not to mention the screen is so much better (not reflective at all, while the iPad is a glare country).
effective anti-glare screen protectors have been available for the iPad since it's debut and aren't that expensive either
Effective? Not so fast. I do have an AG screen protector, just bought another (writeshield, the best in the biz, AFAIK). They do improve things, but you still can see reflections. Not so much with indoor lighting, but outside, outdoors, it is still bad. What they do is they SPREAD the reflection accross the screen, they do not ABSORB them behind the screen, like a transflective screen does.
The ideal treatment has to be done inside the screen too: AR coatings on the internal side of the Capacitive touchscreen glass, optically bonded to the internal LCD glass, which also should have AR coatings to both sides. That Apple didn't do that is evident, since it's clearly mirror glossy. I'm not a specialist or anything,
just read this article a couple years ago, and I think it's a fairly simple explanation of the challenges involved trying to fight the sun light.
Quote:
When you're indoors in subdued lighting, the lack of an anti-glare coating actually makes the screen look better. Colors seem richer, the image seems sharper and the whole screen seems to "pop". This is highly desirable when you're watching a DVD movie. But outdoors, the lack of an anti-glare coating turns the screen into a mirror, which is highly undesirable.
An anti-glare coating doesn't reduce the amount of light reflected by the screen — it just changes its form. A plain sheet of glass reflects 4% of the light that hits it. If the glass doesn't have an anti-glare coating, the 4% is reflected directly back at you and can see yourself clearly in the glass (it's acting like a dim mirror). If the glass does have an anti-glare coating, the 4% is reflected in all directions (scattered or diffused), and all you can see in the glass is an indistinct blob rather than a clear image. This is very helpful outdoors, since it prevents you from seeing a blinding image of the sun reflected in the screen.
It was a BAD BAD decision for Apple not to offer a matte screen for those who, say, love to read by the pool, who prefers to read or work outdoors, or plan to use the ipad also in the car.
Glossy works great for couch potatoes, though.
