Isn't battery life the death knell for the tablet?

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Agree 100%. It's my biggest pet peeve with this site, is most people are just novel readers (and avid readers in general) and read for hours on end.

Which is fine--I do that myself sometimes--but not often.

The problem is you get posts like this as people seem to have trouble realizing that not everyone is like them. Ebooks aren't only for the bookworms who read for hours on end nearly every day.

There are others out there that need different types of devices for different types of reading, who need good mark up and highlight option, color screens, large screens, etc. MUCH more than they need long battery life or screens easy on the eyes in 8 hour reading sessions which they never do.

And you're right, it's great that there's room for tons of different types of devices out there so everyone can find the device(s) that fit their needs. I'll keep a small e-ink device like my Kindle around for novel reading, as I don't need anything more complex than that for reading novels. But I need something much more powerful for reading and marking up academic articles, books, text books, student papers, reading magazines and newspapers etc.


I will say, by the same token, the people that are anti e-ink and keep starting threads about the death of e-ink etc. grate on my nerves as well.

There's plenty of room for e-ink dedicated readers, lcd tablets, netbooks, smart phones, pdas etc. out there. The more devices that have access to e-books the better for all e-book lovers as more book sales means more selection, more competition, better prices, more pressure to scrap DRM etc.

I don't see why so many think it's some kind of zero sum end game where either dedicated readers or multifunction tablets or anything else has to win. There's plenty of room for all kinds of devices that serve their own specific niches.

Whenever I come to this forum, this image appears in my mind for some reason...
Edit: I should say almost any forum...not this one specifically.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Tablets will never serve as a main reader device for the avid reader.

Never is a really long time.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Never is a really long time.

Like I said, I worded that more broadly than I meant.

I could see them being the main thing people read on in a generation or two. Technology will have changed dramatically. Demographically, even the senior citizens will be people who grew up using PCs, iPods, e-readers etc., so there will be even less need for simple to use, single function devices.

And yes I know there are plenty of senior citizens who are tech savy today--especially posing on this site! But they're the exception to the norm.

So I shouldn't have said never. Sometime in the future single function devices will likely die off as the technology will be at the point that single function devices don't have any real benefits over multi function gadgets. Unlike today where they have a lot of benefits to many people.

[fugazied]

They have had major advances in battery technology over the last few years.

Apple, for example took their 17" laptops from 4 hrs to 7 hrs in one charge and also increased the lifespan of those batteries by about 50%. They used new technology which prevents overcharging and made more space for the battery as other technologies grew smaller (amongst other things).

My iPhone gets enough hours between charges. If they can get a tablet approaching the same level of battery capability as an iPhone they will be fine. Apparently with iPhones the bluetooth, phone network connectivity and wifi connectivity chews a lot of the battery, so any reader/tablet from Apple would have to manage those resources better.

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

There will however be better tablets, perhaps very soon and perhaps a year or two off, that will transcend some of those more traditional boundaries.

It's been "a year or two off" for a decade. What solid technological advances can you point me to which will produce that change? As batteries advance, so does the power usage of the devices and their screens, so far...

[Not_A_Crook]

When I read "battery life is not that big of a deal to me", I sometimes wonder if the person who said that lives in the late 2050's or something...

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Not_A_Crook

When I read "battery life is not that big of a deal to me", I sometimes wonder if the person who said that lives in the late 2050's or something...

As opposed to allowing something like battery life to be a big deal to me?

I accept my gadgets for what they can do, not what they can't. It isn't about living in the future. Life is too short to whine about something like battery life.

[cvkemp]

I use my netbook for reading. I have kindle for pc, barnes and noble reader, ADE, microsoft reader, mobipocket, and sony library reader. If I should need them. I am at this time mainly using the kindle for pc for my newer ebooks and msreader for my ebooks that I have had for years. I do not have issues with my eyes reading on it and as for as battery life I do not have issues seeing I do very little traveling and connecting to AC is not an issue at home, the office or even in the car. AC DC adapters are great in the car.

Chuck

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by kjk

As opposed to allowing something like battery life to be a big deal to me?

I accept my gadgets for what they can do, not what they can't. It isn't about living in the future. Life is too short to whine about something like battery life.

Well, yeah - that is positive thinking, but, for me, the fact that a tablet would run out of battery halfway across the Atlantic when I'm flying over to Vancouver to see my brother (for example) is a big deal and really can't just be dismissed as negative thinking.

My fully charged Sony PRS 505 would last the flight plus most of the subsequent holiday - that's more important to me than the heap of other stuff that I have no need for that a tablet will do.

[Not_A_Crook]

Sorry if I take something that makes these devices portable seriously- I suppose if I was going to "whine" about battery life instead of not having a million apps on my devices? Will I be a spoiled brat?

I do not care that everything with a rechargable battery doesn't fit entirely in my hand.

I'm also sorry of using an operating system that is not incorporated by apple or google (android).

EDIT:

TO add to the first half, I like the fact that E-readers are becoming more and more of a frontier for the longest battery life ever in a handset. Of course when I mean handset I mean dedicated device, the future can only be what we assume to be until we are told otherwise.... Move along.....

[pking36330]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

My fully charged Sony PRS 505 would last the flight plus most of the subsequent holiday - that's more important to me than the heap of other stuff that I have no need for that a tablet will do.

Which is why they make Fords and Chevys! battery duration isn't the highest priority for me (and others) and so I may choose a different device than you, but I'm still glad to meet you here on MR to discuss ebooks and ebook technology.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Not_A_Crook

Sorry if I take something that makes these devices portable seriously- I suppose if I was going to "whine" about battery life instead of not having a million apps on my devices? Will I be a spoiled brat?

I do not care that everything with a rechargable battery doesn't fit entirely in my hand.

I'm also sorry of using an operating system that is not incorporated by apple or google (android).

I have an eReader that lasts a week or so doing one thing really well. I have a phone that lasts a day doing many things well. And I have a notebook that lasts about 4 hours that does even more things even better. Hence, battery life isn't that big a deal for me...given that I know what the limits of each device are, and what I get for it. To me those all have worthy tradeoffs.

A tablet will have its own benefits and tradeoffs as well-I have certain things I would like it to do, and if it does them well, I'll definitely get one. And battery life just won't be tops on my list for that either.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by pking36330

Which is why they make Fords and Chevys! battery duration isn't the highest priority for me (and others) and so I may choose a different device than you, but I'm still glad to meet you here on MR to discuss ebooks and ebook technology.

Fair point - 'horses for courses' and 'vive la difference' etc...

[Kali Yuga]

I have to concur that for some tasks and uses, battery life will be problematic. Not so much for others.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Battery tech has tended to lag behind other advances, often disappointingly so.
• Claims about battery life are, as far as I can tell, exaggerated across the board (including for eInk devices). So a tablet that claims to get 10 hours according to the manufacturer is going to fare a lot worse IRL.
• Most batteries tend to lose capacity over time, especially if not managed properly. So if you start with 10 hours of (real) time, that number will drop as time goes on, potentially causing issues down the road (especially if the battery isn't user-replaceable).
• Using current tech, a tablet with a 6-10 hour battery life will wind up being 2x or 3x heavier than most eInk devices, whose battery life is typically measured in days.
• Tablets will not only use more juice for the displays, but for the processor, RAM, video drivers, input, more wifi/wireless usage and so forth.

Will battery life be a "tablet-killer?" For some tasks and uses, I think so -- especially education and real travelers who happen to be heavy readers. Commuters, for example, probably won't find it to be as big a deal -- unless the associated weight bothers them. Same with the occasional readers, who will want to use a tablet more for video or apps, and presumably won't mind charging every night -- especially those who aren't spoiled by typical eInk device battery lifespans....

[Connallmac]

I used to carry a big Leatherman multi-tool when I went backpacking and around with me in the day. I could just imagine all of these situations where I might need all of these wonderful different tools. I began to realize that the only thing I was using while backpacking was the main blade, all of those screwdrivers and pliers, saw and file were all extraneous. Now all I carry with me is a simple fixed blade knife, it does the one job I use it for better and doesn't have a bunch of different tools that I really don't need. For my everyday carry I have pared down to a simple four blade Swiss Army Knife, which more than serves my daily use purposes. That's why I carry my KDX with me everywhere, it does the one thing I want it to do really well!

But that's for me and my uses, yours may vary. Hike your own hike, as we backpackers say!