Maybe this is ridiculous but I kinda like the lack of a backlight: it forces me to find nice bright places to play in, and discourages hanging out in the kind of dimly lit areas that tend to sap my energy and mood.
To each their own, I've found with my ereader that backlight (or are they frontlights?) are pointless. During the day, I always use no backlight and I find it easier on the eyes just to turn a lamp on at night.
I'm pretty confused about your comment and all the replies. Do you all not have lights? I can see my keyboard just fine without backlighting. Not wanting backlighting has nothing to do with whether I need to look at my keyboard or not. I just think it's ugly (which is just a preference, totally fine for people to like it).
Backlit screens are brighter than a book under typical indoor lighting conditions. (Although this doesn't really support the original point, because the canonical alternative of going outside is much brighter than anything you do indoors.)
Looks like it's not actively backlit? Way cooler than it has any right to be, at least in the daytime. Brightness is automatically directly proportional to the light coming from behind! Wonder what they have planned for night.
When it actively hinders the enjoyment of the product, the product just isn’t very good
I'm a bit confused here. In the beginning of your comment, you imply that you haven't used one. Then at the end, you state that the lack of a backlight "actively hinders" the product.
How would you know if the lack of a backlight actively hinders the product, if you haven't used it?
The review indicates that the lack of a backlight isn't a problem at all. That's from someone who's actually used it. How is it that you know more about this product's usability when you haven't used it?
31 comments in, and 90% of the posts here are people who have never used the product complaining how bad it is based on their pre-conceived assumptions, or making wild guesses.
I miss the old days of HN when people would post when they had something substantive to add, not just to slake their vanity by seeing their words in print and pretend they're an expert on things they know little about.
Completely agreed.
The worse argument is the one about the backlight not being red... If you care about that kind of thing you already have a bedside luminotherapy lamp. Which means you will use it to read (which is way more comfortable).
The backlight's primary function is to counter the effect of the sun in daytime park / balcony / beach / etc... reading. You need a lot of luminosity, and certainly not weak ass red lighting.
Dim, but cool coloured lights? That's certainly better than bright cool ones but I still find them very annoying and overstimulating at night.
The only thing I can't do with dim, warm lighting is read small text from something other than a backlit screen. For everything else, it's perfectly fine. And if I do see myself having to do that, I'll just add a spot of light to what I'm trying to read, problem solved.
Why is there no web browser on the tablets without backlight?
I have wanted a laptop or tablet without backlight for years. The backlight not only makes it harder to get to sleep at night, but it also makes it harder to concentrate. A laptop where you didn't have to stare at a backlight would make it easier to get shit done. I can't just dim the screen on my MBP. It is even some research that suggests there is a hypnotic effect of staring into a bright lit TV or computer screen.
I have the same feeling, and I know I should wean myself, but current displays are practically unusable in bright light. And when trying to take photos or read a book, it’d be nice to have options...
Yes, I don't even notice it's there until there is a change and the screen blinks a bit. To maybe reference another comment, this is why I also like e-paper, no backlight needed, just an external source of light, like the Sun ;)
I started doing this a while ago. Then lapsed back to the usual. I bought a rechargeable portable lamp that's dimmable. It has a great impact on my sleep when I use it properly. I want one that's more diffuse like a candle though.
I really hope this is the start of a backlash against the backlight and pay to play.
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