Netbook Tablet as a Viable eBook Reader Option

[thebigalphamale]

Great review and I agree 100% with OP...

My thoughts and experience... I had a Fujitsu U820 UMPC Tablet and loved it for reading ebooks, but after a while I decided that I wanted something with a bigger screen since most of my reading is done with larger pdf's. Sold it and was playing with my girlfriends 10 inch asus eeepc and found it to be very nice, it would be even nicer if it was a tablet... and this was right before the asus t91 came out and I became really interested in the t91. I wanted to wait a little bit as the archos 9 slate was coming out and now I'm also interested in the Lenovo S10-3t tablet. Some of the reviews ive read complain about no stylus and the battery sticking out so much (its an 8 cell i think) but to be honest the u820 I had had a similar battery design for the larger batter and i loved it... esp for e reading...you can hold on to the battery while in tablet mode and it works perfect that way... i would suspect the lenovo tablet battery could be used similarly...

In the mean time I came across a good deal on CL for a fujitsu 10 inch slate tablet st5011d. It was a few years old with xp tablet but I was thinking of putting windows 7 on it. After pricing the upgrades needed to make it more functional (decent hard drive, more RAM, BATTERY) it was going to be a 400-500ish slate that was a few years old...and the 10 screen just wasnt as sharp (compared to todays screens) since the technology was a few years old..so i sold it as well...(made profits on both the u820 and the fujitsu st5011d sales)

a few larger tablets and slates im interested in-----

I would really like to check out fujitsu's new slates that core 2 processors..the st6032d..but they are running about a 1500$... a little much...even though its super light has long battery life and great specs...i think this would be great as an ereader...but at that price its very hard to justify..

HP has a real nice tablet with keyboard as well the 2730p..but its about the same or higher... you can find a little cheaper for refurb or used on ebay though...this has some great accessories and slim flat add on battery and also a dock...but again at that price its hard to justify...

I wish local stores had some of these to try out hands on at the store before purchasing... even though youtube reviews are great noting is like plugging in your sd card and trying out a few with your own hands to get the feel of it...

Ive been putting off a purchase for a good 6 months now and my reading has suffered...LOL... but Im going to make a decision for my birthday present this summer...for sure... by that time ill have sold some more stuff on CL and made enough play money for my tablet...and hopefully the price will have come down on a few of the ones I'm interested in...

1 question about the T91MT - ive read that its limited the processing power when in tablet mode to less than the 1.33 or so that its spec'd at... maybe to reduce temp when in tablet mode...is this true or have you noticed a reduction in processing speed in tablet mode?

Originally Posted by thebigalphamale

1 question about the T91MT - ive read that its limited the processing power when in tablet mode to less than the 1.33 or so that its spec'd at... maybe to reduce temp when in tablet mode...is this true or have you noticed a reduction in processing speed in tablet mode?

I read that too, but I really don't notice any difference between tablet and clamshell mode. But then again, I never run power hungry apps like Photoshop on it. Running MS Office, web browsers, and ereader software I haven't noticed any slow down.

You mentioned the Archos 9 tablet, which I'm interested in too. I checked the specs last night and it weighs about the same as the T91MT. I somehow thought a tablet only design might be lighter weight. It does have navigation buttons on the LCD and that is my only real complaint against my T91MT--when you fold the LCD into tablet mode all the keyboard buttons are covered. It would be nice if it had at least a few buttons on the LCD itself for tablet mode. Buttons are generally faster than using a stylus are finger for many actions.

Originally Posted by leebase

I appreciate your perspective. I love my iphone and we have 3 ipod-touches in the family. And yes, we have a couple laptops and desktops too I am going with the iPad. It's not that I disagree with your analysis, but the I put different values on the variables.

I think the iPad is thinner, lighter, and has a longer battery life -- important things for an ereader and coach web surfer.

But mostly -- it's the apps. I love the iPhone Os apps and have every confidence that a lot of wonderful software is going to be written specifically for the iPad in addition to the 150,000 existing iPhone Os apps. The reason I keep with windows over linux is the same thing -- Windows has the apps and the industry support. I do use linux, but not as my main OS.

I don't judge the iPad by what Apple keeps off it, but by what comes on it (or can be loaded). I don't think any other platform is going to come close.

When I want to run Windows -- I still have my laptop.

Lee

I like my iPod touch 2G and have read dozens of books on it, but it doesn't have the advertised battery life it is supposed too, and neither did the 1G I owned before it. Battery life is pretty dismal and the lack of multitasking and a true OS are very limiting for me. But like you, I'm going to keep my eyes on the iPad and see how well it does. I definitely won't be an early adopter as I'm skeptical of Apple and I suspect that they will cripple its capabilities and potential in the name of greed. But if enough buyers pressure Apple, they might turn it into a decent tablet someday. My main concern is that it is too proprietary--it does not have true USB ports, a VGA monitor port, etc. You can buy adapters, supposedly, but these ports should have come standard rather than Apple's proprietary port. I find my iPod touch 2G to be way too limited in ability, and the iPad is basically a large screen version of it.

[krighton]

i'm trying to hold out for the HP Slate...not sure what i'll do if the Ipad is released first.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by krighton

i'm trying to hold out for the HP Slate...not sure what i'll do if the Ipad is released first.

They're two fundamentally different devices. Isn't the Slate coming with Windows 7? I hope it doesn't have an Atom processor regardless of which one it is.

[thebigalphamale]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I read that too, but I really don't notice any difference between tablet and clamshell mode. But then again, I never run power hungry apps like Photoshop on it. Running MS Office, web browsers, and ereader software I haven't noticed any slow down.

You mentioned the Archos 9 tablet, which I'm interested in too. I checked the specs last night and it weighs about the same as the T91MT. I somehow thought a tablet only design might be lighter weight. It does have navigation buttons on the LCD and that is my only real complaint against my T91MT--when you fold the LCD into tablet mode all the keyboard buttons are covered. It would be nice if it had at least a few buttons on the LCD itself for tablet mode. Buttons are generally faster than using a stylus are finger for many actions.

thats good that you dont notice any loss of processing power...and those atoms arent meant for anything power hungry anyways

the archos 9 I had a lot of hope for, but their lack of customer service, support for repair/replacement and its lack of a few base "netbook" spec options had it ruled out for me. I think the asus is a better option. The T101MT (10 inch model) seems like a real big winner. The Lenovo S10-3t would be awesome if it had a stylus as I believe a tablet should be stylus based, but I dont know that you cannot use a stylus with it, it just doesnt come with one but heard it might be possible. Im going to go by bestbuy and see if they have any to check out - doubtful though....

The Fujitsu tablets and slates are AWESOME bc they come with so many little buttons for slate/tablet mode and each button generally has 2 uses, one hard wired and another you can program and use by clicking the function button. the more buttons the better - screen orientation, internet browser, etc... but they are pricey.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by SCION

They're two fundamentally different devices. Isn't the Slate coming with Windows 7? I hope it doesn't have an Atom processor regardless of which one it is.

Scion is correct. the iPad, as cool as it is, only has the iPhone O/S on it. The HP Slate will have Windows 7, which is a full PC O/S - and will be much more functional than the one on the iPad. Not trashing the iPad, it *is* a cool device, but comparing the iPad to the Slate is like apples and oranges.

[Ben0]

I bought the Eee PC 904HD when it first came out and have used it to read ebooks until I got my EZReader PPro and Ectaco JetBook Lite, now unless it's something unusual or I have to print, I really don't use it, it's kind of large and the batteries don't go the mileage, etc.

Great review!

[Crescent_Hawk0]

@ JSWinden: So basically I can get a touch screen netbook/laptop and turn it into "every" e reader on the market. Looks like the only thing I would really lose is the e ink screen and battery life. On the other hand, I gain the ability to not worry about a specific format closing down or rather out of business. Also the fact that it's a netbook means that I can surf the web if wanted.

[krighton]

i'd really like to see a firm date for the HP Slate...i'm getting antsy waiting for a replacement ebook/comic reader....if the archos 7 android comeso out soon i may pull the trigger on that one.

Originally Posted by Crescent_Hawk0

@ JSWinden: So basically I can get a touch screen netbook/laptop and turn it into "every" e reader on the market. Looks like the only thing I would really lose is the e ink screen and battery life. On the other hand, I gain the ability to not worry about a specific format closing down or rather out of business. Also the fact that it's a netbook means that I can surf the web if wanted.

The one caveat to using a netbook, or any non-dedicated reader device, is that you can read non-DRMed eBooks. However reading DRMed eBooks can be a problem. Of course this applies to dedicated reader devices too in that Sonys will read Sony DRMed eBooks but not B&N or Kindle DRMed eBooks, etc. To get around this you either purchase from a specific supplier like Sony, B&N, Kindle, etc., or you learn how to strip the DRM away from the eBooks you purchase. Sony ePubs can be stripped of their DRM fairly easily. I'm not sure about B&N, but the Kindle eBooks might be more difficult. MobiPocket format can be stripped of DRM too, but sometimes with poor results.

So you have three options for reading eBooks on a netbook:

• Buy non-DRMed eBooks, or get them from free (but legal) sources
• Buy DRMed eBooks and strip away the DRM (but please don't distribute them to other people)
• Buy DRMed eBooks from specific suppliers and use them with their own PC software. For example, read Kindle eBooks in Kindle for PC, B&N eBooks in B&N Reader for PC, MobiPocket eBooks in MobiPocket Reader, etc.

And yes, since a netbook is a full computer with a complete OS you can surf the web, work on Office documents, or anything else you wish to do with a computer.

[thebigalphamale]

I just came across a Lenovo/IBM x41t (convertible tablet) for the right price and its been awesome... I love tablets/slates as ebook readers and this will be my 3rd one so far. This will tide me over for a little while till the new lenovo s10-3t/asus 101mt comes available and maybe till the end of the year and we shall see what else comes out.

Its an older pentium M so its 2x more powerful than the atoms but the battery life isnt as great. Esp since its a few years old used battery. Its at 45% of new capacity and Im getting 3ish hours (its an 8 cell) with wifi/bluetooth turned off. Will upgrade the ram to 2gb and put windows 7 and a new battery in it for a total of $300 invested and see how it goes.. Id imagine I could get 8 plus hours with a new battery with the settings for ebook/ emagazine reading.

[Spirity]

Hi Jswinden,

I think I saw in another forum that you just bought the Runcore 64GB SSD for your T91MT for upgrading?
I was wondering if you successfully got it in, and that the drive was recognized?

I'm trying to hold out for the T101MT, but if it doesn't come out anytime soon, I've been reading everything I can about tweaking the T91MT for best possible performance.

thanks-
Spirity

Hearing about your experience would be greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by Spirity

Hi Jswinden,

I think I saw in another forum that you just bought the Runcore 64GB SSD for your T91MT for upgrading?
I was wondering if you successfully got it in, and that the drive was recognized?

I'm trying to hold out for the T101MT, but if it doesn't come out anytime soon, I've been reading everything I can about tweaking the T91MT for best possible performance.

thanks-
Spirity

Hearing about your experience would be greatly appreciated.

Nope, that wasn't me. I've read thatsome have done that, but I'm perfectly content with my T91MT as is, except I did give it a 2GB RAM chip.

[Spirity]

Oops! lol
Sorry jswinden - I just caught my mistake! embarrassing..