The featherweight netbook vs everything else

[mogui]

The new netbooks featuring ARM processors are touting a 10 hour battery life. I don't have one yet, but I have two other netbooks, an Asus EEE 4G and a Lenovo S10e. Both of these devices make perfect readers except for one thing -- battery life! They are easy to hold. They run FBReader nicely on a comfortable color screen that you can read in the dark, and since I didn't go to night school, that is some handy

Reading on a netbook is similar to holding a hardback novel, except not quite so heavy. FBReader can change orientation so you can lay back and hold the netbook like a book. The book cover can display in color so you can enjoy the cover artwork and any illustrations inside. You don't need to worry about document format because you can get converters and such that will run right there on your reader, er ah, netbook. Storage and internet access is also not an issue. So just when the ebook reader makers are bringing us the internet as a feature, we discover the netbook manufacturers have been giving us all those features all along, plus the ability to actually read books!

I know some of you are going to argue that e-ink screens are wonderful and easy on the eye, but let me tell you, My PRS-500 didn't last as long as any of my laptops or notebooks. The screen developed a fatal problem. Are e-ink screens more fragile or lacking in longevity compared to LCDs? I have only had one e-ink device so I cannot generalize. Can you?

But truthfully, is e-ink all that hot? Have we been sold a bill of goods? Let's all go back to monochrome! Why? Mainly because e-ink screens promise to increase battery life. We want a device we can throw in a suitcase and use for a month. Well guess what! The monochrome Palm devices did that just fine.

Now that we have lightweight devices (netbooks and smartphones) with long battery life can the market for all these new e-readers sustain itself?

[HarryT]

I do have one of these new devices - a Dell Inspiron 11z. I wouldn't dream of using it as a reader, unless I was really stuck. Personally I far prefer eInk devices.

The 11z is a superb video player, on the other hand.

It's worth noting that your PRS-500 is certainly not representative of current eInk devices. The "first generation" eInk screen of the 500 has much poorer contrast than current eInk screens do. I pretty much always had to use a reading light with my PRS-500; with modern eInk readers, I can read in any light in which I could read a paperback.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by mogui

We want a device we can throw in a suitcase and use for a month. Well guess what! The monochrome Palm devices did that just fine.

If you used them as PDA's, yes. Not so much if you read on them for two hours or more a day. Not my Palm Vx anyway.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

If you used them as PDA's, yes. Not so much if you read on them for two hours or more a day. Not my Palm Vx anyway.

The original mono Palm devices (the ones which ran off two AAA batteries) did have a great battery life, but they were pretty awful readers. You could only see about 10 words on the screen!

[mogui]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I do have one of these new devices - a Dell Inspiron 11z. I wouldn't dream of using it as a reader, unless I was really stuck. Personally I far prefer eInk devices.

Harry, I wasn't really referring to three pound laptops when I mentioned netbooks as readers. My two netbooks are light enough that I can (jokingly) use them as hand fans on a hot day. Holding one of them to read from is easy and relaxing.

Perhaps clarifying the terminology would help. The gadget press is calling them "smartbooks" now. They are small and light like netbooks, but they use ARM processors, the same as cellphones. They are designed to have all-day battery life and always-on connectivity, again like cellphones. They can switch between WiFi and 3G seamlessly.

My Android phone is an example of the technology, though it is pocket-sized. I can surf the net using browsers and applications running within Google Android. The screen is a touch-screen. The user interface is easier for me than Windows. I use several readers on the device. My favorite is FBReader. It is easy to use for long periods of time and I can read in the dark.

The smartbook will be a little bigger, but offer the same features, maybe including telephony. It will be more usable as a computer than the smartphone because it will have a human-sized keyboard to go with the touch-screen. Cloud computing a la Google is quite usable at this point.

Freescale's reference design aims to put these devices into the hands of consumers at below $200. Chinese companies have limited versions out for $80 and $149. HP and Lenovo have smartbooks out now running Android.

Battery life has been the holy grail of portable devices. It is that which has given usability to the e-ink devices. I find my 'droid phone sharp and readable. The opportunity to carry one device with me instead of two is just too tempting. Will I ever buy another dedicated reader? Hide and watch

[mogui]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The original mono Palm devices (the ones which ran off two AAA batteries) did have a great battery life, but they were pretty awful readers. You could only see about 10 words on the screen!

I have had a long and comfortable love affair with Palm devices. I wanted them to take over the world, but it was not to be. I have read many ebooks on this screen:


Note that each line displays more than 30 characters with maybe 16 or so lines. If you are reading a newspaper or other material formatted into columns, it is a comfortable width. Some of the Palms had backlighting, and some did not.

I keep a Palm device at home in case I am caught short of a reading device. The reading software is free. I recently bought one for $5 in a thrift store. If you have a friend with a limited budget, pick up one of these with a cradle, download the Palm Desktop and reader software, download some books, and you have a great gift that will give untold hours of pleasure.

[brecklundin]

I bought my Clie nx73v at a thrift shop for just $16 and have used it extensively and as my reader of choice over my K1 and even the K2 we just bought.

[happy_terd]

lol. I just posted a comment on a different thread stating that a mini notebook might make a cool little reader.

I wouldnt swap it out for my PRS-600, but the idea of a reader that does all a computer does is pretty grand. Hmm, but maybe it is the simplicity of the readers that make them so appealing.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by mogui

I have had a long and comfortable love affair with Palm devices. I wanted them to take over the world, but it was not to be. I have read many ebooks on this screen:


Note that each line displays more than 30 characters with maybe 16 or so lines. If you are reading a newspaper or other material formatted into columns, it is a comfortable width. Some of the Palms had backlighting, and some did not.

I keep a Palm device at home in case I am caught short of a reading device. The reading software is free. I recently bought one for $5 in a thrift store. If you have a friend with a limited budget, pick up one of these with a cradle, download the Palm Desktop and reader software, download some books, and you have a great gift that will give untold hours of pleasure.

Hmm, not sure if I'd be happy with only 16 or so lines... My PDA shows 25... One disadvantage of the Palm is that huge "touchscreen" buttons on the bottom. It takes waaaay too much screen way from real things.


But on-topic: I'd never buy a netbook, no matter the weight to use as an ebookreader. The keyboard would be a useless appendage that will always be in the way. Unless it's a convertible... I'd rather buy a tablet.

[LDBoblo]

I could see an articulating-screen convertible netbook with a Pixel Qi display. It is practically feasible and supports the functions and directives of the screen technology. We've got the convertible netbooks already, and will likely get even thinner variants of them. We've got Pixel Qi on the fringe of availability, supposedly just unannounced by device manufacturers. We've got low-power hardware being developed that extends easily beyond the smartphone market. Nearly all of what would make a good netbook/ebook is already around, and it has a very viable market...even moreso if one looks at the ebook flood at CES.

I probably won't convert completely to a netbook for casual reading until a device like I mentioned above is made. Even with a standard screen hinge though, I think it'd easily replace my Sony for almost all situations, as I actually do have many legitimate uses for a netbook beyond distracting myself on long commutes. I cannot say the same for any ebook reader.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by mogui

The new netbooks...They are easy to hold. They run FBReader ....you can read in the dark, ...

Reading on a netbook is similar to holding a hardback novel, except not quite so heavy. ...

... Why? Mainly because e-ink screens promise to increase battery life. We want a device we can throw in a suitcase and use for a month. .....

Hmmmmm. Easy to hold? No. not compared to a Sony 505. Heavy, yes. E-ink because of battery life. NO. Because it is easily readable, even in sunlight or with the same light you'd read a paper book with.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Hmmmmm. Easy to hold? No. not compared to a Sony 505. Heavy, yes. E-ink because of battery life. NO. Because it is easily readable, even in sunlight or with the same light you'd read a paper book with.

Sony 505 is a great example of what happens when ergonomics don't matter to hardware designers. What's sad though is that people somehow convince themselves it's good, and then when anyone points out how awful it is, they claim it's subjective.

I'd never use my Sony if my eee 701 had better battery life and daylight readability. Even a larger netbook would be a welcome change.

[kennyc]

To each his own. I much prefer the Sony 505 ergonomics to the Kindle2 and Astak PP (though it is not bad and better then the Kindle2 as far as page turning etc.)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Sony 505 is a great example of what happens when ergonomics don't matter to hardware designers. What's sad though is that people somehow convince themselves it's good, and then when anyone points out how awful it is, they claim it's subjective.

I see. So if someone else likes the 505 they are "convincing themselves that it's good" and it's "subjective", but if you don't like it, it's "the truth". Is that a reasonable summary of your position?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I see. So if someone else likes the 505 they are "convincing themselves that it's good" and it's "subjective", but if you don't like it, it's "the truth". Is that a reasonable summary of your position?