Does anyone here have a BOOX e-paper tablet? I’m a big fan of e-paper devices—I love my Pebble smartwatch, Kindle Paperwhite, and Light Phone II. I’ve been eyeing the Tab Ultra C for quite a while, and I am considering the pros and cons. Mostly, I intend to use it for browsing the web and maybe some light note taking and document writing.

  • zzzzz@beehaw.org
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    9 months ago

    E-ink displays are opaque. The Kindles with illumination use side-lighting with a layer of plastic that guides the light across the surface of the device. They are effectively front-lit using LEDs situated around the perimeter of the screen.

    • Overzeetop@beehaw.org
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      9 months ago

      The use of the term backlight is common, but even Amazon refers to it as a “front light” (it’s edge-lit, of course, as you say). Bit like using a floppy disc as the “save” icon, or walling wireless networks “wi-fi” despite having nothing to to with “fidelity”. We all know what it means.

      • zzzzz@beehaw.org
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        9 months ago

        We all know what it means.

        Except for me, apparently. I’ll have to update my vocabulary: backlight can mean front light.

        • Overzeetop@beehaw.org
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          9 months ago

          I get it…it’s hard to say something you know is incorrect, accuracy of language going to shit and other modern problems, and I feel that. I think of it as more of a “internal lighting that illuminates the device interface.” In dealing with non-technical people on a daily basis, I find it’s much more productive to allow/ignore this sort of colloquialism unless it’s that specific thing I’m trying to fix/undo/explain. I barely even flinch now when people refer to the large box on their deck as the “CPU.” ;-)