Reading Text on Super AMOLED

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I remember a while back there was an article on Ars Technica (can't link yet, but google "ars Secrets of the Nexus One's screen" and you'll find it) about the Nexus One's AMOLED screen. They talked about how the AMOLED screen technology/layout resulted in text that wasn't as sharp as on the Motorola Droid. I'm curious if this is still a concern with Super AMOLED technology, as with the Epic 4G?

I'm looking to upgrade from my Palm Pre in the next few weeks (hoping the Epic 4G is out by then), but I'm hoping to do some background research before that. I use my phone quite a bit for web browsing now, and would probably increase that usage on a phone with a bigger screen and better browser. I'm also looking forward to being able to use Kindle's software for Android. Bottom line is that I know I'll be reading a LOT of text on my phone. Super AMOLED is supposed to be incredible for pictures and video, but if it's lackluster on text, it's not as useful to me.

If any of you have any thoughts or experiences regarding this issue (if it still is one on Super AMOLED), I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

Yes, it's still an issue.

SAMOLED Pentil subpixel layout makes text look jaggad compared to LCD. The reason for this is that the true addressable resolution of SAMOLED displays is not 480x480 but 393x653. This is the one drawback of this display. See my other posts where i compared the LCD of the EVO vs the Galaxy S. Additional problems are screen burn in and poor power consumption for mobile devices. Text on white backround (web browsing, document viewing) consumes 330% more power than LCD. The color saturation, contrast, black level, and viewing angles are stunning though.

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Originally Posted by violinbf

SAMOLED Pentil subpixel layout makes text look jaggad compared to LCD. The reason for this is that the true addressable resolution of SAMOLED displays is not 480x480 but 393x653. This is the one drawback of this display. See my other posts where i compared the LCD of the EVO vs the Galaxy S. Additional problems are screen burn in and poor power consumption for mobile devices. Text on white backround (web browsing, document viewing) consumes 330% more power than LCD. The color saturation, contrast, black level, and viewing angles are stunning though.

I checked out your "Galaxy S (Epic, Captivate etc) VS EVO Comparison and thoughts" thread and it was an excellent overview. I'm leaning towards the Evo for the larger screen and better text readability. I'm out of town right now, but when I get back home next week I might try to track down an Evo somewhere. If the Epic comes out within the 30 day trial period, I'll check it out then.

The main things tempting me with the Epic are the nicer CPU & GPU, but I'm pretty sure I'll be happy regardless after being on my sluggish Pre for a year. If only Palm had been bought by someone who could have brought some of WebOS's features to Android (I think I'll miss having cards and gestures). Either way, both look like excellent phones and I'm anxious to get started with Android.

Thanks for the feedback!

Originally Posted by violinbf

SAMOLED Pentil subpixel layout makes text look jaggad compared to LCD. The reason for this is that the true addressable resolution of SAMOLED displays is not 480x480 but 393x653.

If that's the reason that it comes out like that, will the text be fixed when Android Gingerbread comes out? I've heard that gingerbread changes the resolution, but I don't know if that's true.

Originally Posted by EnderTheThird

I checked out your "Galaxy S (Epic, Captivate etc) VS EVO Comparison and thoughts" thread and it was an excellent overview. I'm leaning towards the Evo for the larger screen and better text readability. I'm out of town right now, but when I get back home next week I might try to track down an Evo somewhere. If the Epic comes out within the 30 day trial period, I'll check it out then.

The main things tempting me with the Epic are the nicer CPU & GPU, but I'm pretty sure I'll be happy regardless after being on my sluggish Pre for a year. If only Palm had been bought by someone who could have brought some of WebOS's features to Android (I think I'll miss having cards and gestures). Either way, both look like excellent phones and I'm anxious to get started with Android.

Thanks for the feedback!

Visit a T-Mobile or AT&T store and look at the Captivate and/or the Vibrant..the Epic will have the same screen..once you see it you can judge for yourself...the text may not be as sharp but it may be acceptable by your use...so its worth checking..

I have a evo and do pretty much nothing but text reading (ebooks and the web). Text is very easy to read and I have not noticed any eye strain yet.

That sucks about super amoled not doing text well.

Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Originally Posted by gTen

Visit a T-Mobile or AT&T store and look at the Captivate and/or the Vibrant..the Epic will have the same screen..once you see it you can judge for yourself...the text may not be as sharp but it may be acceptable by your use...so its worth checking..

I tried doing that at a Best Buy yesterday but someone had stolen their demo unit(s). Apparently it's one of the more ghetto Best Buys in Boston. Who knew. I'll be checking it out when I get back home for sure though.

Hmmmm.... I went to the AT&T store last week, to check out the captivate and I didn't notice any problem in reading the text personally. I haven't made the switch to a smartphone yet so maybe my eyes are too inexperienced to notice something like that, but I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with my future Epic 4G

I have the captivate and yes, text on it is not as crisp as on the droid or droid x. But is it an issue, no. On really light colored backgrounds like white or light grey, if you look hard for it, you can see some fuzziness. But on colorful backgrounds you really cant see it. I can tell you, its a beautiful screen. Overall it looks better than the droid x, which has been described as dull or drab. The colors on the S-AMOLED really pop, and the fact that its an OLED means that black backgrounds are really true black (complete absence of light).

In my opinion its the second best display available, second only to the iphone4 display.