knife weilding nigerian descent chaps, not available on android though .

I don't think anyone is trying to dispute that - that part is pretty obvious.

I dislike reading on an LCD screen at normal brightness for a long period as it does strain my eyes. If I turn down the brightness then I find the text dull to look at and still find my eyes straining as it's now duller and harder for me to read.

If I use my wife's Kindle Paperwhite I have no problem in good lighting and with the internal light I have no problem in low light either so for me the eInk is better all round for reading.

...and e-ink displays are much more energy efficient there's a long time between charging. The downside, as far as I can tell, is that e-readers are company branded and tied so that you can effectively use only one paid-for ebook source.

I wish there were a generic e-ink e-reader so that you could download apps from the various different commercial and free e-book suppliers although you can convert Nook e-readers into basic Android tablets.

That's why I have a tablet so that I can get e-books and audio books from many sources and I'm not tied to one particular supplier.

The Kindle is tied into Amazon but I believe other eBook readers are able to read a variety of sources.

Even if all what you say is true, which I don't think it is, why do you think that everyone that wants a ebook needs to spend £200, £300 or how ever much it costs for a tablet?

My Kobo can read any book that is published using Adobe Epub format and there are thousands of books for that, maybe more.

Kindle is tied to amazon, but even then you can convert epub to Kindle format.

Sort of, but I've got all sorts of publications on my Kindle that are not from Amazon, in fact most have nothing to do with Amazon.

I never mentioned such a thing in that post you quoted.

No, obviously the post I was addressing clearly was.


Sounds to me like whatever LCD you are using lacks contrast and high enough resolution.


But not simply because it is e-ink and the alternative is LCD/OLED.

I have been specifically addressing the question in the original post. It is your post that is a derailment.

I have also been addressing both LCD and OLED, with the later only available in Android devices, so your odd focus on the iPad is just that, odd.

Do you have anything to add on topic?

That's fine, the e-readers are nice, but the adjustment on book apps on tablets can get as dark as being hard to even read so I don't see how it can be "harsh," especially when you have the option of switching to night mode and reversing the image.

Your name is on it.

Tried that on a friends Ipad, It is not for me, I will stick with my eink ereader.

Ignore PPhilster. He really, really LOVES his iPad. It can do no wrong and no other black rectangle (patent - Apple) comes close.

I have a horrible feeling he sleeps with it.

Then feel free to quote me if you think I am wrong.

Do you have anything to add on topic?