In defence of PPC/PDA/Nokia tablet: ebook readers

[bmwvan]

This thread shows what I love about this site. So many points of view and so many well written arguments! I happen to like both PPC/PDA devices and the larger paperback sized dedicated readers. I got into this site to get information to help me choose which E-ink device my wife and I will buy, but we will still use our iPAQs. For those of you who mentioned ubook, I agree it is a great program. I had a problem with it and their tech support was easy to get and soon I was back in action. Read on, everyone...

[noctilux]

Hi everyone,
I have been using the Nokia E90 as my main mobile phone (among other things) for just over 3 months now and have recently discovered its potential as an ebook reader. It’s not a tablet, but I think it fits quite well in this thread. Having read a few books on it, I can say I am very impressed. The 800x352 widescreen can fit quite a bit of text on one page, although you need reasonably good eye sight as the screen’s pixel density is pretty high. Mobipocket Reader handles even the largest ebooks without any significant delay – I’m using the whole of Wikipedia on it!
The great thing about high-end smartphones such as the E90 is their flexibility, in my opinion. While they may not be as good at the many things they can do as specialist devices, they offers a great and, when you consider just how many devices they replace, a quite affordable compromise in my opinion. Just think about it: A Nokia E90, for example, combines:
- A small, (admittedly not very high quality, but useable) digital camera
- A video/music player
- A phone, obviously
- An Internet navigation device
- An ebook reader
- A navigation system
- … (and quite a bit more)
I apologize if that sounded rather Steve Jobs-ish .
The Amazon Kindle or whatever other specialised reading device many people on this site use may offer a slightly better reading experience, but ultimately cannot offer anything else apart from that, due to its monochrome screen, for instance, and can be quite impractical in day-to-day use because of its bulky form factor. The Nokia N810 does most things a high-end smartphone can and provides arguably the better Internet experience, but it can’t go online without another phone. One may argue that, if you know in advance that you won’t need a certain feature, single devices are the better option, because an average 75g mobile phone does the job without weighing about 150g more due to its unnecessary extra features. However, the idea of “leaving something at home you’re sure you won’t need” never quite worked for me in the past. Quite often I found myself wishing I had taken a certain device along which I previously thought was completely unnecessary.
I am a user who prefers convergence over specialization. I’m willing to do without a few things here or there to have everything I need with me when I need it.
To sum up, I think whether a specialized solution for the devices you need or an all-in-one device is the better choice is a matter of personal preference. In the past few years, convergence devices have got a lot better at everything they do though, and if this trend continues, the advantages specialist devices offer may become less and less apparent.
What’s your opinion?

Greetings,

Martin

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Yup, we're with you Martin. The most important thing is that you read... the equipment is secondary. And if you're comfortable on the Nokia, as I am on my iPaq, read away!

[250 Coupe]

I have several different ways to read, Sharp's Mobilon HC-4500, Vadem's Clio 1050, and handful of Rocket eBooks.

I choose one to fit where I'm reading. The Rockets are great for reading in bed, the Clio's work great at work or at the dinner table as they stand up by themselves. The Mobilon's work OK in either situation.

I read well over 800WPM and a small screen makes for very frequent page turns. The Clio's huge screen is nice in that regard.

Michael

I forgot to ad that the Clio can be used laptop style or folded up to work as a tablet which means it can be read one handed. Way cool.

[amgoforth]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Yup, we're with you Martin. The most important thing is that you read... the equipment is secondary. And if you're comfortable on the Nokia, as I am on my iPaq, read away!

Will an ipaq etc read google pdf ebooks?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by amgoforth

Will an ipaq etc read google pdf ebooks?

I've never tried... but if I am correct in the belief that google PDFs are not tagged (confirmation, anyone?), I'd say you could open the files on an iPaq, but you'd be scrolling left and right to read it.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I've never tried... but if I am correct in the belief that google PDFs are not tagged (confirmation, anyone?), I'd say you could open the files on an iPaq, but you'd be scrolling left and right to read it.

You can set re-flow view even on documents that are not tagged. I just doesn't always look as good.

BOb

EDIT: At least this is the case with the PC version of Adobe reader.

[Jack B Nimble]

Originally Posted by 250 Coupe

I forgot to ad that the Clio can be used laptop style or folded up to work as a tablet which means it can be read one handed. Way cool.

Ahh, the memories. The Clio... That and the Intermec 6651. Those were the machines I really wanted at that time, specifically for the ability to convert to tablet format. I could not afford either, and I ended up with a Psion Series 7 (got a good deal on an auction). I was very happy with the Psion and used it for years, but I still watched the prices on the Clio and the Intermec for a long time after.

Sadly, looking for a replacement for those machines is still a tough job. I had a Nokia 9300 for a while, but the keyboard just wasn't up to the task. Some of the new sub-notes show some promise, but they still don't have the battery life I came to expect with my Psion (even after I installed the netBook ROM and started surfing via WiFi). I cannot believe some of these companies are bragging about 3 hours of battery.

Guess I'll have to stick to my eBookwise and Tapwave for now.

Jack

[Nate the great]

You can still get a Psion (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, or) 7 if you want it.

http://www.pulster.de/engl/index.html

[noctilux]

I suppose it's too big for you, but I'm very happy with my Thinkpad X60 which I got used pretty cheaply. With a new 9-cell battery it has about 7 hours of battery life at full brightness and 6.5 with WLAN - more than enough for me. However, with the battery, it does weigh around 1.6kg and while that is very light for a notebook, compared to the Intermec, it's quite heavy.
I'd recommend the Nokia E90 (which I'm very pleased with) but the keyboard really isn't great for writing a lot of text. It's designed for thumb use and if you write with all fingers, it gets quite uncomfortable due to the amount of power needed to press the keys down. Apart from that, the E90 gets nearly everything else right, though the old S80 interface definitely had its advantages (especially the office suite which was absolutely superb). Perhaps an E90 with a bluetooth keyboard would be an option?

Greetings,

Martin

[Totzkie]

I have been reading a lot of ebooks since my Palm days. Now I read my ebooks mainly on an HTC Kaiser/AT&T Tilt. The Kaiser for me is very ideal for reading ebooks and I use the Microsoft Reader app. I usually read my ebooks in portrait mode, but when I get tired of holding the device, I just pop out the screen and tilt it, while placing it on a table or while sitting up in bed.