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swordarkeereon · 3 years

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Tech Review for Writers: reMarkable2

I got myself a piece of interesting tech this year in hopes it would get me from out in front of a computer screen more often. Meet the reMarkable2, a distraction free (i.e. it’s not connected to the entirety of the internet) e-ink tablet workhorse that’s easy on the eyes.

The reMarkable2 Tablet

First things first. The reMarkable2 tablet is not for everyone and your average person probably won’t find it the least bit useful. So let’s talk about why you don’t want this tablet first.

reMarkable 2 is not for you if:

– You want an eReader. eReaders have a VERY DIFFERENT function than the reMarkable2. Yes, you can read PDFs on a reMarkable, but it’s more for *marking up* a PDF and commenting in the margins of a PDF. Not just reading. eReaders like Kindles and Nooks often have built in dictionaries, ways to bookmark pages or passages of text, etc… that the reMarkable2 doesn’t have. You can search your documents for specific phrases and words and also highlight things in a light gray, but if you’re just looking for an eReader, I suggest a Kindle.

– You want a full functioning tablet that you can put apps on and surf the web with- If you’re looking for a full functioning tablet, you’ve missed the whole point of the reMarkable2. The main point behind reMarkable2 is so you can go to your creative place (wherever that may be) and brainstorm, free from ALL distractions. You can’t stop to surf FB or your Twitter feed on a reMarkable2, thus making it more likely you’ll stay on task and get more done.

– You want something with color so you can highlight because what you really want is a fully functioning ebook reader or tablet. This tablet is really more of a no frills brainstorming and note-taking tool for entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, and creatives (including engineers, writers, musicians, possibly artists if they like to sketch in black and white) who use a lot of black pens and plain paper.

I bought the tablet for the following reasons (which I wrote down BEFORE I received the device):

– I wanted an electronic notebook (not a tablet). I’m one of those people who goes through 3 packs of sticky notes every month, and countless notebooks every year. I am constantly jotting stuff down to keep myself focused and on track while running my own business and helping out at the family business. My notes can be anything from putting together presentations, classes, and meetings, to extensive to-do lists for the day. Sometimes it’s just me keeping track of sales figures. As a result, my desk is always filled with papers and notebooks and I’m constantly searching for shit. The electronic notebook cleans up all this clutter and helps me organize my brain. (Have you seen my brain!? It’s a mess in there.)

– I like to write freehand, especially when I’m plotting the next book or writing a blurb, or even writing a chapter – and it must be distraction free. This is something only fellow authors will understand. The fact that the reMarkable2 can convert handwritten notes to text sent via email has me excited because, if I’m lucky and it works, I won’t have to go through and transcribe all my handwritten notes. It basically saves me time by eliminating a step. I can copy/paste the note from my email into the appropriate file on my laptop. This will also save me the clutter and weight of carrying countless notebooks.

– I am involved with projects that require me to sketch out ideas for marketing and/or artwork. I do have tablets that can do this, but nothing that does it *well*. The closest is my Surface tablet, which can do a lot of things, but it still doesn’t feel like paper or allow me the fine detail paper allows. I’m hoping this tablet is a bit more responsive in this area. – I am forever printing out rough drafts of manuscripts for markup – wasting a ton of paper and toner in the process. All because I can’t edit on a backlit screen. My eyes get tired and I miss too many errors. If I can transfer my PDF drafts to the reMarkable and mark them up there with minimal errors left over, I could save some $$. I am actually estimating that I could easily save the cost of the reMarkable2 in 6 months to 1 year’s time by not having to purchase the paper, pens, and toner I usually go through in that time frame. Plus, these marked up manuscripts often end up in a stack on my office floor for 6 months to a year after publication.

– I am forever having to read PDFs of laws and regulations for the family business, and while I usually use them on the computer, I sit in front of a computer 8-13 hours a day. I need a non-backlit screen for reading in the evenings just to give my eyes a break. Yes, I imagine I could do the same with a Kindle paperwhite, but I may just want to jot some notes in the same way I’d mark up a paper copy. I’m still a pen and paper girl. I’m really hoping the reMarkable is my replacement for that (most of the time anyway).

reMarkable2 test to sample the pen styles.

Some considerations I took into account before purchasing:

A lot of customers complained that it took too long to receive the reMarkable or to get support. From all of the research I did, and in reading their website, it’s clear to me that this company caters to academia and businesses. I ordered my reMarkable2 on January 16, 2021, and had it in my hands by January 25, 2021. 9 days. I also ordered it and paid for it through my business. I don’t know if that’s actually why I got mine so fast, but I wouldn’t be surprised. That said, I do think the company should work a little harder to increase their customer service efficiency.

With regard to customer support – the website clearly states it can take up to 10 business days for support to get back to you. And a lot of the things people seem to be complaining about have troubleshooting instructions on the website. Clearly people weren’t going to the website to try to look up their issue through the support FAQs, which likely would have helped them out sooner. They were just contacting support immediately, and angry when they weren’t getting a response after 3 days, when it’s clearly stated on the website that it can take up to 10 days due to the fact that reMarkable is a small company. But like I said earlier – they would be smart to increase their customer service team.

reMarkable’s folios are a custom fit and really pretty, but a bit pricey. I made the tablet more affordable by skipping the upgrade on the pen, because a friend of mine got the eraser feature and she wasn’t digging it initially (she loves it now), and I purchased a relatively nice folio from Amazon for under $30 (with no magnets – research told me magnets can cause dead spots in the screen of the reMarkable2). You can also just buy a 10″-11″ tablet sleeve and it would work much the same. There are also universal tablet folios that will fit 10″-11″ tablets that are free of magnets and will likely work just fine. All for under $20 bucks — even a few in faux leather. Remember that a case should protect your investment, not just make it *look* sharp.

Right out of the Box.

Right out of the box I set the reMarkable up and started using it for brainstorming. Here were my first impressions:

1. It really is pretty damn close to writing on paper.

2. You can rest your damn hand on the screen and it won’t fuck things up or make it wobble as with traditional tablets.

3. My handwriting actually looks like my handwriting and you have almost the same control with this as you would with real pen and paper.

4. The interface is simple and intuitive and anyone who uses computers and tablets day and in day out will have no issues figuring this out.

Now some thoughts on the features:

Handwriting to Text: As an author who likes to occasionally spend time writing the old fashioned way, one of the things that attracted me to this tablet was its ability to translate handwriting to text. No writer wants to have to transcribe their written notes and waste all of that time. So of course I tested it with my horrific handwriting, vs purposefully trying to be neat, and the reMarkable2 was able to convert my chicken scratch into actual text that I could read. I was able to turn the handwritten notes into a PDF, but I was also able to send the handwriting converted to typed text as the body of an email, where I was able to cut and paste it into any program I wanted. I took it further and wrote 1000 words (about 8.2 pages) longhand. It converted all the pages to text in one swoop and I was able to copy/paste it into my manuscript. While there was a little formatting and editing involved — it was a lot faster than retyping handwritten notes. WIN!

Handwriting for conversion test.

Conversion successful

PDF Transfer, Markup, and Signature: Transferring PDFs to the reMarkable is easy. You simply download the app on your phone and your desktop, and you can take any pdf from either device and import it onto your reMarkable, which you can then markup. I sent myself a slew of PDFs that I had to read and markup. It’s amazing how much more focused I am on a screen like this. I really got the same experience with editing on a digital PDF as I did with editing on a paper copy. My only caveat is that I don’t have more space to make notes since the margins are a bit small on the screen and there’s no “back of the page” to carry notes over to. I can likely manage. Despite that – what a great experience. Goodbye manuscripts all over my office floor! Hello being able to drag editing work with me wherever I go!

You can also transfer your PDFs that don’t have an electronic signature option to the device, sign them, and send them back. Talk about HANDY since I do that a few times a month by default. This just eliminates the print/sign/scan. Now I just have to transfer it to the device, sign the document, and email it straight back to whoever sent it.

Digital Planners may be something I look into for 2022 because reMarkable actually makes them feasible. I tried a tester digital planner, courtesy a friend, on my reMarkable and I have to say – it offers just as much satisfaction as a paper planner. Plus, you can SEARCH large pdfs. It won’t find search terms in your handwriting, but it will find it in your PDF. That’s definitely a handy feature when you’re working with 500 page PDFs. That said, the tablet saves your place (last page you visited) as you’re navigating a PDF, so no need to search for the place you left off. However, there is no way to bookmark multiple pages.

ePub Reading: suppose I could sideload books as ePubs, but I really have no use for this feature. If I want to read ebooks, I use my kindle or the Kindle App on my tablet or phone. Unless I start doing editing of ePubs or want to check out an ePub format for something? I didn’t buy this as an eReader, and it is terribly lacking as an eReader. Where the reMarkable excels is as a tool for marking up documents. So my guess is it would be great for that if you have a lot of files in ePub format that you have to go over. You also can’t change font sizes for easier reading. You can zoom in and zoom back out to regular size. That’s it. (And this is another reason this is not an eReader.)

Storage: Storage is a little over 6GB (you do not pay for the reMarkable website cloud-sync). But even with about 15 PDFs (some of them really long) on my reMarkable at any given time, I was only at .38 GB.

reMarkable2 Storage

File System: Like I said earlier – the system is highly intuitive and easy to use. I made folders for my most common notebook uses, then I moved the appropriate PDFs to those folders, and created any notebooks I needed for those folders.

Exporting: You can export as .PNG, .SVG, and PDF. Handwriting to text can only be sent as text via the body of an email. This is actually great for writing because then you just have to copy/paste from your email into your Word Doc, Google Doc, or Scrivener.

Importing: Imports PDFs and ePubs.

Templates: The templates are great. I generally only use graph paper, plain, and lined paper myself. But I could see how a lot of these would be useful to people. The to-do list is a crappy template just because it requires you to hide your menu to use it (you can’t tick the the checkboxes until you do this). To hide the menu tap the circle in the upper left top of the menu bar. So if you want a partial page to-do list, you can easily make your own checkbox lists using the graph paper option. There are also dot pages for the folks into bullet journaling.

A small sampling of reMarkable2 Templates

Search Feature: You can search within a PDF, but not through your own handwritten text. You must be in the PDF to search it, otherwise you can only search for file names. You can not search across documents for a phrase or word. So if you’re looking for something with the same search capabilities as a laptop or possibly a tablet, you won’t find it here.

Zooming: You can zoom in on PDF documents and write on them while zoomed. However, you cannot change font sizes to make reading easier.

Battery Life: On days where I used it heavily (about 4-5 hours), I was using around 15% power in a day because I didn’t put it in airplane mode. Three days of 4-5 hours a day use drained my battery to 50%. So me, as a heavy user, not in airplane mode, will likely get 6-7 days out of a single charge. Possibly more since clearly not every day will be a heavy use day. The device does go to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity.

Pen:The pens are a bit pricey. I did not buy the expensive pen with the eraser and I’m okay with that. But $60 for a pen is still a bit — ouch.

Pen Nib: I am expecting I will be one of those poor unfortunate souls who will be replacing pen tips every 3-4 weeks during heavy use. Luckily the pen itself doesn’t use batteries. The pen nibs seem reasonable in price, just be sure to order a new pack with your device and when you start that pack, order another as shipping times on those can take a week or two depending where you are and how efficient your mail service is. You don’t want to accidently run out and find yourself without a pen. Yikes.

Security: You can add a password to your reMarkable to keep prying eyes out. But if you’re like me and self-employed, that’s not really an issue. Your remarkable has Wi-Fi, yes, but you can put it in airplane mode to cut the connection. Plus, it only syncs to your cloud storage. There really aren’t any entry points for viruses or people hacking into your device. But then I’m also not a tech person. Let’s just say I highly doubt security will be a huge issue on this thing. Besides, anyone who wants to take a peek at my tablet would likely find themselves bored stiff, unless they like reading really rough first drafts of speculative fiction. LOL

Backup/Download: You can easily transfer your files back to your computer by opening the app and simply exporting your finished documents, etc… to your computer, backup drive or cloud drive. You can also just email yourself a copy to make it super easy.

My Wishlist:

1. I wish I could add or append new, handwritten pages to an existing PDF. That would definitely solve the space issue. Now, I just make notes in a different file and jog back and forth between the PDF and the notes, which is a little annoying, but doable. One way to solve this issue would be to save all your PDFs to double spaced. It might make markup a little easier. I’ll try that with the next books to go under the editorial knife.

2. I wish there were cheaper alternative covers. My $17 cover looks great and protects my tablet. reMarkable could easily come up with a few additional low-cost choices here. The ultra professionals are still going to buy nice leather folios.

(I may add to this list in the coming weeks, but right now these are the two main things jumping out at me.)

Overall Review Summary

For writers, reMarkable2 truly is a remarkable distraction free device that can help improve your concentration and organization, give you the freedom to write out longhand and convert it to text without the tedious re-typing, and help you mark up drafts with ease. This would probably serve prolific and professional writers more liberally than the writer who takes a few years to pen a book. Plus, it will probably save you a lot of printer paper, toner, pens and notebooks. For business owners/users – reMarkable will likely save you pounds of sticky notes and legal pads, and hours of time transcribing your notes. Plus, it’s a great on-the-go working tool for content creators and people who review a lot of PDFs.

Have some thoughts on the reMarkable2? Feel free to leave a comment below!

#distraction-free #not sponsored content #reMarkable2 #tablets #technology reviews

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briefnewschannel · 2 years

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Amazon's upgraded Kindle Paperwhite just got its first huge price cut

Amazon’s upgraded Kindle Paperwhite just got its first huge price cut

Amazon released a fantastic new Kindle Paperwhite in late 2021 and right now it’s available for $45 less than usual. The online retailer has cut the price of the 32GB Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition to $145, which is down from $190. We reviewed the new Paperwhite in December and gave it four out of five stars. According to the review, we said the device delivers “a luxurious reading…

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ruman123blog · 2 years

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Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition Review: For the Serious Reader

Back in September 2021, Amazon launched its new Kindle Paperwhite (11th Gen) and a Paperwhite Signature Edition with additional features. Previously updated back in 2018, the Kindle Paperwhite (10th Gen) received an IPX8 rating and optional LTE capabilities. The new Kindle Paperwhite (11th Gen) maintains the IPX8 rating and has a bigger display with an adjustable warm frontlight, a USB Type-C…

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litlemonbooks · 2 years

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Review of the new Kindle Paperwhite

FINALLY here it is! My thoughts on the new kindle paperwhite

I received a New Kindle Paperwhite as an early birthday gift. This is an upgrade from my older Kindle Paperwhite. I will be comparing both models and reviewing the New Kindle Paperwhite. Frist, What are the specs? New Kindle Paperwhite (11th generation 2021) 8 GB (6000 books)6.8 inch displayFlush front designUSB-C charge portglare-free displayAdjustable warm light Dark modeWaterproof10 weeks…

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#amazonkindle #book #bookblog #bookreader #Books #booktalk #bookworm #kindle #kindlepaperwhite #kindlereader #newkindlepaperwhite #read #reader #readers #reading #review

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thebestproductreviews · 1 year

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TOP 3 KINDLES!

3º LUGAR: Kindle Oasis.

Mais sofisticado de todos os Kindle da Amazon

Sua Capacidade de armazenamento digital é 8 GB ou 32 GB.

Temperatura de luz ajustável

À prova d'água para que você possa ler na banheira ou à beira da piscina

Design fino, leve e ergonômico.

Valor: R$1200,00 x R$1800,00

2º LUGAR:, Kindle Paperwhite.

Fino, leve e fácil de transportar.

Apresenta nossa característica tela antirreflexo.

À prova d'água.

Temperatura de luz ajustável.

Seu preço costuma variar por conta da capacidade de 8GB ou 32GB.

Valor: R$599,90 x R$900,00

1º LUGAR: Kindle de 11ª geração.

Foi lançado pela Amazon em 2022.

Mais compacto e leve que o 10º geração

Leia confortavelmente em uma tela antirreflexo como se fosse em papel.

Com a iluminação embutida ajustável e o modo noturno.

Seu custo beneficio é o melhor do mercado

NÃO É À PROVA D'ÁGUA.

Valor: R$399,90 x R$650,00

Tags: kindle,amazon kindle,kindle paperwhite,kindle oasis,kindle review,kindle scribe,best kindle,kindle unboxing,kindle 2022,kindle paperwhite review,kindle paperwhite 2022,amazon kindle paperwhite,kindle unlimited,2023 kindle,kindle paperwhite 2021,kindle 2022 review,amazon kindle 2022,which kindle is best,kindle 11,new kindle,kindle 2022 vs paperwhite,why you should get a kindle

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shortstackfan · 2 years

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I posted 28 times in 2021

21 posts created (75%)

7 posts reblogged (25%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 0.3 posts.

I added 101 tags in 2021

#books - 18 posts

#bookworm - 18 posts

#goodreads reading challenge - 16 posts

#booklur - 15 posts

#bookworm problems - 15 posts

#currently reading - 6 posts

#kindle paperwhite - 5 posts

#book haul - 4 posts

#local library - 2 posts

#kindle books - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 35 characters

#the subtle art of not giving a f*ck

My Top Posts in 2021

Bought this book for my kindle today! It sounded great & right up my alley when I heard about it from a person I follow on YouTube a few months back.

2 notes • Posted 2021-03-11 02:01:43 GMT

4 notes • Posted 2021-08-12 01:13:41 GMT

Library book haul

Vampire Academy

Josefina’s Story Collection

The Secret of the Old Clock

Quidditch through the Ages

The Mistletoe Secret

Nellie’s Promise

5 notes • Posted 2021-07-06 22:34:56 GMT

Happy Turkey Day

PC: unknown

29 notes • Posted 2021-11-25 15:14:34 GMT

My most recent book haul!

I’ve bought:

1. Mirror’s edge by Scott Westerfeld (the third book in the imposters series)

2 The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

3. Wicked Mortals by Aaron Mahnke (Apart of the Lore series)

4. Go the Distance (apart of the Twisted Tales series)

5. The Smart but Scattered guide to success

35 notes • Posted 2021-04-07 17:40:18 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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partnerload475 · 2 years

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Kindle App Dark Mode Mac

Dark Mode Kindle App Mac

Kindle App Dark Mode Macbook

Is There A Night Mode For Kindle App

Dark Mode For Kindle

Dark Mode On Kindle Paperwhite

Amazon Kindle is described as 'software lets you read ebooks on your Kindle, iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, and Android-based device' and is a well-known app in the News & Books category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Amazon Kindle for a variety of platforms, including Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android Tablet. Kindle App Turn On Dark Mode Demo (Mac). Π Rendered by PID 29396 on r2-app-005fc828e1e2926bb at 2021-03-07 06:57+00:00 running b0724a4 country code.

Summary: In people with normal vision (or corrected-to-normal vision), visual performance tends to be better with light mode, whereas some people with cataract and related disorders may perform better with dark mode. On the flip side, long-term reading in light mode may be associated with myopia.

Recently, spurred by the introduction of dark mode in IOS 13, a reporter asked me to comment on the usability of dark mode and its popularity as a design trend. It’s a question that I also got several times from attendees to our UX Conference.

I must say upfront that NN/g has not done its own research on dark mode. However, these questions prompted me to do a review of the academic literature on whether dark mode has any benefits for users — with normal vision or not. I will share these findings with you.

But first, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page by defining some vocabulary.

Definition: Contrast polarity is a term used to describe the contrast between the text and the background:

Positive contrast polarity (light mode) refers to dark-font text on light background.

Negative contrast polarity (dark mode) denotes the combination of light (e.g., white) text on dark (e.g., black) background.

Dark-mode displays emit less light than light-mode ones (and, because of that, they might extend battery life). But the amount of light in the environment influences not only power consumption, but also our perception. In order to understand how, let’s briefly review some basic information about the eye pupil and how it reacts to the amount of light in the environment.

The Human Pupil Is Sensitive to the Amount of Light

The human pupil is the gateway to the retina: through it, light reaches the eye. By default, the human pupil changes size depending on the amount of light in the environment: when there is a lot of light, it contracts and becomes narrower, and when it’s dark, it dilates to allow more light to get in. Smaller pupil sizes make the eyes less susceptible to spherical aberrations (in which the image appears unfocused) and increase the depth of field, so people don’t have to work so hard to focus on the text, which, in turn, means that their eyes are less likely to get tired. (Camera apertures work exactly in the same way: a photo taken at f/2.8 will have a narrower depth of field and thus more blurring than one taken at f/16.)

As we age, the pupil decreases in size. Too small pupil sizes mean that too little light enters the eye, which impairs our ability to read or detect text, especially in low ambient light (for example, at night). On the other side, as we get older, we become more susceptible to glare, and glare is particularly likely under bright light.

Normal-Vision Users

Early studies conducted in the 1980s seemed to point out that, for people with normal vision or corrected-to-normal vision (i.e., wearing appropriately prescribed glasses or contacts), the contrast polarity did not affect visual performance.

Yet, several more recent studies contradict that initial finding. In particular, we will focus on two articles that involved two different types of tasks: one, published in 2013 in the journal Ergonomics, looked at visual acuity and reading performance, and the other one, published in 2017 in Applied Ergonomics, investigated performance for a glanceable-reading task — the quick reading of 1–2 words that people often engage in when they interact with a mobile phone, a smartwatch, or a car dashboard and that is involved in activities such as checking directions or attending to a notification.

Effects of Contrast Polarity on Visual Acuity and Proofreading

Cosima Piepenbrock and her colleagues at the Institut für Experimentelle Psychologie in Düsseldorf, Germany studied two groups of adults with normal (or corrected-to-normal) vision: young adults (18 to 33 years old) and older adults (60 to 85 years old). None of the participants suffered from any eye diseases (e.g., cataract).

The participants were given two different types of tasks:

A visual-acuity task, which involved detecting the gap in a Landolt C optotype — in other words, showing them a symbol similar to the letter “C” oriented in various way and asking them to identify where the gap is (e.g., top, bottom).

A proofreading task, which involved reading a short passage and identifying different types of errors

The tasks were presented in different contrast polarities — for some participants, they were in dark mode and for others they were shown in light mode. Contrast polarity was a between-subjects variable, meaning that each participant saw only tasks in one contrast polarity (e.g., only dark mode).

The researchers also collected pre- and post-test fatigue-related measures: participants rated their eyestrain, headache, muscle strain, back pain, and subjective well-being at the beginning of the experiment, as well as at the end.

Their results showed that light mode won across all dimensions: irrespective of age, the positive contrast polarity was better for both visual-acuity tasks and for proofreading tasks. However, the difference between light mode and dark mode in the visual-acuity task was smaller for older adults than for younger adults — meaning that, although light mode was better for older adults, too, they did not benefit from it as much as younger adults, at least in the visual-acuity task.

Dark Mode Kindle App Mac

When researchers looked at fatigue metrics, they concluded that there was no significant difference of contrast polarity on any of them (meaning that it wasn’t the case that dark mode made people more tired, or vice versa).

Another study, published in the journal Human Factors by the same research group, looked at how text size interacts with contrast polarity in a proofreading task. It found that the positive-polarity advantage increased linearly as the font size was decreased: namely, the smaller the font, the better it is for users to see the text in light mode. Interestingly, even though their performance was better in the light mode, participants in the study did not report any difference in their perception of text readability (e.g., their ability to focus on text) in light versus dark mode — which only reinforces the first rule of usability: don’t listen to users.

Effects on Contrast Polarity on Glanceable Reading

Jonathan Dobres and his colleagues at MIT’s Agelab attempted to quantify whether ambient lighting conditions (simulated daytime compared to simulated nighttime) affect in any way the advantage of positive polarity in the context of a lexical-decision task. A lexical-decision task, a paradigm commonly used in psychology, involves showing participants a string of letters and having them decide whether it’s a word or a nonword. A lexical-decision task is more similar with the glanceable reading that we do in highly interruptible conditions such as when driving or using a mobile phone or smartwatch on the go — all of these involve quickly looking at a display and extracting the relevant information.

The participants in the Agelab study had normal or corrected-to-normal vision. They were shown character strings at two possible contrast polarities (dark mode vs. light mode), in different ambient lights (daytime vs. nighttime), and at different font sizes.

The study found that lighting, polarity, and text size all had an effect on performance — in the direction perhaps expected by now: simulated daytime lead to faster judgements than simulated nighttime, light mode was better than dark mode, and bigger font was faster than smaller font. The interesting result was the significant interaction between ambient lighting and contrast polarity: during daytime, there was no significant effect of contrast polarity, but during nighttime, light mode led to better performance than dark mode. Moreover, during nighttime it was much harder for people to read small-font text in dark mode than in light mode.

The lack of effect of polarity in simulated daytime environments was somewhat surprising and inconsistent with a different older study by Buchner and Baumgartner, that also looked at bright vs dark ambient conditions. However, in that study the bright ambient light was much lower than the one used in the Agelab study (think office light versus bright outdoors light). Dobres and his colleagues argue that the amount of ambient light may affect the positive-polarity advantage, with bright light leading to zero difference, but normal office light still being able to produce a difference.

Long-Term Effects

The literature reviewed so far looks at one-time effects of contrast polarity on human performance. But how about long-term effects? In other words, does long-term exposure to one type of contrast polarity have any effects?

An intriguing study published in Nature Research’s Scientific Reports in 2018 suggests that sustained exposure to light-mode may be associated with myopia. Myopia (or nearsightedness) refers to the inability to see far objects clearly and is strongly correlated with the level of education and with reading. In their study, Andrea Aleman and her colleagues at University of Tübingen in Germany asked 7 human participants to read text presented in dark mode and light mode for an hour each. To see if their predisposition to myopia changed after reading, they measured the thickness of the choroid, a vascular membrane behind the retina. The thinning of the choroid is associated with myopia.

The researchers found significant thinning of this membrane when participants read text presented in light mode and significant thickening when reading text presented in dark mode. The thinning was more pronounced in participants who already had myopia.

This result seems to suggest that, even though performance in light mode may be better in the short term, there may be a long-term cost associated with it.

Users with Impaired Vision

The literature on users with impaired vision, is paradoxically, less rich than the one on people with normal vision, although there is an implicit consensus that dark mode is better at least for some people with visual impairments. Gordon Legge and his colleagues at University of Minnesota define two low-vision categories: (1) due to central-vision impairments and (2) due to cloudy ocular media.

The ocular media refers to the various transparent substances in the eye, including the cornea and the lens. The most common cause of cloudy ocular media is cataract, which refers to the clouding of the lens and is fairly common in older people. A cataract scatters and blocks some of the light that is supposed to reach the retina through the lens and thus prevents the creation of a clear, focused image on your retina.

Even as early as 1977, a study by Sloan reported that some people with low vision prefer dark mode. (In our own accessibility studies, Kara Pernice has also seen users with low vision sometimes switching between dark and light mode in an attempt to gain clarity.) In 1985, Gordon Legge and his colleagues at University of Minnesota hypothesized that this effect is due to “abnormal light scatter due cloudy ocular media” — presumably, because, if more light reaches the eye with a cloudy lens, there’s a bigger chance of a distortion. Thus, dark mode may be better for people with cloudy ocular media because the display emits less light.

Kindle App Dark Mode Macbook

In Legge’s study, each of the 7 participants with cloudy ocular media had better reading rates with dark modes, whereas the rest of the participants, who had impaired central vision, were not affected by contrast polarity.

Legge’s studies formed the basis of recommending the possibility of switching to dark mode for modern computer interfaces. In 2005, Papadopoulos and Goudiras, in an article that reviewed various accessibility best practices for low-vision users, recommended the availability of dark mode in user interfaces.

A caveat noted by several of the researchers in the normal-vision field is that Legge’s studies with low-vision users were conducted with CRT displays, as opposed to the LEDs used in most modern displays. These displays were more susceptible to flicker in light mode than in dark mode, thus possibly biasing the results against the light mode.

Takeaways

So, should you jump on the dark-mode bandwagon? While dark mode may present some advantages for some low-vision users — in particular, those with cloudy ocular media such as cataract, the research evidence points in the direction of an advantage of positive polarity for normal-vision users. In other words, in users with normal vision, light mode leads to better performance most of the time.

Is There A Night Mode For Kindle App

Why is light mode better for performance? These findings are best explained by the fact that, with positive contrast polarity, there is more overall light and so the pupil contracts more. As a result, there are fewer spherical aberrations, greater depth of field, and overall better ability to focus on details without tiring the eyes.

Even though larger font sizes and bright ambient light may erase some of this advantage in people with normal vision, at this point we don’t recommend switching to dark mode by default if your target audience includes the general population.

Dark Mode For Kindle

That being said, we strongly recommend that designers allow users to switch to dark mode if they want to — for three reasons: (1) there may be long-term effects associated with light mode; (2) some people with visual impairments will do better with dark mode; and (3) some users simply like dark mode better. (We know that people rarely change defaults, but they should be able to.) It’s unlikely that people will alter the display mode for any random website, but, if a website or an application sees frequent use, it should consider providing this option to its users. In particular, applications meant for long-form reading (such as book readers, magazines, and even news sites) should offer a dark-mode feature. And the option should ideally be pervasive throughout all the screens of that website or application. Moreover, if an operating system provides a dark-mode API (like iOS does), make sure you take advantage of it — doing so will give those users who decide to switch to dark mode the ability to experience your application or website in their chosen contrast polarity.

References

A. Aleman, M. Wang, and F. Schaeffel (2018). Reading and Myopia: Contrast Polarity Matters. Scientific Reports 8, 10840 (2018) doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28904-x

J. Dobres, N. Chahine, B. Reimer (2017). Effects of ambient illumination, contrast polarity, and letter size on text legibility under glance-like reading, Applied Ergonomics. DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.11.001

Dark Mode On Kindle Paperwhite

G.E. Legge, G. S. Rubin, D. G. Pelli, and M. M. Schleske (1985). Psychophysics of Reading – ii. Low Vision. Vision Research.

K.S. Papadopoulos., D. B. Goudiras (2005). Accessibility Assistance for Visually-Impaired People in Digital Texts. British Journal of Visual Impairment. DOI: 10.1177/0264619605054779.

C. Piepenbrock, S. Mayr, I. Mund & A. Buchner (2013). Positive display polarity is advantageous for both younger and older adults, Ergonomics, DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2013.790485

Cosima Piepenbrock, S. Mayr, A. Buchner (2013). Positive Display Polarity Is Particularly Advantageous for Small Character Sizes: Implications for Display Design. Human Factors. DOI: 10.1177/0018720813515509

L.L. Sloan (1977). Reading Aids for the Partially Sighted: A Systematic Classification and Procedure for Prescribing. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins.

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How-To Geek Presents The Best Tech Gifts for Readers for Holiday 2021

Diego Cervo/Shutterstock.com

Reading is a pastime that never gets old. It’s something that appeals to all ages and can keep us all entertained no matter what. So, here are the best tech gifts for readers to make it even better.

Happy Holidays! This article is part of our Holiday 2021 Gift Guide where you can find the best-of-the-best recommendations from How-To Geek, LifeSavvy, and Review Geek to help you pick the perfect gift for everyone on your list!

The Best Tech Gifts for Readers

Reading isn’t a particularly tech-heavy thing to do, and in fact, it’s something often done to get away from electronics.

Many find it easier to get lost in a hardback instead of an eReader, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t wonderful tech gifts for reading aficionados. Some of the most fantastic gifts we’ve found for readers aren’t even for digital reading!

We’ve put together a list of the most exciting gift ideas we could find, all of which will make the reader in your life very happy. Regardless of how often they read and what their favorite genre is, you should find something below to bring a smile to their face.

Energizer Clip-on Book Light: For Reading at Night

Energizer

One of the problems that can occur if one person is an avid reader and their partner isn’t is having a light on when reading at night.

A great gift to get for this situation is the Energizer Clip-on Book Light. This little gadget does exactly what it says on the tin. The light clips onto the book the person is reading and provides an excellent source of light designed specifically for reading, making it easy for the person next to your giftee to sleep while they read.

Energizer’s Book Light lasts for up to twenty-five hours before needing a battery change too. Nobody should be reading for that long without a nap, but at least that means it can go multiple reading sessions before a recharge.

Mark-My-Time Digital Book Light: Help Younger Readers Build a Habit

Mark-My-Time

Reading is one of those activities that parents want their kids to fall in love with. You can help make sure they build a healthy reading habit by buying them the Mark-My-Time Digital Book Light.

This nifty little device has a built-in light to help them read no matter the conditions they’re trying to do so in. It also easily clips onto books and has a timer on it to help manage things like homework reading times.

On top of that, it has a built-in tracker that allows people to see how long the user has been reading for, which is excellent for making sure the kids are actually reading. This book light is really nifty!

Kindle Paperwhite: Reading in the New Age

Amazon

While many still like the heft of a book in their hands, the convenience of a good eReader shouldn’t be overlooked.

The Kindle Paperwhite is one of the best eReaders on the market. This new model has a 6.8-inch display with an adjustable light setting to ensure it’s easy on the eyes. It can store thousands of books with ease, and a single charge will last weeks thanks to the low energy usage.

In short, this makes reading simpler and is ideal for anyone who might be struggling with traditional books or simply wants a lot of quality reading content in one place.

Kindle Paperwhite

An eReader for the ages to bring everyone into the world of reading without books.

Audible: Books in Audio Form

Audible

Reading is great, of course, but it’s also something that requires a person’s full attention. For those too busy to sit down and read, audiobooks are a lifesaver.

It’s not always realistic to fit in a book with so much going, and that’s where Audible comes in. An Audible subscription comes with access to a vast array of Audible Originals, audiobooks, and even podcasts to listen to.

You could even treat them to Audible Premium Plus if you want to let them buy an additional title for free and get discounts on other books too.

Scribd: A Subscription for It All

Scirbd

If you’re buying a subscription for a reader with a voracious appetite and eclectic tastes, then you should consider Scribd.

Scribd is a subscription service that offers access to books, audiobooks, magazines, podcasts, and even sheet music for $10 a month. It even comes with perks, like being about to listen to music uninterrupted, checking out the news, and even viewing films thanks to MUBI.

It’s a tremendous all-encompassing kind of gift that should make anyone happy.

Night Caddy Bedside Organizer: A Convenient Place to Keep Everything

Night Caddy

Many people love reading in bed, but when you combine a book, a good light, and the rest of the things we keep near us in the night, it can be messy. Well, it’s only messy if they don’t have access to a Night Caddy Deluxe Bedside Organizer, which you’re theoretically about to buy them.

This organizer has multiple pockets to hold, phones, books, eReaders, and whatever else you need. It clips on neatly to many different kinds of beds and even has a USB charger cord in it for more tech-savvy readers. The Night Caddy is simple, yet effective.

Franklin English Dictionary with Thesaurus: Words are Hard

Franklin

If you grew up reading, then you likely learned a vast number of words from doing so.

It’s one of those things we take for granted with the internet at our fingertips, but there are a lot of words, and it’s tricky to know them all. The Franklin Collins English Dictionary with Thesaurus is an excellent way of giving someone the ability to look up whatever word they want with ease.

It’s an unusual gift given that many people would go to Google to look up the words, but it’s also nice to have a dedicated dictionary space that doesn’t connect to Twitter. We all need less time doomscrolling, so a “lower tech” gift like this dictionary can keep your giftee away from the electronics.

Gooseneck Tablet Mount Holder: Hands-Free Tablet Usage

Lamicall

A big downside of using any tablet to read in bed is having to use your arms to hold it up. They get heavy after a while!

The Gooseneck Tablet Mount Holder is an excellent gift for those who want to relax as they’re reading. It can be adjusted to fit with a wide array of different tablets and phones. It’s easy to adjust thanks to the flexible neck, making it easy for most people to use than one and adjust to just the right angle.

Plus, it can be used for watching things on tablets too, not just for reading. This is certainly a multi-functional gift.

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