The future of LCD readers?

Yesterday's session in the local Ikea's restaurant, where I tried my new light-weight Android netbook for browsing, emailing and reading, showed that I can't understand the advantage of using LCD screens.

As I recently wrote, to read during spending time with family in the Ikea place is almost impossible thing. Technically, the child gladly can play with peers inside the shelves-barriers on the children's spot, but the surrounding noise disperses my attention (I do like drinking coffee or tee in time of reading, though.)

This time, instead of the Kindle, the notebook was taken with us. The first part of the lunch (the eating itself) has taken place under the glass roof and the pleasant sunlight made me irritated regarding the LCD screen (free, but Wi-Fi smoothed my mood:)). The second part of the lunch was in the shade (the child has moved to children's steam and motobyke) and, despite that the free Wi-Fi's gone, I relieved.

All this turned my ming in the way I need investigate how it is possible to read using LCD (TFT or any other) screens. As a starting point, today I approached my Kindle and removed the Amazon's screen protector from it. I used this for months, knowing that the labels on the keys are not worn-resisting and the screen protector is primarily the coffee protector. :)

After that I went to the patio and tested the Kindle under the sun shining. It's readable almost well excluding the positions where the reader's eyes are approximately positioned at a sixty degree angle relatively to the Kindle's surface. This and only this position is not only the worst, this impedes the reading process stop completely. With the exception for this placement, all other angles are almost equally well to read.

For what reason I started this post? Today I have occasionally read that Archos are going to release two tablets of the lowest price. It was about Arnova 8 and Arnove 10. In visiting the company's site, I found two readers, 7o and 7oc. Both of the LCD family, the later supports colors.

How it is possibly to read on such devices? What is good for night reading, can be apropriate for day's? I'll seek the possibility to use some of such things to test. Wife's Android phone is not something that can be readable under the bright light. What's about others? How do Nook and Galaxy the tablet behave under the sunlight?

Mashable's opinion on the upcoming Amazon's tablet

There is also a post at Mashable, where their analysts's predictions are composed to two points:

- 7 inches

- 200 dollars

and Android onboard.

KIndle competitors: a new B&N Nook loomed

Generations of readers occurs annually. Noticeable, that Sony's litter (for last years, of three) is thrown out in fall, Amazon's one or twins are of August's birth, and Barnes and Nobles's one or two are almost in the wintertime.

Yesterday's leak says that B&N will announce something this May. The current tablet is a very strong on the market due to its low cost and the ability to be hacked or upgraded to an Android tablet.

So, let's wait what says the B&N this month.

Prices of Kindles in Russia go down steadily

With or without the influence of the recent Amazon's German market penetration, price of Kindle 3 is going down these days.

Retail prices fell down (despite the official absence of Kindle retail stores, many e-Reader cornershops and apartmentshops persist, especially in Mocsow) and now we see Kindle 3 Wi-Fi for less than six thousand roubles (some $219) and its sibling 3G+Wi-Fi offered for seven thousand six hundred roubles (approx. $277). Although we feel that retailer have a place to make even better appeal, this fact is already exciting.

Peer-to-peer sales (I mean those who ordered two, three or five reading devices by mail and services like shipito, and sell the surplus to lower their own expenses) went even further, not plummeting, but giving a hope of the such a pleasant continuation. I saw offers, though done mostly in Moscow region whereas Saint-Petersburg is additionally barried by custom-to-custom very slow goods movement and wholly less valuable and more indolent officials' and post services, where people asked fun $200 for a Wi-Fi device. Notice, that the German retail price isabout $208 at the Amazon's.

Also, the advertised Wi-Fi Kindles are shown up here: by-post sellers, who are also in abundance on the e-readers forums and one part of them is the US residents and the other are our local sellers, want the same $208 the Amazon's Kindle Store wants for an usual Wi-Fi box in Germany.

Which in size will prices be set when individuals get their first parties of $114th? $180? $165? We are awaiting.

All currency calculations are based on today's cbr.ru's listing.