Tag Archives: display

The new class of ereaders: products with 8-inch screens

2017-10-09

For many years, people who read ebooks on ereader devices have settled on products that have six-inch screens. Nothing wrong with a 6-inch display, but there are people who would like to read on a larger screen. Now, the time has come for more choice. Not only has Sony introduced a huge 13-inch ereader, but a number of 8-inch ereaders are available from renowned brands and less known manufacturers.

Cybook Ocean.

There are, at least, four products available with an 8-inch E ink display at the moment. In fact, some of the products come with 7.8 inch screen and others with 8-inch, but we will refer to all of them as 8-inch ereaders.

Boyue Likebook Plus 172 Euros.
Cybook Ocean 189 Euros.
Icarus Illumina XL HD 199 Euros.
Kobo Aura One 229 Euros.

If you need help in deciding which device size is the right one for you (from 6 to 13 inches), read the article that also has a video where different ereader sizes are compared.

Here are the most important features for each four ereaders.

Key features and specifications of the Cybook Ocean ereader

8-inch Eink display, touch sensitive.
Display resolution 1024×768 px (160 PPI), 16 levels of grey.
Front light for reading in dark.
CPU: Cortex A8 TI OMAP3611 (800 MHz)
RAM : 128 MB
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)
4GB internal storage for ebooks.
MicroSD memory card slot for additional storage space.
MicroUSB 2 port.
Dedicated keys for turning the page.
25 user interface languages.
Web browser.
Ebook formats: ePub, PDF Adobe DRM, HTML, Txt, FB2, DJVU
Li-Polymer battery 2100 mAh.
Dimensions: 196 mm x 150 mm x 7 mm
Weight: 300 gr with the battery.

Kobo Aura One key specifications

– 7.8-inch E Ink touchscreen, 1872 x 1404 resolution, 300 dpi
– Front light for reading in places with inadequate light. ComfortLight PRO technology that reduces blue light exposure.
– 8 GB on-board memory. Storage for up to 6,000 ebooks.
– 11 fonts and over 50 font styles. Font weight and sharpness settings.
– 14 file formats supported: EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR.
– Access to public libraries that use Overdrive ebook library system.
– Wi Fi 802.11 b/g/n.
– Micro USB port.
– Battery life up to 1 month.
– Built-in device languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese, Japanese, Turkish.
– Weight 230 gr.
– Dimensions 195 x 138.5 x 6.9 mm.

Highlights of the Icarus Illumina XL HD ereader

7.8-inch E ink screen.
300 DPI resolution.
Touch screen .
Powered by Android software. Google Play.
Front light.
Wi-Fi.
Bluetooth.

Key features of the Boyue Likebook Plus

7.8-inch display in 1448*1072 resolution. Touch screen.
Ebook formats: Html, Epub, Pdf, Mobi, Html, TXT, Djvu, Rtf, Fb2
WiFi.
Android operating system.
Bluetooth
Dimensions: 198*144*8.3 mm.
Micro USB port.
3.5 mm headphone jack.
16GB storage space.
2800mAh battery.
Weight 290gr.

Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet is so attractively priced that who needs a Kindle Oasis?

2016-09-14

It is kind of funny that Amazon has introduced an reader (Kindle Oasis) that has a greyscale six-inch display and costs more than $250, and at the same the company markets Fire tablets with color screens that let you do more and cost less than Kindle ereaders. The Fire HD 8 tablet comes with pretty high resolution 8-inch color display, costs $90, lets you install apps, and consult Alexa. Which one to choose: an ereader or tablet?

The size increase from six inches (typical ereader size) or seven inches (typical small tablet size) to a tablet or ereader with eight-inch screen gives you more than you might expect. That is one of the reasons the Kobo Aura One has been favorably reviewed: people simply like its larger 7.8-inch display.

If you read a lot of ebooks (more than a book a week), an ereader is a better choice. An ereader is also better choice if you are easily distracted away from a book you are supposed to read.

Tablet is a good choice for ebook lovers who read and view books with images, tables and charts. This is where color display and larger screen really help to present and absorb information.

The highlights of the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet are that it has a 8-inch color display in 1280×800 resolution (pretty good), it has a microSD memory card slot for extra storage space (you will need it), and it is priced at $90. It will also be integrated with Alexa system, so that you can speak your commands and Alexa will speak to you as well.

Here is Amazon’s introduction video to the Fire HD 8 tablet with Alexa:

Amazon Fire HD 8 key features and specifications

– 8-inch touch screen; 1280 x 800 resolution at 189 ppi.
– HD video playback, with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and advanced polarizing filter.
– Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.0 x 0.4 inches (214 mm x 128 mm x 9.2 mm)
– Weight 12.0 ounces (341 grams).
– Quad-Core: 1.3 GHz CPU.
– 1.5 GB of RAM
– 16 GB (11.1 GB available to user) or 32 GB (25.3 GB available to user) of internal storage.
– microSD card for more storage (card not included).
– Battery Life: up to 12 hours of reading, surfing the web, watching video, and listening to music.
– Wi-Fi for connecting to public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the dual-band 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA, and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
– File formats: Kindle (AZW), KF8, TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible Enhanced format (AAX), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3), non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, PCM/WAVE, OGG, WAV, M4V, MP4, AAC LC/LTP, HE-AACv1, HE-AACv2, MKV, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, HTML5, CSS3, 3GP, VP8 (WEBM)
– 2.0 megapixel camera at the back, 640×320 pixel camera on front panel.
– Location-based services via Wi-Fi
– Colors: Black, Magenta, Blue, Tangerine
– External volume controls.
– USB 2.0 port with micro-B connector.
– Bluetooth (A2DP compatible for stereo headphones)
– 3.5mm stereo jack for audio.
– Speaker.
– Microphone.
– Screen Reader, Explore by Touch, and Screen Magnifier, enabling access to the vast majority of Fire tablet features.
– Adjustable font sizes/color, and built-in Oxford dictionary.
– USB 2.0 cable, 5W power adapter, and Quick Start Guide included in the product box.

Which tablet has the best display for reading ebooks?

2016-05-01

The prices for branded tablets vary a lot: you can find a 7-inch tablet for 50 dollars whereas a 10-inch tablet may cost 1000 dollars. The highest cost of a component in a tablet is the display. It is also the most important component because it is the interface that connects people to the computer. Of course, processor speed, the amount of memory and other factors are important but the display is absolutely critical for the success of a tablet. So, which tablet comes with the best display? Apple iPad Pro 9.7.

DisplayMate, a company that is in the display business, has ran a series of tests on a number of tablet screens. The results of these tests point out that the iPad Pro 9.7 has – by a large margin – the best display at the moment. Interestingly the large iPad Pro 12.9 didn’t do as well in the tests as its smaller brother 9.7.

Here is the conclusion from the test lab:
“An Outstanding LCD Display – The display on the iPad Pro 9.7 is a Truly Impressive Top Performing Display and a major upgrade to the display on the iPad Air 2. It is by far the best performing mobile LCD display that we have ever tested, and it breaks many display performance records.”

When the iPad Pro 9.7 was introduced, many people thought that it was very much the same product as the iPad Air 2. The products look the same and the display resolution is the same on both tablets. That’s not the case: the iPad Pro has a whole new screen.

Here is the word from the test lab what makes the iPad Pro 9.7 screen so good:

– Two Standard Color Gamuts.
– The Absolute Color Accuracy of the iPad Pro 9.7 is impressive.
– Very Low Screen Reflectance (makes the screen easier to read, for instance, outdoors).
– The iPad Pro 9.7 breaks many new records in display performance and delivers uniformly consistent all around Top Tier display performance.

So far, the only problem with the iPad (non-Pro model) screen we have had, has been reading outdoors. Even if we can find a shady place, the screen reflection is disturbing and the colors are washed out. It is these features (among others) where the iPad Pro 9.7 shines according to the DisplayMate tests.

Ereaders have been superior when reading ebooks outdoors because an E ink screen lets you read even in direct sunlight. Now, it looks like the LCD display technology in tablets is improving. It is still difficult to recommend the iPad Pro as an ereading device because of its price. If you are going to use the iPad Pro as a computer and an ereader,then it is easy to justify.
Apple iPad Pro 9.7 with keyboard.

The best smartphones for reading ebooks

2016-01-01

The original Kindle ereader had a six-inch greyscale display and Sony had really nice compact ereaders with five-inch screens. Today’s smartphones tend to have five-inch and larger screens. Additionally, smartphone displays have at least two times higher pixel density than ereaders. It is not surprising that book industry experts are saying that reading on mobile phones will be one of the strongest trends in the near future.

Which features are the key factors that affect the reading experience on a smartphone? Once you have identified them, you can pick up the perfect smartphone for you.

lg g3 smartphone, kindle ebook reading app

Kindle reading app

David Rothman has identified seven features that define the reading experience on a smartphone.

1. Screen quality. Numbers don’t tell the whole truth, you should always take a look at the display yourself – if possible, both indoors and outdoors.
2. Battery life.
3. Volume button position (often used for turning pages in reading apps).
4. Robustness of the phone.
5. Operating system version. The newer, the better, because all apps won’t run on old operating systems.
6. Storage capacity.
7. The amount of RAM memory.

Tips from our experience are that screen quality really is important. Make sure you are happy with it before buying. No matter how durable the glass on the display is, it breaks if it falls on concrete or bends in a pocket of tight jeans. Protective case may help. A smartphone that comes with a memory card slot solves storage problems. Memory card is a highly recommended feature on a phone.

Usually, factory installed applications on smartphones don’t include reading apps, so you have to install one. Here are a few popular choices:

Kindle Reading App (available for phones, tablets and PCs)
Aldiko
Bluefire (for Android, for Apple)
FBReader
Google Play Books
iBooks (for Apple devices only)
Kobo

Fbreader ebook reading app