Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Russell
The iPad hype has mostly passed us by. But everyone is talking about the iPad as if the main thing it brings to the table is its nice display and lovable iPhone interface. But is that really true?
Let's try a quick thought experiment -- Other than the iPad, what $500 or less product (already on the market) supports the comfortable reading of full page pdf documents with a large backlit screen? Sure, the iPad doesn't have SD Card or USB support, but are there really any other comparable devices available on the market?
Consider these specs as a baseline. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't see a lot of other choices (yet)...
* 10hrs+ battery life
* Backlit 9"+ hi-resolution color screen
* Small slate or convertible tablet form factor (netbook size or smaller)
* PDF, txt and ePub support
* Price below $500
And that has absolutely nothing to do with any of the "Apple mystique" or the iPhone OS. Throw in a large capacity SD Card slot that is available to e-book applications and it looks pretty close to unbeatable in this context, doesn't it?
|
Given that your 'baseline' seems closely tailored to the ipad's strengths it is hardly a big shock that it's by far the best fit for that 'baseline' e.g. drop the battery life requirement a little, up storage needs or add in things like a usb port or flash and suddenly something like the tm101t becomes the best fit.
The simple fact of the matter is that all current devices including the ipad make some compromises and all you can really do is find the product(s) that suit you the best and get one of them or wait until something suits you better.