Netbook Tablet as a Viable eBook Reader Option

[Bob Russell]

I'm in the same spot as Zefiro, and also skeptical about netbook convertibles due to battery life and other compromises. But there just doesn't seem to be a great PDF reading solution, and it's hard to tell what the best compromises are. Or even how long we'll have to wait for good alternatives to appear.

Zefiro, have you thought about the iPad? If the price is not an issue, and you don't mind a closed system, the iPad seems like it might be the a pretty good PDF solution.

[Crowl]

Having had the t101mt I am pretty happy with it so far, battery life is above 6 hours under normal use, so that part isn't an issue.

For the main use you mention, pdf files, would you tend to read them full screen in portrait mode or scroll through them in landscape mode? If it is the latter then it would be fine for that, but portrait mode is a bit more variable an experience since many files do not suit the widescreen ratio of the device.

[krighton]

i've thought about the Ipad, but i need a device that's around 11 inches in length, screen size, so that i can read comics without having to increase the size. And something lighter than the HP brand of tablets. Yet more flexible, flash wise, than the Ipad, for watching videos

[asjogren]

I am considering an Asus T101MT for my partner who does not want to move public library books around to read them on a dedicated eReader. She now reads for hours every day on her 15 inch standard laptop. It seems to me that in "tablet mode" the T101MT would be much nicer.

The Asus T91MT does NOT have a user replaceable battery, but the T101MT does.

What I gather from other posts:
1) top priority is to upgrade to Window 7 Home Premium
2) remove excess software and services
3) add 1 GB of memory

I don't understand why there is no model with the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. A multi-touch machine seams to be hobbled without an OS that is multi-touch. Is this available, but I have just not found it? It seems that $80 is about the best discounted price for the software upgrade.

Any words of wisdom from those who have taken this path?

[zorah]

I have the T91MT and am very happy with it. Yes, I would love a user replaceable battery. (which the iPad lack too as well as the iPhone). One thing I would love is being able to have my T91MT in my case and leave it on standby like my iPhone is, and how I suppose people with the iPad do as well, which gives the whole "instant on" illusion. But leaving the Asus on I wonder, what is the standby battery life comparatively. It's just different when it's an actual computer with a full OS being left on standby/sleep mode. I would think for example, people who tote around laptops don't leave them on standby, and a netbook like the Asus Tablet would pretty much be in the same category. (not to say an iPad and iPhone aren't computers, but I think you all know what I mean).
I don't like the idea of using up the battery without AC charger when another battery can't just be popped right in there. So I will never use my T91MT in quite the same manner as one would an iPad that would stay free from wires all day if I had one. (because the standby mode is just different that is) But for the most part, I use mine at home anyway where an outlet is always right there.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by asjogren

What I gather from other posts:
1) top priority is to upgrade to Window 7 Home Premium
2) remove excess software and services
3) add 1 GB of memory

I don't understand why there is no model with the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. A multi-touch machine seams to be hobbled without an OS that is multi-touch. Is this available, but I have just not found it?

It does seem weird that they have released that lower spec machine in the states, the eu model I bought came with win 7 home premium and 2gb of memory.

[wodin]

I've had my T91M for a couple of weeks now, and I'm loving it. While it's true that it doesn't have a removable battery, I can consistently get five hours out of it in ereader mode; so I just treat it like my cell phone, and plug it in every night. When it's in tablet mode (screen facing out) it automatically scales back the CPU speed to prevent overheating, and that has an additional benefit of increasing battery life.

During the day, I just put it in standby when not in use, and I end the day with half the battery or more left. I have noticed that when it’s in standby for a period of time (don’t know how long) it will automatically switch to hibernate. So starting it back up takes ten or fifteen seconds instead of instant on, but that’s not been an issue as my alternate use is for taking notes during meetings, and there is always time to get it running, loading up OneNote, and switching screen orientation before the meeting starts.

The deal maker for me was that it comes preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium which negates the need (and expense) to upgrade from the Basic version on the T101. While I’d like to have a digitizer, and a dual core processor, I need to remember that the little bugger costs $500, not two grand. And besides, so far there is no high end tablet that is as portable as this one.

As far as screen size goes, I mostly use it for reading ebooks instead of PDFs or comics, and I don’t think the extra inch makes much difference.

It is true, though, the 1 MB of memory is totally inadequate, and a memory upgrade is absolutely necessary out of the box. I did that as well as buying a couple of 32 GB HDSC cards. That added a couple of hundred dollars to the cost, but I think it was worth it.

[asjogren]

Originally Posted by Crowl

It does seem weird that they have released that lower spec machine in the states, the eu model I bought came with win 7 home premium and 2gb of memory.

Yes, I just looked at amazon.co.uk and it has 2GB memory, Windows 7 Home Premium, and 320GB disk (instead of 160GB)

The US hobbled version is $US484, while the EU version is GBP456 (about $US659). Subtracting off the 15% VAT in the UK would lead to a USA price of $US560. This would be a far better deal than my upgrading just the OS and memory. And I would get double the hard disk space too.

[Xerxes]

Looking forward to the eee pad.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Xerxes

Looking forward to the eee pad.

Shame they aren't closer to release really, asus seem to have tried to avoid just going for the basic netbook without a keyboard with their tablet offerings.

[Zefiro]

Sorry for the late reply, busy days...

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

I'm in the same spot as Zefiro, and also skeptical about netbook convertibles due to battery life and other compromises. But there just doesn't seem to be a great PDF reading solution, and it's hard to tell what the best compromises are. Or even how long we'll have to wait for good alternatives to appear.

Zefiro, have you thought about the iPad? If the price is not an issue, and you don't mind a closed system, the iPad seems like it might be the a pretty good PDF solution.

These are exactly the reasons why I'm sceptical about the iPad.
Although I'm definitely not enthusiastic about the idea of having a completely closed system (by the way, am I wrong or I can install applications only through the apple store?), I can accept this fact if I'm sure that iPad is the BEST solution around. The real issue is the price/value ratio.
Here in Italy the basic version of the iPad(9.7") is sold at 599€.
On the other hand I can buy the T101MT (10.1") at 511€ with a warranty extension of three years already included. Moreover it is already configured with 2GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium.

Originally Posted by Crowl

Having had the t101mt I am pretty happy with it so far, battery life is above 6 hours under normal use, so that part isn't an issue.

For the main use you mention, pdf files, would you tend to read them full screen in portrait mode or scroll through them in landscape mode? If it is the latter then it would be fine for that, but portrait mode is a bit more variable an experience since many files do not suit the widescreen ratio of the device.

Interesting point. While I would certainly prefer reading in portrait mode, landscape is also acceptable. The important thing is that the PDFs are rendered correctly and the reading 'experience' is not unpleasant.
What reassures me about the T101MT is that I can install Adobe on it and this should certainly avoid any problem with document rendering.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by asjogren

Yes, I just looked at amazon.co.uk and it has 2GB memory, Windows 7 Home Premium, and 320GB disk (instead of 160GB)

The US hobbled version is $US484, while the EU version is GBP456 (about $US659). Subtracting off the 15% VAT in the UK would lead to a USA price of $US560. This would be a far better deal than my upgrading just the OS and memory. And I would get double the hard disk space too.

Seems a shame they would do that just to reach a fairly arbitrary price point when 2gb of memory and home premium make for such an improved impression of a netvertible like this one.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Zefiro

Here in Italy the basic version of the iPad(9.7") is sold at 599€.
On the other hand I can buy the T101MT (10.1") at 511€ with a warranty extension of three years already included. Moreover it is already configured with 2GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium.

This was sort of the reasoning I came to in the end when I decided to get the asus, although my decision was helped that my main use for wanting a tablet was reading comics and I can use both cbr/cbz files and the legal option from Marvel on my netbook, whereas on an ipad apple have banned the best comicbook reader app and their marvel offering is drastically worse than the flash-based option at marvel.com.

Interesting point. While I would certainly prefer reading in portrait mode, landscape is also acceptable. The important thing is that the PDFs are rendered correctly and the reading 'experience' is not unpleasant.
What reassures me about the T101MT is that I can install Adobe on it and this should certainly avoid any problem with document rendering.

I have found pdfs of magazines that I have are fine to read in portrait mode, but full use is not made of the screen due to it's ratio, so for some people they may prefer the larger view of landscape and scrolling.

For all the talk of appstores being such a plus, the freedom to install what software you want that you get with a windows-based machine is actually a real plus for anyone who has been using computers long enough to know the stuff they like.

One of my friends was raving over this very nice air video app that transcodes videos on the fly for his ipad and it does seem very nice if you go with an ipad, but for a windows machine you just open the shared folder on the other machine and happily stream the original with no need for additional apps or transcoding.

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by Crowl

Shame they aren't closer to release really, asus seem to have tried to avoid just going for the basic netbook without a keyboard with their tablet offerings.

The 12in version with the dock and keyboard though seems close to perfect though. I hope the make it happen this year at the least.

[ColdSun]

I have a couple netbooks, both of them ASUS 10.1 inch. I love the form factor, I can read in bed with it because I don't have to hold it. They don't overheat and the battery lasts over 7 hours. I added the extra gb to get 2GB and the netbook flies along nearly as good as a laptop. It is my portable device of choice for surfing the net and reading around the house. I'm looking for something smaller for when I leave the house (my new Pandigital Novel will likely fill this role when the firmware bugs are ironed out), but for home use its the best I have.