8+ Readers in comparison

[rhari79]

I was on the verge of getting Playbook; when a little more search told me the Kobo doesnt sideload books and rest all apps must be paid(at least as far as i could search).
And native apps are absent and android drains the device tooo fast.
Dismissed the option immediately..

Still not able to touch a Touchpad.
So for now sticking with my ipad and kindle.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by rhari79

I was on the verge of getting Playbook; when a little more search told me the Kobo doesnt sideload books and rest all apps must be paid(at least as far as i could search).
And native apps are absent and android drains the device tooo fast.
Dismissed the option immediately..

Still not able to touch a Touchpad.
So for now sticking with my ipad and kindle.

I haven't tried sideloading books into the Kobo app on PlayBook. Still use it quite extensively. And I'm using the Kindle cloud reader quite a lot as well.
Native apps are rare, that's unfortunately true. And quality of the few apps I have isn't always the best either.
Still it's a beautiful and tablet with a great OS.
I haven't installed the leaked android player, but I'm looking forward to the official release sometime in Q4...

Today I saw some pictures of the assumed Xoom 2. Might be interesting.
And of course I think about both Sony tablets.
But for the last 3 weeks, MacBook Air has been my time killer...

BTW: There are at least 3 3rd party apps on PlayBook for ePUBs and at least 1 for Mobipocket. Not the best ones, certainly a bit behind Bluefire reader for example. But good enough I guess.

[pilotbob]

Waiting with anticipation for you review of the Grid 10. You do have one on order right?

BOb

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Waiting with anticipation for you review of the Grid 10. You do have one on order right?

BOb

Quite surprisingly, I haven't.
And I didn't go for the Sony tablet either.
And I didn't order iPhone 4S.
Hmmm, something must be wrong with me...

Quite frankly, since I've got MacBook Air, I'm barely using my tablets anymore. A few days ago I was checking my units and found most batteries had run down.
BTW: iPad seems to have way better standby than Honeycomb tablets. Only Xoom did have 50% left, all others had run down...

What I love to do for now:
I've configured my old Mac mini (yes, I admit it: I've got some Apple products) as my media server.
And from MacBook Air I conveniently remotely log into it and manage my download pipeline or my pipeline for file conversion.
I could do so from iPad (and with some work even from other tablets), but why should I? It's more convenient from a full blown PC/Mac. And MacBook Air is more or less as portable as my 10" tablets.

I've been eagerly waiting for the Amazon tablet. But I'm not interested in a low end unit, not too interesting for me.
I'll certainly check Xoom 2, I find my Xoom 1 surprisingly (given the mostly negative reviews) great - actually better than Asus, Acer, Samsung, ...
Of course I'll check iPad 3 and iPhone 5.
Maybe I take a look at Sony, but from the reviews so far its design (which we already knew from NotionInk Adam) seems the only outstanding feature.
Toshiba Thrive seems good enough, but again there doesn't seem to be any real advantage to Samsung, Motorola or other Honeycomb tablets.

Honestly, I simply can't manage my units anymore. There always are some units which have run out of battery. Charging 35 units isn't that easy or much fun as it may seem...

I'd be tempted to go for a 8.9" unit, though. But I don't find Galaxy Tab 8.9 in Amazon.de anymore. In Expansys.de I only find the 16GB version...
The LG version has dropped drastically in price. Seems nice, but I couldn't care less about the 3D nonsense...

Meaning:
Typically I'm traveling with 4 to 6 units. I've bought some great and very slim laptop bags. I can put 2 tablets 10" next to each other in the 15" bag. I've got a perfectly fitting bag for my MacBook Air 11". And I can pack 2 tablets 7" in my 11" bag.
I still love my BlackBerry PlayBook. Due to lack of apps I mainly use it as a reader. (I've loved HP TouchPad as well because of its equally innovative OS. But since HP threw it away for some € 100, whereas I have paid € 600 only 2 months ago, I'm pissed at HP and don't use it anymore).
I take my Galaxy Tab 7" with me as well. Almost as good a reader as PlayBook. (So the Galaxy Tab 7.7" might be interesting).
Of my 10" tablets, I usually take Xoom with me. I like the form factor, very convenient for me to hold.
For some time I've taken iPad 1 as the other 10" tablet because of the phantastic Incipio NGP cover I've bought. But a few weeks ago I've bought a new back protection for iPad 2 and now it feels equally good and probably will replace iPad 1 again...
With those units I easily can survive any trip...

I'd love to go for an additional 13" MacBook Air. But how can you manage 2 notebooks in parallel?

Good thing I've started a new job last week, so I can focus on other stuff than just the next gadget...

Or maybe I should go on a nostalgic trip? Got an email about the revitalised Commodore series.
I really didn't have as much fun for some time now with my gadgets as with Commodore 64 some 25 years ago...

[pilotbob]

seriously, have you considered selling off some of your less used devices?

I have considered getting an MBA... but more from want then need.

BOb

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

seriously, have you considered selling off some of your less used devices?

BOb

Hmmmm.....
So far, I never could bring myself to selling my former favorites.
I still have my 500+ DVDs sitting on my shelfs. I'll never use any physical media anymore, didn't even switch to BlueRay. Still, I can't bring myself to selling the DVDs. What could I ask for, let's say, 800 DVDs? € 3.000? If I would find a single person to buy them all, it actually even would be interesting. But given the cost sensitiveness I find in most potential buyers, I'd probably have to sell to 25 people and probably even would have to negotiate about € 1.50 with each of them. Then, suddenly, it's really hard earned money.
I guess, I prefer holding to the fond memories I have with each gadget.
A few months ago, I took my ca. 7 year old Sony PDA from the cellar to play around. Did so only for 2 hours, but still it has been fun and quite nostalgic.
But of course, at some stage all interests shift.
I've got maybe 8.000 comics and 2.000 paper books in my cellar. At least 10 PDAs. 5 MiniDisc players. 5 PSPs. 6 Nintendo handhelds. Most of which are just fading memories.
I guess, in a few years I'll sound like my grandma and only speak of the "good old times"...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I have considered getting an MBA... but more from want then need.

BOb

2 of my former colleagues did so. 1 already got his MBA, the other one is in the middle of it.
I thought about it myself and as well thought about getting my doctorate degree.
For now, I've decided against it. It wouldn't be of any use for my personal choice of jobs.
Would I have aimed for a management career in Siemens for example, it would have been helpful. But for one I'm already getting too old for such steps and on the other hand I simply can't keep my mouth shut towards my bosses and wouldn't be happy going that direction.
But I find myself getting bored faster and faster and more and more frequently looking for the next great thing...
Good thing is, a new gadget can keep you busy for a week or two and you don't have to drift into a midlife crisis...
And as I've said before: I guess it's healthier buying a tablet or reader or TV or Playstation every now and then, instead of buying a Porsche or gambling your house away...

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

2 of my former colleagues did so. 1 already got his MBA, the other one is in the middle of it.
I thought about it myself and as well thought about getting my doctorate degree.

I assume you were kidding and know I meant MacBook Air (MBA).

BOb

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I assume you were kidding and know I meant MacBook Air (MBA).

BOb

I thought the same ...

[jocampo]

MG,

What Mac Air you have ... which screen size ...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I assume you were kidding and know I meant MacBook Air (MBA).

BOb

I knew. But I simply couldn't resist.
Probably should have stopped after those 2 sentences. Did ramble on for too long - as usual.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by jocampo

MG,

What Mac Air you have ... which screen size ...

The new 11". 1.8GHz. 4GB RAM. 256GB SSD.
Almost would have bought the older one. Luckily, German MediaMarkt didn't have it on stock and so I drove to the Apple Store and bought the newest one.

I wanted to have the 11" for its portability. Quite frankly, I'm not sure anymore whether 13" wouldn't have been the better choice. 11" is big enough, but for Numbers and other apps certainly the lowest limit.
Anyway...
The battery makes about 4 to 5 hours, the usual range for such compact notebooks. Coming from iPad's 10 hours, this seems low at the beginning but I got used to it rather quickly.
MBA almost entirely has replaced my tablets for surfing on the sofa. A tablet definitely is more convenient to hold and I still have to find the perfect place for my MBA. For now, I simply put it next to me on a cushion.
But even if it's less convenient to place than a tablet, I still prefer it - you simply can do so much more on it.
I guess, tablets for me mainly will be reduced to reading, casual games and email again.

One of my main arguments for tablets always has been: "Before I even can start my PC, I've already written the email on any tablet and shut it down again".
But with its SSD, MBA starts in 45 seconds, standby is almost "instant on" like tablets. So this advantage of tablets has gone as well...

Meaning:
Since 1998 I didn't use desktop PCs anymore, exclusively went for notebooks. In 2008 I bought the Samsung UMPC, kind of my first tablet. Then I used tablets for 3 years and only used my company's notebook for some business stuff.
But now I found myself wanting a bit more power and convenience again...
As soon as the fun factor of tablets has gone, you quickly reach the limits of their capabilities.
I guess, eventually I'll use a combination of 3 units for my business trips:
- High-End notebook for hardcore business stuff. Still, I prefer a notebook over a desktop and for my needs notebooks will be powerful enough. So I won't use a desktop at home but mainly this high-end notebook. Maybe I won't take the high-end notebook with me all the time, but only on trips > 3 days or so.
- Portable notebook. Entirely compatible to the "power machine" at home, but way more mobile and convenient.
- Ca. 9" tablet. Mainly for fun and maybe some presentations and other "low level" business stuff.
I probably won't use a sole reading device anymore. Display quality, battery duration and weight of tablets aren't perfect, but to me still outweigh the disadvantages of taking an additional unit (dedicated eBook reader) with me.

At home, I'll probably use some additional tablets: Ca. 7" for reading, ca. 10" for web stuff.

[pilotbob]

My old MacBook White I use for lazy-boy surfing is showing it's age. Its a bit slow and the non-multi touch trackpad makes it no fun to use with Lion. And I have to keep it plugged in all the time cause the battery is shot.

I've been thinking of replacing my iMac with a MacMini and the MacBook with an iPad.

But based on your report, I am wondering if I should instead get a MBA 11 or 13 incher (rather than the Mini and iPad) and just hook it up to my monitor when I want to do programming or other work that begs for the big 24inch monitor.

The choices would be:

Mini vs MBA 11inch
2.3Ghz DualCore i5 vs 1.6Ghz DualCore i5
500GB drive vs 64GB ssd
$1100 (Mini + iPad) vs $1000

Of course even the 1.6 i5 should be faster than my iMac's 2.66 Core 2 Duo. But, I have 126GB of stuff on my iMac. I could probably off load some of it. I think a good portion of it is my iTunes library which is mostly video podcasts.

Decisions, decisions.

BOb

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

My old MacBook White I use for lazy-boy surfing is showing it's age. Its a bit slow and the non-multi touch trackpad makes it no fun to use with Lion. And I have to keep it plugged in all the time cause the battery is shot.

I've been thinking of replacing my iMac with a MacMini and the MacBook with an iPad.

But based on your report, I am wondering if I should instead get a MBA 11 or 13 incher (rather than the Mini and iPad) and just hook it up to my monitor when I want to do programming or other work that begs for the big 24inch monitor.

The choices would be:

Mini vs MBA 11inch
2.3Ghz DualCore i5 vs 1.6Ghz DualCore i5
500GB drive vs 64GB ssd
$1100 (Mini + iPad) vs $1000

Of course even the 1.6 i5 should be faster than my iMac's 2.66 Core 2 Duo. But, I have 126GB of stuff on my iMac. I could probably off load some of it. I think a good portion of it is my iTunes library which is mostly video podcasts.

Decisions, decisions.

BOb

Personally, I wouldn't go for the Mac mini. Granted, the new ones certainly will be way faster than my 2.5 years old one. But still, by far I find Mac mini the weakest Apple product. If you've got use for a mobile unit, I'd use MacBook Air and hook it up to a monitor when needed.
What I really love about MacBook Air: It only takes about the same space in my bags as a 10" tablet - but you can do so much more on it.

And just look at the size of it, compared to iPad 2...
If I compare this to the 4cm fat notebooks I used to have a few years ago (although I did love my Toshiba Satellite 7 years ago)...

Re. performance: I've got a 3 year old iMac, 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo.
I haven't down any benchmarks. But that's not necessary, the difference in speed is pretty obvious. MBA beats my old iMac by lightyears.

Re. your 126GB of stuff: I've got about 20TB of data (bought > 1.000 iTunes movies over the years for example. Plus > 4.000 TV episodes. Plus maybe 500 BlueRay- and DVD Rips and so on). I add another FireWire HD from time to time, hook them all to my old Mac mini and use them within my network via filesharing. On my MBA I only have music and ebooks, nothing else. For that, the 256GB of MBA are enough.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Re. your 126GB of stuff: I've got about 20TB of data (bought > 1.000 iTunes movies over the years for example. Plus > 4.000 TV episodes. Plus maybe 500 BlueRay- and DVD Rips and so on). I add another FireWire HD from time to time, hook them all to my old Mac mini and use them within my network via filesharing. On my MBA I only have music and ebooks, nothing else. For that, the 256GB of MBA are enough.

Heh... yea, 127GB of stuff on the iMac HD. I do have another 3TB of drive space hooked to it with movies, tv shows, photos, time machine backups, etc.

BOb