eInk: good or bad?

The other day, I created a poll on Habré “Which book reader should I give my mother?” Suddenly, in one of the comment threads, a great comment came out from the user ave :

The only argument of supporters of the myth about the "harmfulness" of TFT, LCD, etc. - This is a fact of screen backlighting. Like, it's like "light in the eye." More advanced 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, your eyes quickly "sit down." The solution is very simple: the brightness of the screen gets out to the minimum level (or second), and the color of the “page” is set to a comfortable gray or slightly yellowish (but this is for gourmets, usually just enough to lower the brightness).
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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. with good uniform lighting. When reading in the subway, in the morning bus or when a local light is attached, the eyes will deteriorate much faster than when reading TFT. As with the usual book, by the way. I got my -2 as a child reading books with a flashlight under the covers.

The myth of the dangers of LCD screens comes from the early 2000s, when they were of really terrible quality: large pixels, poor colors, poor contrast, flickering backlights, etc. These problems have long been solved 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 turn on the TV with the same LCD screen. And nothing, ok. But a couple of hours to read a book - everything, LCD is deadly harmful. Suddenly.

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

Objective advantages of e-ink before LCD are exactly two: the duration of 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 machine once or twice a week, then see for yourself.

Indeed, having bought an iPad a few years ago, I saw a bunch of readers with excellent typography and soft color settings. The fact that the screen works without delay, even not worth it. Needless to say, having a tablet with a good screen, you can read any books and enjoy all the advantages of the Kindle and Nook, and sometimes even those 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, which I met on the veranda of the house with a e-book reader, I always had problems with lighting . It was impossible to solve them in one fell swoop, you had to kick yourself and go out and buy lamps, floor lamps, and 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 during the day so that daylight always falls on the reader's screen?

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

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

Summary

Both that and that type of screen in some cases are harmful, in both cases it is necessary to comply with the operating conditions.

In the case of eInk, you need to change the environment. Put floor lamps in all chairs / sofas in which you will sit while reading. Hang the lamp to read by the bed. Put the desk lamp on any table where you will sit with the 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 application reader. It is easy to do, but it needs to be done constantly, to be aware.

What is more difficult to do is your personal choice. But the fact remains: eInk is not a panacea. Ditching your eyes with eInk can be fun.

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