Marco Arment on Grayscale vs. Color Ebook Screens →

December 24, 2009

But down here, below the clouds, in the world of ebook-reader owners, I can guarantee you that the times I want color are far outnumbered by the times that I’d benefit from sharper, bolder, faster grayscale. The numbers break down something like this:
  • Times I’ve wanted color: I don’t know. Maybe one or two? I can’t remember any. But it has probably happened once.
  • Times I’d benefit from grayscale improvements: Every time I use it.
This isn’t to say that there’s no reason to make any devices with color e-ink screens, but I don’t think there’s much reason to make mainstream ebook readers with them.

Marco Arment on why for the typical user of an e-book reader, improving the rendering of grayscale on e-ink screens is far more important than developing color e-ink technology.

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  • Jon Rosen

    I agree with this. We're going to need color ebook screens for textbooks, especially science books, but for the most part, enhanced resolution is going to make ebooks far more useful. Apple knew that when they released their early Macs. The Mac Plus, SE, etc. had B&W screens that had much higher resolution than they could have had if they were released with color screens. It was a very wise choice at that time, based on the limits of the technology. LCD screens, back in the 80s, were mostly limited to watches and some small alphanumeric displays.

  • Ken Clark

    Agreed. I thought Marco's comments were dead on.

  • http://kenclark.me/2010/02/the-next-generation-of-color-screens-for-e-book-readers/ The Next Generation of Color Screens for E-Book Readers? — Ken Clark

    [...] the past, I felt that improved grayscale rendering was more important than color for the next generation Kindle, but that was assuming the display [...]

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