Tablet or ebook reader?

[SameOldStory]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Personally, I love technology and love to work with it. I like the idea of a tablet PC, however I simply can not find an excuse or job for one around my home. My blackberry does a lot of jobs for me and does the electronic books since I got it from my office for $0 with the ultimate cell plan $0 a month for unlimited minutes, and $0 per month for unlimted texting. So I have simply pressed it into service for as much as I possibly can.

I agree on all points. It can, however, be carried to extremes.

When I was on a construction site the junior, junior, junior assistant engineer pulled out his iPhone to consult the building blueprints! In all kindness, he did find the correct area in about the same time as it would if he had found it on paper. Where the problem lies is in the small screen. It was useless for this purpose.

[Nexutix]

Originally Posted by haino

I am a bit confused (or perhaps thick) but can anyone explain the difference between a tablet PC and an ebook reader with LCD screen and wi-fi.
It seems to me that they seem to be merging somewhere.

What you want to do with it? If you want to only read books, get an e-book reader. If you are going to read techinical/coloured/pdf stuff and want support for unlimited formats, get a tablet. (Two main disadvantages of tablet: Weight, slightly non-portable, very less battery life as compared to e-reader)

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by patilsaurabhr

What you want to do with it? If you want to only read books, get an e-book reader. If you are going to read techinical/coloured/pdf stuff and want support for unlimited formats, get a tablet. (Two main disadvantages of tablet: Weight, slightly non-portable, very less battery life as compared to e-reader)

Bad advice (at least for me)

I don't want technical/coloured/pdf stuff and unlimited formats. But I'd love a tablet because it offers more applications than just a reading application.

[haino]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I would describe it more like: a tablet will have an "open" system (meaning you can install other programs on it), while an ebook reader will have a "closed" system, so you cannot add new applications yourself.

Thanks for all the replies. I hadnt expected it to provoke so many comments. I think the reply from Sweetpea captures the difference in a way I can understand.

[dapriuk]

Not to be pedantic .. well perhaps, three different kinds of devices have been talked about here;
- an eReader such as a Sony PRS 505 or Kindle
- a Tablet such as an iPAD, Galaxy etc
- a Tablet PC such as a Lenovo X61, HP 1750 etc

Do you mean a Tablet PC which runs Windows XP/Vista/7 or what used to be called a Web Pad/Tablet which runs Android/iOS etc such as the iPad?

To my mind an eReader is a device optimised for reading mainly text and supporting a limited and normally proprietary set of applications to support that primary function. The screens tend to be suitable for paperbacks but not big enough for technical documents

A Tablet like the iPad is more of an expanded phone with a restricted operating system that supports a range of apps from multiple providers. The apps can include eBook readers and the current generation of tablets supports touch interfaces

A Tablet PC is essentially a full windows or Linux laptop but with a stylus based digitizer on the screen enabling pen input that may or may not replace a keyboard. As a full Windows/Linux machine it can support the same applications as a standard laptop. Like a (web) tablet such applications can include eBook readers as well as document readers and processing. The pen interface typically allows notes capture and annotation as well as acting like a mouse. Some have a multi-touch interface like the iPad.

I currently use an eReader and a Tablet PC, the only reason I would get a (web) tablet is if I can't get a cheap enough A5 colour eReader in the UK for technical material. It wouldn't be an expensive iPad though, more like a cheaper Advent Vega.

[FF2]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

I agree on all points. It can, however, be carried to extremes.

When I was on a construction site the junior, junior, junior assistant engineer pulled out his iPhone to consult the building blueprints! In all kindness, he did find the correct area in about the same time as it would if he had found it on paper. Where the problem lies is in the small screen. It was useless for this purpose.

While my hiking gps (Garmin Dakota) is terrific and can allow me to follow a route and pinppoint my location, the small screen certainly leaves things to be desired when trying to get a broader overview of the terrain, what I will be hiking for the next hour or two. Zooming out dilutes the details too much. Obviously paper maps have their limitations, too but are incredibly useful, still.

I've got a BB, too. I had the kindle-4-bb program before my k3. It was interesting. But I did not like spending even half hours staring at that small screen. I still cannot imagine myself curled up in a comfortable chair using the Blackberry for a long read on a chilly evening. Just me?

[Catz2.0]

Tablets are more like computers that do other things other than focus mainly on books. Most tablets have a few pretty good apps for reading but they are not souly meant for reading like e readers.

[Carriebear]

Originally Posted by pappcam

A good ebook reader uses e-ink, no back-lighting, is extremely lightweight and is relatively inexpensive. They are made to simulate the reading of a physical book

A tablet is the opposite of all those and plays Angry Birds.

I would disagree with you that a good ebook reader is only that which doesn't have a backlight, and that it only uses e-ink. My disagreement comes because for me, the Nook Color is my perfect ereader because it is backlit and is LCD instead of e-ink. I have glaucoma and I have to have low lighting, which makes it impossible for me to read e-ink, and booklights are just annoying to me. So for that reason, my NookC is an excellent ereader because of its LCD screen.