Tablet take over

[ttomm46]

Originally Posted by wodin

Not me, but then before I got my tablet, I used to do most of my reading on my phone.

ouch

[emilikins]

I've used Sony eReaders and Kindles 1 & 2 through the libraries I've worked for and wasn't really sold on eReaders, personally, but I understood why people would be, especially for lots of traveling.

But things have been changing ... I would still rather read a physical book, but I would love to be able to read fanfic on a device. So, I thought about the Nook Color (I can't justify spending triple digits on a device that can only read books), but it's out of my budget.

So, I found a $160 7'inch tablet and am loving it. Cheaper than a lot of eReaders, with more functionality, and I can read all sorts of eBooks and fan fiction on it. I might wind up bringing it to classes, since it's lighter than my laptop and shares similar battery life, but probably not - I can't imagine taking notes on it!

I prefer the little, cheaper tablet to the eReaders I've tried - except eInk is easier on the eyes and readable in outdoor light. But, as others have pointed out, you don't need a lamp to read a tablet screen.

eReaders = better battery life, easier daylight reading
tablets = flexibility and multifunctionality

I think each will have their place for years to come. If tablets could do eInk and LCD screens and eReader battery life, I think that would be a great feat and goldmine, but we're not there yet.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by warrend405

In time, yes but I think the time frame will be years.

This. Paper books are still around. The dedicated e-ink reader has always been a niche product for people who want to read on something that looks like paper. I don't really see them going away while new paper books are still being printed - not unless a display is developed that brings the advantages of both e-ink and LCD together.

[taosaur]

The majority of ereading is probably already taking place on phones and tablets (more phones than tablets), but I expect the market for high-contrast, low-energy reflective displays will just grow alongside the tablet market at a slower rate, at least until there is an economical and truly effective transflective technology.

[VydorScope]

Tablets will kill the netbook off, but not the e-reader, IMO.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Tablets will kill the netbook off, but not the e-reader, IMO.

Are you sure about that verb tense?

[covfam]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Tablets will kill the netbook off, but not the e-reader, IMO.

The Tablet as it keeps getting better it will kill off the pc, the Netbook and the laptop for the average american. why? because its does EVERYTHING the average american needed those devices before, you can do minor photo editing, music and movie editing on them, surf the web, check email & news, watch videos and play light time waster games, read books, calender and othe productive tools.
Before you hade to have one of those 3 devices to do most those things. now it all can be done on a tablet who knows what the tablet will do in 4-5 years.
Yes it doesnt replace heavy duty video/picture/sound editing and it doesnt do Autocad & CGI work and doesnt play high end games but the average american doesnt do those things.

within 5 years the Netbook, PC and Notebook will be just Work & School tools and Heavy gaming/hacking hobbiests.

[ebusinesstutor]

I do think tablets will definitely affect netbook sales, especially ones like the Asus Slider with a slide out keyboard.

I do think there will be convergence of tablets and ereaders, the same way that PDAs were superseded by smartphones. Very few stand alone PDAs now, but people used to love them.

I don't see it as a size thing or an e-ink vs lcd thing. I have a 7" android tablet and there have been some 5" ones made. So these are a nice size for ereading. Over time, I think screen technology will evolve where the tablet screens will overcome some of the e-ink advantages for straight reading, while preserving the tablet advantages of color, video and web browsing.

It will be some years, but I think it will come.

[Eisengoth]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

Over time, I think screen technology will evolve where the tablet screens will overcome some of the e-ink advantages for straight reading, while preserving the tablet advantages of color, video and web browsing.

A reflective color LCD with an optional backlight might get close to this, but otherwise it's probably going to take an entirely new technology to really make this happen. Development, testing and eventually marketing may bring it to the masses, but we're talking a period of years at the minimum for something like this.

I'm just hoping the entire market doesn't go tablet in the meantime. I read on a backlit LCD sometimes because I have to, not because I want to.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Eisengoth

A reflective color LCD with an optional backlight might get close to this, but otherwise it's probably going to take an entirely new technology to really make this happen. Development, testing and eventually marketing may bring it to the masses, but we're talking a period of years at the minimum for something like this.

I'm just hoping the entire market doesn't go tablet in the meantime. I read on a backlit LCD sometimes because I have to, not because I want to.

Problem is, the technology has been available for years already. PixelQi toot the technology, ran with it and then... dropped it?

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Eisengoth

I'm just hoping the entire market doesn't go tablet in the meantime. I read on a backlit LCD sometimes because I have to, not because I want to.

I don't think it's a danger. The ebook market is just beyond its infancy, in toddlerhood, and reading on phones and tablets is, at least to some extent, a gateway to eink readers. Not everyone will see the value (I haven't yet, but I have young eyes and little disposable income), but I'm confident that enough will that growth in the ebook market, spurred by growth in the tablet market, will also mean growth, if at a slower pace, in the eink reader market.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by covfam

The Tablet as it keeps getting better it will kill off the pc, the Netbook and the laptop for the average american. why? because its does EVERYTHING the average american needed those devices before, you can do minor photo editing, music and movie editing on them, surf the web, check email & news, watch videos and play light time waster games, read books, calender and othe productive tools.

I'm not so sure...

With the exception of surfing the web and reading books, all of the things you've mentioned above are actually easier to do on a netbook (assuming you're using a device with the same screen resolution as the tablet).

Minor photo, music, movie editing: more control on a netbook, and ergonomically easier with keyboard available and acting as a stand.

Check email and news: Reading email and news groups surely about the same on both - netbooks are pretty much instant on from sleep and have similar battery capacity now - but replying easier both from having a physical keyboard and the arrangement of keyboard and screen.

Watch videos: both the same for the quality of the video, but you have to prop the tablet up on something and the netbook will generally have greater storage capacity for a lower price.

Play light time waster games: more than you'll ever really need available for both, with the netbook capable of also playing more sophisticated games, and those with a more complex control set.

Calendar: as for email and news, reading the same as on a tablet, new entries benefit from the keyboard.

Other productive uses: clearly as you increase the sophistication required, the netbook comes into its own. Even a cheap XP netbook can happily cope with the full Microsoft Office suite, including Access (I use mine for these every working day).

Plus, the clamshell netbook acts as its own cover to protect the screen and comes in at approximately half the price.

I'm regularly working and socialising side-by-side with iPad-using friends, and enjoy playing with the iPad and using it for web-browsing and reading - they're great devices for having around the living room to grab to check things and keep up-to-date, but I do think we'll see a swing back towards the netbook format for 10" devices - probably with detachable screens - as the novelty wears off over the next few years.

Graham

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Graham

I do think we'll see a swing back towards the netbook format for 10" devices - probably with detachable screens - as the novelty wears off over the next few years.

You mean: a tablet?

Many tablets, including my $250-or-less Nook Color, can be used with a keyboard. They can also view and produce Office documents of all kinds. Part of the appeal of my Android tablet was that it did everything I needed out of a netbook at a lower price.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by taosaur

You mean: a tablet?

Yes, but a netbook that converts into a tablet for those uses where the tablet format is preferable. Bear in mind that the contention above is that tablets will kill off all forms of PC including netbooks.

Originally Posted by taosaur

Many tablets, including my $250-or-less Nook Color, can be used with a keyboard. They can also view and produce Office documents of all kinds. Part of the appeal of my Android tablet was that it did everything I needed out of a netbook at a lower price.

Note that in this and other threads I'm talking about tablets with larger screens, i.e. those in the netbook range and up.

I agree that smaller tablets are genuinely useful devices that fit their market niche well, probably precisely because they concentrate on the surfing and reading aspect while the smaller form means that they come in lighter and cheaper.

Graham

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by Graham

Yes, but a netbook that converts into a tablet for those uses where the tablet format is preferable.

Soooo you mean the Asus Transformer?

I PREFER my NookColor over E-Ink, and I am not the only one. But I use my NookColor only for reading, my Asus Transformer is my netbook/tablet replacement. When I need to do serious work I go to my desktop. I do not see the net book surviving as standalone device... but the merger of the two lines will survive.

Just my opinion.