Quote:
Originally Posted by Charbax
Music is better on a pocketable device, video is better on the HDTV, web browsing is better on the laptop. A 10" Tablet can only be good if it is good for reading. If you are the type at all that enjoy reading and eventually taking notes on A4 sized pages.
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This is a terrific point and exactly why I've been waiting for a true lightweight and fast slate... I'm sure it's too early for proper ink support (public needs to be sold on the slate form factor first to inspire developers to get behind it as integrated input; I can't fault MS for believing, but the public support of the hardware just wasn't there yet), so for now, I'm happy with a true versatile reader.
E-ink's reading experience is way too limiting... good at
just long-form linear reading... LCD provides the versatility reading, in general, demands... but at the cost of battery life, daylight, and comfort. Pixel-Qi is exactly the technology a versatile reader needs (even the impressive Mirasol cannot be backlit and is far too expensive to scale).
I can't fault the iPad for not going with the technology because, despite the wild imaginations of buyers entertaining the fiction they will use this on the go, the fragile iPad really is a device that will never leave the home.
"
NPD Group also notes that netbook manufacturers have focused on the devices’ portability to market them to consumers, and 60 percent of consumers cite portability as a main reason why they bought a netbook. However, NDP Group notes, 60 percent of buyers said they never took their netbooks out of the house again once they got them home."
However, as a lawyer, I do
need a rich, response, open, and versatile reading device and am eagerly waiting for devices like the Notion Ink Adam to hit the market. I'm sure the e-reading experience and versatility will meet or exceed expectations... my only concern is that Google will be slow in supporting non-phone Android devices. It has taken them ages to bring premium Android content to a handful of
just phones (G1, Hero, Droid, Nexus One, etc) I fear they may drag their feet with Android devices from smaller manufactures (the big guys seem taken care of, Dell's Streak/Mini5 has Google's proprietary Google Map app) like Notion Ink (Archos, MSI, etc).
That said, those things are ancillary to the reading experience, they're just concerns about getting the most out of an Android device... ironically, even if Google doesn't get in gear, just on pure hardware these Android tables already have many times over the functionality of the iPad.