Why do e-reader Screens “Flash”?

February 6, 2026 | 2 comments

I’ve been having a bit of an e-reader renaissance recently with the purchase of an Xteink X4 reader, the tiny pocket reader. This is my first e-reader in about 16 years since my Sony Reader all those years ago. Something that hasn’t changed in all those years is the page flashing when the display needs refreshing.

If you don’t know what I am referring to, take a look at this video below, which shows page refresh in action on the Xteink X4.

Here is why that refresh (often called a “full page turn”) is necessary:

The Physics of “Digital Ink”

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The Shocking Price of eBooks

June 30, 2010 | 1 comment

So it seems that content producers still haven’t learnt the lessons from the music industry’s move from physical product to electronic equivalent. Below is a great example of how they just don’t get it.

Juliet Naked is the latest novel by Nick Hornby. I’ve read it (in paperback format) and it’s a good book and a return to form for Hornby in my opinion. However, I would rather have read it on my Sony Reader but is it really worth £11.10 to have it in an electronic format? I think not. More to the point does it cost the content … Read the rest

Netbook as a eReader

June 2, 2009 | Comment

Always on the lookout for ways to extract the most from my Netbook and having eyed up the Sony’s eReader in Waterstones I thought I would see whether the former could act as the latter.

eBooks are all the rage at the moment, particularly in the states where Amazon’s Kindle seems to be doing a roaring trade. I have to say that I am not a particularly big reader and so to have the ability to carry and number of books around and dip in and out what the mood takes me appeals to me. Also I carry my netbook … Read the rest