# Kindle glare?



## loui100 (Dec 27, 2011)

Do you also have glare in sunlight? When I sit besides a window, I almost can't find a position in which the screen doesn't glare. I usually have to keep it at a weird angle, which is quite infuriating, considering one of Kindle's main marketed advantages was that it is glare-free. Sure, it may not be as glary as Ipad but if I have to do yoga just to find glare-free spot, who cares? I'm quite surprised none of this was mentioned in the many reviews I've read.


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## valleycat1 (Mar 15, 2011)

Which kindle do you have?  I have the keyboard 3g+wifi & haven't had much problem.  Usually when I'm that close to a window, though, I'm eating lunch out at a table & am using my tablet-style case as an easel - not too hard to shift the kindle's position to avoid any glare problems.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

If you have the Kindle Fire, it is not marketed as glare-free. Only the eInk Kindles are marketed as such. I have a Kindle Touch and I used to have a Kindle Keyboard, neither ever had a problem with glare.


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## loui100 (Dec 27, 2011)

Kindle Touch. So the touch layer may worsen the glare effect, not sure. Well, the very fact that there is some of protective (glass?) screen makes minimal glare unavoidable. Basically I usually read sitting with my back to the window, so the Kindle probably is under direct sunlight then. If I turn to the desktop and put my Kindle on it, there is no glare. It's really rather irritating because in the evening I have a hard time reading because of the hue variation and dim screen under a normal ceiling lamp, and during day, when light is good, I can't read comfortably because of the glare. I've already sent my unit to the retailer (alas, I did not buy directly from Amazon) for warranty, and they said there is nothing wrong with the screen. But I'm afraid in their definition so long as there are words and you can read them - the device is alright. I _do_ have a hard time believing that glare can be the result of shoddy quality control, doubt if they use different screen protection layers...


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

Though I've never seen a Touch, in general I wouldn't say you get glare on a Kindle screen, but certainly you can get a reflection of a point source of light - a light bulb, or the sun for instance, if it's shining in the wrong place.

I certainly see this reading in the evenings with a lamp, I've just got used to positioning myself and the lamp so I don't see it. 

The best sort of lighting for a Kindle is bright, diffused light - office lighting is good, and daylight is great as long as it's not direct sunlight.

It could be a problem if you get direct sunlight where you sit - I'm in the UK, so the phrase "direct sunlight" is not something we use very often, most of the time it's cloudy even if bright, and in those conditions the screen is great!


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## loui100 (Dec 27, 2011)

Depends how you define glare, obviously. On an Ipad you see everything around you reflected instead of text. In my case, it's more as you said - reflection of light source. The sun is _very_ weak this time of year where I live (Poland) so if it's problematic now, I do wonder how it will act in summer, when I sit on a chair outside. Hopefully I just have a badly aligned room/window. As for light - I'm going to buy me a decent bulb, probably cold white in tone, perhaps this will make the screen look brighter, because in my warm light my eyes get tired fast when reading the Kindle.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

It certainly doesn't sound to me like the Kindle is faulty as such, I think what you're seeing is normal for an e-ink screen.

Because the screen isn't lit internally, it really benefits from good lighting. I use an anglepoise-type light (think Pixar films!) which lights the Kindle over my shoulder, and that is great. It has an energy-saving bulb in it, but because it's one of the ones with a plastic diffuser so it looks like a conventional bulb, this means the light is diffused. 

I can, of course, see the bulb reflected in the Kindle screen if I turn it and look for it, but I find it becomes second nature after a while and I'm subconsciously positioning the Kindle to avoid the reflection.


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## loui100 (Dec 27, 2011)

Hmm, I'm rather used to ceiling light, especially since my room is small, making distance less of an issue. What type of bulb would you recommend for best colour, distance and intensity? Are energy bulbs worth considering when such issues are critical? I have one installed now, but as I say - it's too dim. I'm thinking of trying out a conventional one, but I donnow. Obviously for a reading lamp my current bulb would be quite sufficient - the screen looks practically white when I "read" directly under it but if I move a few steps away, the screen is waaay dimmer.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

I wouldn't like to comment on particular bulb types or colour etc, not my area of expertise. Anybody else want to contribute?

I found my normal room ceiling light rather dim for comfortable Kindle reading which is why I got the pixar light, but to be honest the ceiling light was too dark for comfortably reading a normal book as well.

Rather than trying to make the whole room brighter, I would suggest looking for a reading light of some sort. Try and find something with a diffused bulb - in the UK they call them "pearl" bulbs - where the bulb is translucent rather than clear. You want a reasonably bright light (but as I say, my light with a 9W energy saver is fine) but I would think you want to avoid a "pinpoint" light eg a halogen bulb because this would make the reflections more of a problem. However, you might want to try it first; you may find you prefer the extra brightness and can work round the reflections. 

Try taking your Kindle to a lighting shop and see what works for you: also take it out and about, and see what it looks like in various lights (shops, offices, pubs etc); you'll soon work out what works well!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Full spectrum or "daylight" bulbs are nice I think.  They're most like natural sunlight in my opinion and are recommended for those with vision issues.


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