Features poll (non-practical wishlist)

[thatgui]

Of course indicator leds are not expensive, but maybe getting rid of (some of) them would compensate a bit for the extra cost of the e-paper display.

Except the two that are currently unused I would rather keep them as it always nice if you can check on things while the device is open, but other indicators (tray icons and such) are not visible.

Altough this is not some realistic wish, I would like a bigger e-ink display, for reading purposes, and with Askarus stating

The new screen thinner than the Pandora screen (if we take it). I could imagine the new lid could be 5mm including the rim.

(No data is set! Everything speculation right now! All I know is that the lid might get smaller).

there could be room for it after all :rolleyes:

 

[Granitehead]

In my experience reading on extremely high pixel density LCDs (like the Pandoras will be with 1080p in 5 inch) is about as good as reading on eInk displays (I have the Sony PRS-T1, I can compare) as long as you aren't directly in the sun.

Of course it's not as good as a real book, but if you want the full experience, buy a real book.

Actually, when I think about it, it's not much I would really like the Pyra to have on top of what the Pandora has and what we already know the Pyra will have for sure:

-GPS

-mobile internet and SMS

-better keyboard

There is lots of stuff which could be interesting and potentially useful, cheap and doable, but it's all way less important.

 

[thatgui]

In my experience reading on extremely high pixel density LCDs (like the Pandoras will be with 1080p in 5 inch) is about as good as reading on eInk displays (I have the Sony PRS-T1, I can compare) as long as you aren't directly in the sun.

Of course it's not as good as a real book, but if you want the full experience, buy a real book.

Not that is has any value to discuss this (as this really shouldn't be included) but the benefits I see would be:
- eInk does not need much power as long as there isn't a lot of movement on the screen, LCDs do

- its far less "exhausting" for my eyes to read something on a eInk display than on a LCD

- be able to read something while the Pyra is closed is much more convenient

Edit: forgot:

There is lots of stuff which could be interesting and potentially useful, cheap and doable, but it's all way less important.

What do you have in mind - its the non practical wishlist after all

 

[Granitehead]

In my experience reading on extremely high pixel density LCDs (like the Pandoras will be with 1080p in 5 inch) is about as good as reading on eInk displays (I have the Sony PRS-T1, I can compare) as long as you aren't directly in the sun.


Of course it's not as good as a real book, but if you want the full experience, buy a real book.

Not that is has any value to discuss this (as this really shouldn't be included) but the benefits I see would be:

- eInk does not need much power as long as there isn't a lot of movement on the screen, LCDs do


- its far less "exhausting" for my eyes to read something on a eInk display than on a LCD


- be able to read something while the Pyra is closed is much more convenient

Yeah, but it's your second point I wanted to relativate: I actually think LCDs can be as good as eInk displays to read books on. I've read some books on my Nexus 4 and apart from the screen being too small, I liked it. The font just looks /much/ nicer than on the comparatively low resolution eInk screen and as long as you are in a relatively dark environement (like on a bright day but inside and no extra lights turned on or on a cloudy day outside) you can turn the brightness down as much as possible and it's not that tiring for the eyes.

There is lots of stuff which could be interesting and potentially useful, cheap and doable, but it's all way less important.

What do you have in mind - its the non practical wishlist after all

FM/DAB radio, cameras, all the other small stuff mentioned in various threads, water proof, lots of fast internal storage, milled stainless steel case (in some kind of rugged look, maybe a surface design based on scratches so one more or less is isn't visible), etc.


But I would have less use for that than for the other things which are even more practical too.

 

[thatgui]

Yeah, but it's your second point I wanted to relativate: I actually think LCDs can be as good as eInk displays to read books on. I've read some books on my Nexus 4 and apart from the screen being too small, I liked it. The font just looks /much/ nicer than on the comparatively low resolution eInk screen and as long as you are in a relatively dark environement (like on a bright day but inside and no extra lights turned on or on a cloudy day outside) you can turn the brightness down as much as possible and it's not that tiring for the eyes.

I guess thats all about personal experience, I have a PRS-T1 too, and I like reading on it a lot more than on my Note3. But thats probably also because I'm reading most of the time in public transports, so I rarely experience stable and continous lighting conditions. And its probably also an age thing: 10 years ago, reading on a PalmOS device also wasn't very tiresome to my eyes, now it is.

FM/DAB radio, cameras, all the other small stuff mentioned in various threads, water proof, lots of fast internal storage, milled stainless steel case (in some kind of rugged look, maybe a surface design based on scratches so one more or less is isn't visible), etc.

But I would have less use for that than for the other things which are even more practical too.

I also thought about a waterproof Pandora, but with so many holes that would need to be shut, it probably would not make sense to try. But what about the "etc." ? Maybe you have an idea that nobody had or wanted to vocalize, but more people would deem useful.

 

[ekianjo]

I guess thats all about personal experience, I have a PRS-T1 too, and I like reading on it a lot more than on my Note3.

I don't think it's just personal preference, eink are objectively easier on the eyes no matter how you look at it. The screen is not being refreshed so you don't get any flickering light going through your eyes (no matter how fast the flicker is, it will never look like as clear as something which is not being refreshed), you don't get extra light through your eyes, you don't get sun reflections as bad on eink screens, and so on. 

And the "poor resolution" problem is a thing of the past, modern e-ink screens (like the Kindle Paper white) have a fairly high resolution and you don't really see the pixels any more a that stage. 

I read extensively both on Pandora, computer LCD screen and eink screens, and while I enjoy reading on all devices, it's very hard to say with a straight face that LCD is better than Eink. It's plain nonsense if you ask me. 

you can turn the brightness down as much as possible and it's not that tiring for the eyes.

 

Even the lowest brightness level on a LCD is still too bright for your eyes in the complete dark. Not recommended at all. 

 

[xiongxioi]

E-ink is really good at what it is designed for. 

But wait, why are we comparing reading on an E-ink screen vs LCD? It's not like we are going to put some four inch E-ink screen on the back of Pyra. 

No matter how good E-ink is, reading from a tiny little eye-straining bit of black of grey & display is just so yesterday. 

 

[xiongxioi]

I can totally see meself reading the entirety of "1001 really stupid jokes" from this. 

Oh, wait, that's why this thread is labelled "non-practical" 

 

[Natsu]

E-ink for reading would have to be much bigger and have touch.

 

[Granitehead]

And the "poor resolution" problem is a thing of the past, modern e-ink screens (like the Kindle Paper white) have a fairly high resolution and you don't really see the pixels any more a that stage.

Not for me, as I still own one with a pretty low resolution (most books are printed in qualities ranging from "slightly worse" to "much much much better".

And I won't buy a new one if I'm not sure it will be much better at the software side (supporting multi language libraries, browsing my library by more and more advanced criterias, no damn lagging with many books on it at the same time {that's what they are for, in my opinion. If I want one or two books I can carry them with me on paper}, etc.).

All in all the reading experience on my TRS-1 is worse than on my Nexus 4, no matter whether you call it nonsense.

Assuming equal software and equal pixel density, of course eInk is better. But those assumptions aren't true in my case.

 

[Natsu]

How about a curve screen? lol

 

[ekianjo]

(supporting multi language libraries, browsing my library by more and more advanced criterias, no damn lagging with many books on it at the same time {that's what they are for, in my opinion. If I want one or two books I can carry them with me on paper}, etc.).

Kindle supports multi languages.

ABout browsing, I'm not sure what you need exactly for advanced criteria...

Lagging -> never seen any issue with that, i have dozens of books on the same device.

+ I use calibre to ensure I can use any format to convert to the one used by the Kindle. It's painless.

I used to be against e-readers but the Kindle Paperwhite changed my mind completely. I still read on books but I don't mind reading on e-ink anymore.

 

[ekianjo]

Assuming equal software and equal pixel density, of course eInk is better. But those assumptions aren't true in my case.

You are doing a strange comparison. You don't NEED to have the same pixel density. It's just having a small camera with 20 Millions pixels, it's nonsense because your optics are shit in the first place.

What matters is the purpose of your use. Reading means -> having your eyes fixed on a single page for long period of times, without movement and so on. A LCD is constantly refreshing its screen + has a strong backlight, both causing eye strain. E-ink does not induce that at all, and that's worth more than having a double resolution. And the resolution issue is bullshit anyway, you are just reading TEXT, as long as your eyes can distinguish letters between each other, you don't need to have 30 billions pixels screen for reading. 

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Instead of E-ink display, I want the full LCD capacitive multitouch display for people who want full Android experience in closed position .

 

[Granitehead]

What matters is the purpose of your use. Reading means -> having your eyes fixed on a single page for long period of times, without movement and so on. A LCD is constantly refreshing its screen + has a strong backlight, both causing eye strain. E-ink does not induce that at all, and that's worth more than having a double resolution. And the resolution issue is bullshit anyway, you are just reading TEXT, as long as your eyes can distinguish letters between each other, you don't need to have 30 billions pixels screen for reading.

I've got an older (2 years? I guess that counts as old already) Sony eReader. It lags about proportionally to the amount of books on it."dozens of books": Sorry, but that's not really impressing. In my immediate proximity (2 meters) there are bout 300 or 400 books. Extended to the whole house it's probably more like 3000-4000. I want to be able to take that amount of books with me, that's the reason I bought an eReader. I don't have a problem carrying a few paper books with me, or maybe a dozen if I'm leaving for vacation. I don't need an eReader for that.

I'm fully aware of the technical background.

But I still disagree. The refresh rate is so fast you don't notice it. But I can easily see that the forms of the letters aren't quite right on my PRS-T1 because it's pixel density is too low (which makes it harder to read).

You need some light anyway, have you ever read a paper book outside at noon in summer? In this situation much more light reaches the eye from the paper than from a LCD even at highest intensity. It might not be the ideal amount of light, but it's close enough for other aspects to matter much more.

And your eyes do move when reading, usually.