Ray Hendon

Mr. Scott Seiber, shown in the video below, is Windows Program Manager for Microsoft—the man in charge of developing Windows 8.  In this video he has put to rest questions about whether the ARM version of Windows 8 would run the Office Suite of application programs.  Mr. Seiber makes it clear that a full-featured version of Office will run on ARM processors, and run in the exact way it will runs on Intel x86 equipment.

As a background to the story, Microsoft had announced months ago that they would develop a new version of Windows for ARM at the same time they were upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8.

This was and is big news.  It completely broke the tradition set by Bill Gates in Microsoft’s early years of existence that Microsoft’s OS would run only on Intel processors.  The agreement was central to Microsoft’s and Intel’s quest to leave their competitors behind.  Apple, Atari, Commodore, Osborne, Teas Instruments and Motorola, all had their own hardware and OS.

This partnership was enormously successful, as PCs based on the Microsoft/Intel configuration dominated the world for decades.  Part of this success must also be attributed to IBM, who based their PC design on Microsoft/Intel specifications.  The combination is still successful though not not as much as it was a few years ago. 

One of the primary reasons these two pioneers have lost share is the spectacular popularty of the tablet computer (primarily the iPad) and super powered smartphones.  Both of these form factors have left Microsoft and Intel in the dust.  Think of a sports car versus a long-haul truck.  Intel x86 chips can haul any load, whereas Apple has tailored its OS and CPU to do some things (graphics, e.g.) exceptionally well.  On the chip side, ARM has always specialized in fast and furious graphics and supreme low power operations.  This was a perfect combination for the iPhone and iPad, both of which need strong visuals and low power drain.

Although Microsoft had a version of Windows they called CES that ran on some of the early Motorola smartphones, it was poorly done and was swept into oblivion by the Apple’s and Google’s superior products. 

Complicating the picture further is that ARM-designed chips have come to dominate smartphones and tablet products.  A few Windows tablets are made, but they run a version of Windows 7 that was kludged for touch operations, and it has not been well received. 

This left Microsoft no option but to formulate a Plan B, and Plan B was to develop a new OS that accommodated touch operations as the primary means of controlling the computing functions and that would work on small as well as large screens.

The first fruits of this effort is seen in Windows Phone 7 which was written for ARM-designed chips.  The look and feel of Windows 8 and its finger-friendly operations show that Windows Phone 7 was the basis for its design. 

Of course, Windows 8 is also being written for screens larger than a cell phone or tablet, and in this domain (laptops and desktops) the Microsoft/Intel partnership dominates the industry.  This means that Windows 8 should embody not only finger-friendly gestures, but also accommodate mouse pointing and clicking.

Windows 8 thus takes on a huge role for keeping Microsoft in the picture for the future.  It is a vitally important project, and it seems clear that Microsoft is betting the company on its success.  From the looks in the video above, the efforts of Microsoft have been worthy. 

There is no way to predict that tablets on ARM designs running Windows 8 will be successful.  That is a decision to be made in the marketplace, and the first returns will not be in before the end of the year. But, it is clear that Microsoft is serious enough about solving their problem by seeing that their legacy applications, Office’s Word for Windows, Excel, etc. will run and run well on the new platform.

Ray Hendon

Ultraportables, which include the newest incarnation of thin and light laptops, the Ultrabook, are thought by some to be a threat to tablet computers.  The instant-on capability of Ultrabooks are believed to be especially attractive to those who have been buying tablets because of this feature. 

It appears likely to me that Ultrabooks and other thin and light laptops will do well in the market place, especially when their prices fall a few hundred dollars.  But whether they will dampen any of the enthusiasm for tablets is another matter.  Personally I think both form factors satisfy separate needs for different users.

One feature of the new Ultrabooks that will help resolve the question is whether they will serve their owners as competent eReaders.  Surely there are some prospective buyers who would prefer to own only one device rather than two—but only if the one could do the work of two.  Can an Ultrabook do both heavy duty computing and convenient eReading?  Can one design satisfy both these needs?

Certainly a dedicated eReader or a tablet have some advantages over a laptop, even a thin and light one.  Reading electronic books, for example is probably done best by a device that closely emulates the look and feel of a book.  The popularity of the Kindle and Nook are thought to owe much of their success to their similarity to printed books.

How essential is the look and feel,  though, to those who read a lot.   This article takes a look at the possibility of using these new, thin and light computers as an eReader.

To put this question to a practical test, I loaded the top three eReading applications to an 11.6” screen Asus UX21 to see how they worked.  The applications chosen to test are:

Amazon’s Kindle App for PCs, Macs, iPad, iPhone and Android devices

• 
• Barnes and Noble’s Nook Application for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone  and Android devices
• 
   

   

   

• Sony’s Reader Application for PC, Mac and Android devices

  

To give you a taste of the difference, I have taken screen shots of random pages from eBooks on the three applications I mentioned.

Beginning with Amazon, a screen shot of George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda, is displayed in the two column format for laptop viewing. The screen shot is taken of the Kindle application for PCs.

Screen of Kindle Reader in Two Column Format

The Kindle app is widely praised for its versatility of layout options, underlining, comments, bookmarks and especially its syncing abilities.  This app also has go-to options that ease navigation, and dictionary lookup for a highlighted word.  All these features work on Ultrabooks. 

Amazon also has a user friendly policy of allowing you to direct any book in your library to be sent to any device on your registered list of devices. Amazon is indifferent as to which device or how many you use for any their electronic titles.  It treats them all the same and syncs them in an effortless way. The moment I registered my latest laptop, the Asus ZenBook UX21, all books in my library were immediately available for reading.

The strongest features of Amazon is, in my view, the ease of use of its website.  It is easy to find books, send them to the device of your choice, and generally navigate their vast site.

Equally strong is the selection of books, magazines and newspapers. They claim over a million titles, but that includes some categories such as “Singles” that represent a new class of literature that is generally shorter than a book but longer than an article. 

The worst feature of Amazon is that they insist on using a proprietary format for their eBook files.  It has an AZW extension and works only on Kindle software or hardware.  Although all the free sites I use give the option of downloading their books in the AZW format, in practice it is not terribly inconvenient.  Amazon also can read PDF files, and they will convert your Word for Windows documents to a format that allows you to put them in you Kindle library.

The other downside to Amazon is that they use DRM (digital rights management) on everything, so there is no cutting or pasting using anything in the AZW format. 

The Nook eReader software also provides a good reader experience. The screen shot below is from one of their pre-DRM works. Don’t be fooled by the small typeface. My screen capture utility shrunk it because the Nook takes up more of the horizontal space of the computer screen than the Kindle reader, so it has to cut the size down to fit within the pasted space. In practice, the Nook screen is as readable as any other.

Screen shot from the Nook Reader using the dual pane format

All the formatting and user options are available for the Nook reader–font size, margins, highlighting, lookup, go-to. And the B&N syncing feature is excellent between devices, and they offer their reader software app for a wide range of devices.

As far as eReading goes, it is hard to find much to prefer of B&N over Amazon or vice versa.  Both are excellent and have almost identical features.

The same is true for selection of books. B&N’s inventory is huge, and they have a good selection of free public domain books—as good as or better than Amazon’s.

Nook uses the ePub format, as does Sony, although both will read many other formats as well.  They do not read Amazon’s proprietary AZW file format, however.

Something of an oddity: The Nook reader treats all ePub software as DRM protected, so they do not allow cutting or pasting of non-DRM books.  Even on the iPad, whose own iReader app allows cutting and pasting of non-DRM protected material the  Nook does not.

Sony’s reader app provides a good reading experience. The screen shot below is from an ePub file of a non-DRM version of Sherlock Holmes.

Screen of Sony Reader’s Dual Column Layout

As with the Nook, the Sony Reader software uses more of the landscape screen to display its materiel than the Kindle app, so my clipping software has to reduce it to fit the pasting space. But Sony gives one plenty of formatting options and page control.

Sony lags both Amazon and B&N with book selection and syncing ability.  Their books are generally priced high; they have few free books, and their selection doesn’t match its two larger competitors.

Sony makes its reader software available to fewer devices—no iPad, no iPhone, no BlackBerry, for example.  They have syncing available to the three types of devices they support, but I have not tried it personally.

I like the Sony reader app for its ability to read almost any kind of document regardless of format, except, of course, Kindle documents. I will always have their app installed on my computers in case a particular book is not available in the Kindle format.  And they allow cut and paste options for non-protected books.

I find all three of the reader software about equally enjoyable to use. The differences in layout and options are not terribly important. I find I use the Kindle app more than the others because I find more books on their site I like, and I like to sync the books among all my devices. Still, I maintain active use of the Nook and the Sony Readers.

Summary:

First, the reality of the size and convenience of specialized eReaders and tablets makes it clear that they have the advantage. It is not possible for an ultrabook, weighing in at 2.9 pounds, to be as convenient to use as a 7-inch tablet or even the pound and a half iPad.

However, it is also inconvenient to carry two devices if one will do. So, there will be occasions when a thin and light laptop could be a suitable substitute for a dedicated eReader or tablet. 

At bottom, all of these tested apps work well on an Ultrabook. And they would work just as well with the software from other vendors such as Kobo or Blio. If your eReading preferences include comic books, magazines or children’s books, then you might like a specialty reader designed for the formats unique to these publications.

While all the eReading apps work well on an Ultrabook, it still may not be your preferred way of reading electronic texts.  But they are completely usable as a primary or secondary eReader. The choice of one over another is more dependent on which site you prefer to use because of its particular strengths than to the characteristics of their eReades.

From my experience, I have given away my Kindle reader. I simply do not want to carry another device with me in my travels. Now that I have a 7-inch tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, I use it as my eReader of choice because of its lightness and ease of holding in one hand. I use the iPad for e-reading infrequently, but there are occasions when it comes in handy. Its weight, though, makes it a second choice, especially for long reading times. 

I rarely use a PC or my ultraportable for reading, but if I do it will be on the ultraportable.  Its lightness and instant-on feature does make it a better choice than the older, heavier laptops, but it is not as convenient to carry as a tablet.

An ultraportable may not be your favorite way of reading electronic texts, but it serves as a completely satisfying vehicle for reading if you want to carry only one device with you or if an occasion arises when it is all you have to use.

Motorola was one of the first American firms to get their 10.1-inch tablet to market after the iPad’s introduction.  The Xoom, as they named it, was not reviewed well, nor did it do particularly well in the market.  It was generally considered too heavy, too thick and too clumsy to use as well as too expensive for what you got.

Sales were not strong despite having strong backing from Verizon, who brought out a 3G version they sold in their own stores.  Tech Crunch put early sales in April at about 100,000, which would equal the iPad sales the first couple of minutes after it was introduced.  By July an estimated 440,000 were shipped (which does not mean sold).  Over the same period Apple sold 9.4 million iPads.

This made it obvious to Motorola’s executive crew that something needed changing, and they did set out to do just that.  Now we have their answer, the Xyboard,, shown below.  Both the 10.1-inch screen and the new 8.2-inch are shown side by side.

The models shown are the 4G devices which will sold by Verizon.  The 10.1-inch will list at $530, $630 and $730 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models respectively.

The 16GB 8.2 lists at $429 with a two year data contract.

The reviewers of the new tablets generally feel that Motorola did not learn enough from their previous failure.  Both are still priced too high, and the on/off button is still on the back side along with the volume control rocker, making both invisible while holding it to read the screen.  And the general operations are too clumsy and slow.

The Engadget review is Here  This review also features Engadget’s video.

An independent video from MobileTech  is shown below.

ZDnet also has a review Here.

Neither of the featured reviewers recommend the Xyboard tablets.  The concluding remark by Joseph Volpe of Engadget: “With ASUS’ quad-core tablet king already available for order, you’ll be hard pressed to find a compelling reason to buy what Moto’s selling.”

On the technical side the Xyboard has a 1.2GHz dual core ARM-based processor, and it is thinner and weighs less than the Xoom.  It has a mini HDMI and mini SD card slot and comes with 4GB of RAM, running Honeycomb.  An ice Cream Sandwich upgrade is promised.

The new screen is vastly improved with a TFT-IPS display and it also features stylus input.  The reviewers are not strong on the stylus operations, however.

I would expect a WiFi-only model to be on the market soon.  A lower price and no data contract would make it more attractive, but there would still be the poor performance that reviewers note when it comes to screen operations.  Perhaps Ice Cream Sandwich will fix that problem, although Motorola has put their own skin in place, and neither reviewer likes it.

All in all, the new tablets do not get thumbs up, but they will surely sell some because of the LTE capabilities offered by Verizon.

12/21/2011:  Fire Fixes Flaws

From David Pogue: “Animations are sluggish and jerky — even the page turns that you’d think would be the pride of the Kindle team. Taps sometimes don’t register. There are no progress or ‘wait’ indicators, so you frequently don’t know if the machine has even registered your touch commands. The momentum of the animations hasn’t been calculated right, so the whole thing feels ornery.”

+A software update, sent out over the air on Tuesday, fixes these balky characteristics.  According to reviews, the carousel stops spinning on a dime; it takes only one tap to open an application, and one tap opens something much faster than before. and page turns are faster and smoother.

There was one enhancement, too.  The user can control which apps are in the home carousel.

A good fix for the Fire that makes a significant difference in user satisfaction.

12/19/2011:  Lenovo Has Quad-core 10.1-inch Tablet in The Oven

A report from DigiTimes, a newspaper based in Taiwan that keeps a close eye on electronics manufacturers in that island nation, says that Lenovo has a quad-core tablet ready to begin production in January.   It will be called the K2, which will be an update of the existing K1.  The new device will feature an  NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, up to 2GB of RAM, and Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

12/17/2011:  7-inch iPad Coming in Late 2012?

DigiTimes, an infamous reporter of random rumors strikes again with a report that Apple is buying oodles of 7.85-inch displays from LG and Aupotronics.  Presumably these purchases are intended for use by the Cupertino firm, and it probably isn’t for a new laptop.  More likely it would be for the often speculated 7-inch tablet, a sort of mini-iPad. 

The rumor would put delivery close to the end of 2012.  DigiTimes has been right in some of their reporting, given the close relationship they have with the Taiwan firms that actually manufacture many of the world’s laptops.  But, they have also been wrong, so there is no way of knowing yet.

RIM’s BlackBerry Playbook  sold about 850,000 units for the three quarters since its introduction.  %00,000 weere sold in its first quarter, 200,000 the next and now, 150,000 in the last quarter that ended November 26th.  RIM has been working overtime trying to get sales going on their tablet.  They have sent out multiple OS fixes, and they promise a much improved model in February.  But, the main emphasis for boosting their sales has been to lower the price to $200.  this has helped, and it is rumored that after Christmas selling season is over they will keep the $200 price point as permanent.

This will make it hard for other 7-inch tablets to get more than $200, with the Kindle Fire selling at that price, too.  This is good news for those who are considering a 7-inch model to supplement their digital experiences.

12/12/2011: Kindle Fire to Get Software Update

Amazon will push an update to Kindle Fire owners before the end of the year, according to a report in the New York Times.  The new software will offer better performance, improvements in multitouch navigation, and the ability to edit the list of recently used items that show up on the home screen.

All of the enhancements are in response to consumer complaints that have been documented in reviews posted by the early adopters of the new 7-inch tablet.  Nearly 33% of early buyers have given the Fire three star or less ratings.  This compared with only 11% of the first Kindle buyers some years ago.

12/08/2011:  The Nook Tablet Ships a Million

It is clear now that the 7-inch segment of the tablet market will never be the same since Amazon and Barnes and Noble brought out their 7-inchers at prices that translate to roughly half the prevailing prices at the time.

Amazon’s success with the Kindle Fire has been widely publicized, and now Barnes and Noble is said to have shipped a million units of their Nook Tablet since its mid-November debut.

Neither the Fire nor the Nook Tablet are as full featured as their competition from Samsung or HTC, to name a couple, but the pricing at that end of the market will never again support a $400 price, much less the $500 price point at which they were initially offered.

An example is offered by RIM’s BlackBerry Playbook.  Even at the deeply discounted price of $199, they are expected to have sold only about 150,000 units for the entire quarter.  Admittedly the $199 price point was not in effect during the entire quarter, but with Amazon selling four to five million since mid November and Barnes and Noble at least taking shipments on a million units, this can spell only disaster for the PlayBook.  I wonder if it can be fixed.

The sales of Samsung 7-inch tabs and HTC are not yet known, but it cannot be expected to be much.  Altough HTC has reduced the price on their 7-incher to $199, I wonder how much they can sell.  The original Galaxy Tab is now selling for $200 with a 3G contract.  It is hard to see that the newer models of the same size will sell much at their $400 price points.

12/01/2011: Electronic Reading Continues it Rapid Growth

Electronic reading continues to grow at a fast pace as it continues to grab a larger slice of the book sales pie. Amazon reported today that they now offer over 900,000 eBooks in English and other languages, all offered for sale through their website.

Following this announcement, Juniper Research, a firm that follows the industry, released a report which foresees sales of electronic books to reach almost $10 billion by 2016. Sales for this year are estimated to be about $3.2 billion.

Juniper attributes the rise to the growing inventory of eBooks and in the number of eReading devices on the market. They also say that the spread of eReading to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices is expected to contribute to the growth. The research firm expects that tablets alone may account for as much as 30 percent of eBook downloads by 2016.

Posted via DraftCraft app

The  research firm IDC has reported year-to-date sales on tablets, and it revels a 264.5 percent surge in tablet sales worldwide from the third quarter of last year to this year.  Third quarter shipments for this year are estimated at 18.1 million units.   This amounts to a growth of 23.9 percent from the second quarter of this year.

Apple’s iPad led the field with 11.1 million units shipped during the 3rd quarter.  This is just over 61 percent of all tablets shipped during the period.  Samsung’s tablet line, which includes both 10.1 and 7-inch models, was in second place with 5.6 percent of the total worldwide shipments. 

HP’s quickly discontinued TouchPad placed third by shipping 903,000 units, yielding a 5 percent market share. 

The Kindle Fire did not begin shipping until the middle of November, so they had no 3rd quarter shipments.

Apple’s dominance of this market is expected to diminish in the 4th quarter, however.  IDC estimates that Android-based tablets, which include the Samsung tablets and the Kindle Fire, will increase their market share to 40.3 percent  and the iPad will fall to 59 percent.  Much of the increase for Android devices is attributable to the amazing success of the Kindle Fire.

Specific estimates for the Nook Color and Nook Tablet were not provided, but it is widely believed that these Barnes and Noble products will also contribute to the decline in market share enjoyed by the iPad.  Both of their tablets have enjoyed strong sales over the final quarter of the year.

The data leave little doubt that there is a wider market for the 7-inch form factor than has been seen before the Fire and Nook tablets were introduced.  Certainly the price points of $199 for the Fire and Nook Color and $249 for the Nook Tablet have had much to do with the surge in popularity of the smaller devices.  Prior to this development, the 7-inch models were listed at $499, and they had failed to move.  Amazon and Barnes and Noble changed that dynamic with unambiguous clarity.

2011 looks especially good for this new form factor.  IDC estiates that by the end of the year total worldwide shipments will come in a 63.3 million units shipped.  Next year should be even better.

The honor of being the first tablet running the new generation quad-core processor belongs to Asus.  Using the brand-new Tegra 3 (you remember, the Tegra 2 had two cores, so the Tegra 3 has four?), the new Transformer Prime blows away all other tablets running on an ARM-based chip.

There are several preliminary reviews out, and all of them remark on how blazingly fast the new chip is.  J.R. Raphael, reviewing the new Transformer for Computer World said: “. . .at first impression, the Transformer Prime just flies. I mean, this tablet is fast. I’m honestly not sure quad-core is something an average tablet user truly needs at this point, but for a power-user, gamer, or anyone who just wants top-of-the-line technology, the added processing muscle puts the Prime in a league of its own.”

Other reviewers have said about the same thing.  There will be other quad-core tablets coming out by the beginning of the year.  The iPad3 may have one, too.

But that is not the entire story of the Transformer Prime.  It has been significantly slimmed down from its earlier form, and the build quality is uniformly praised.  Android 3.2.1 is the version it is shipping with now, or will on December 19th.  But Asus promises an early upgrade to the newer version 4.0 soon.

Notice from the picture above that the tablet part of the Transformer docks with a keyboard and becomes an almost regular notebook computer.  The picture below is blown up a bit to give a better picture of how the two items work together. 

Of course, it is not mandatory that a buyer of the tablet purchase the keyboard dock.  It runs an extra $150, but it includes both a full sized USB 2.0 port and SD slot.  It also included an extra battery that adds an extra six or so hours to the otherwise long battery life of the tablet.  The tablet itself has a mini HDMI out and mini SD port.

The full review can be read by clicking on this link.

The new Transformer has a suggested retail price of $499, which puts is squarely in the iPad2 camp.  Quite obviously Asus feels that with its full slate of attributes it can go head-to-head with the Apple product.

Asus does not have a full monopoly on a transforming system.  Apple, Samsung, Motorola, and Toshiba all have special keyboards that fit their tablets.  But, these are simply keyboards.  The Asus product is a full-fledged dock.  It has all the docking facilities we expect, including enhanced battery life and other ports.

This development also points out another problem that is infecting all of today’s tablets, except those that run Windows.  The problem is that there is not a full-fledged word processing application that runs on the ARM systems. 

Microsoft has promised that it Microsoft Office suite will soon be re-written to run on the ARM architecture, but no specifics about features, prices or when it will be available. This leaves tablet owners with the distinct disadvantage of not being able to bring full production capabilities to this form factor.  And with the power of a quad-core processor, surely ARM could handle the Office suite’s heavy processing requirements.

Once these legacy applications are brought to the tablet, then an entirely new group of buyers will be drawn to this new phenomenon, and tablet sales will become stratospheric compared to what they are today.  At that point, a transformed tablet will be the equivalent, or at lease near-equivalent, of a laptop computer.

The iPad at least has Pages, its native word processing application.  And, it sells for $10.  Although it is anemic compared with Word or Word Perfect, it does allow a reasonably competent system of creating a text document with graphics, too.  But getting Pages data into a Word document requires multiple steps.  A native Word for the ARM world will solve many problems, and I am sure the hardware folks are licking their chops at the prospect.  It will probably be done sometime in 2012.

Bllack Friday is coming up soon, and the special items that retailers use to attract customers to their store are booming this year.  Some of these offers are especially attractive to those who like to read electronically, so I have filtered through the offers to construct the list following:

• BestBuy:  Acer Iconia A100 @ $190. 

The Acer Iconia A100, shown on right, is a normally much more expensive, but it is going for $190 at BestBuy only on Black Friday.  This tablet is not the equal of the latest Samsung Tab 7.0 plus or the HTC Flyer, but is equal and exceeds the Kindle Fire, at least in some uses.  Being a “pure” Android 2.3 device, it has full access to the Android Marketplace, which means it will run virtually everyone’s eReading software:  Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo, Google, and many others.

So if eReading is one of the things you would do on a Kindle Fire, look to the A100 as equal to the task.  Although you would give up the tight integration into the Amazon website for movies, books, music and magazines\, you can surf much faster, check you email well, and run all the Android apps.  I would give serious thought of using this device in place of the Fire if you want to have a more competent tablet as a tablet plus as an eReader.

• Asus Transformer:  @ $250.  The Transformer turns a 10.1 inch tablet, which seems competent in its own right, into a netbook, if you buy the keyboard/docking station that is sold separately.  So, for an extra $100 you get the best of the tablet and netbook.  At $250 it is only $50 more than the Kindle Fire, and it will run all the Android eReading software.  Something definitely worth checking out.

With a regular price of $399, it is $50 less than half price. If you are considering a netbook, this one is worth checking out.   It runs a verson of Andoid that has all the imporant eReader software availeble, so it would make a fine eReader machine plue a more fully functioning tablet/netbook.

Toshiba Thrive 10.1-inch Tablet @ $280. Running Android 3.2 with 8 GB of memory, this is a great price for a full-featured tablet computer with WiFi.  It will also run all the Android eReading software.  For another $50 you can upgrade to the 16Gb version.

Staples:

• BlackBerry Playbook, WiFi @ $199.  This tablet, highly touted when first introduced earlier this year, is still less than a fully function tablet, but the omissions to its feature set will be corrected in early 2012.  As asubstitute for the Kindle Fire it might be a good replacement.  It has the same internal processor as the Fire, but it has a excellent new OS dubbed WebOS.  An innovative design with fast execution and a bright screen, at this price is competes well with the Fire and Nook Tablet.  I don’t know if the Nook reader is available yet, but the Kindle Reader is.
• Acer Iconia A500 (10.1-inch screen) @ $300.  I don’t know the build quality of this Acer product, but if it is a solid machine, it represents a good value for an iPad substitute.  Android, at its current stage of existence, is not a full substitute for the Apple product, but with every new iteration of its OS it get closer.  At almost half the price, it is well worth checking out, especially as an eReader.

Office Depot:

• Lenovo Idea Pad K1 10.1-Inch Tablet @ $300

The Lenovo K1 is a competent 10.1-inch tablet with specs equivalent to many of the Android 10.1-inch tablets on the market today.  This $300 price may represent the new pricing point for those devices not quite up the the iPad standards, and $200 lower in price 

This tablet will have all the eReader software available to other Android devices, and would represent  a good buy for a well designed and built machine.

Apple Stores and Apple On-line

• MacBooks (Air, and Pro Models) off up to $101.

Apple doesn’t often discount its products, but Black Friday gives them a chance to clear out the inventory of many of their products.  The MacBook Air, a popular ultra-thin portable, will be about $100 less than usual, according to some rumor sources.  The MacBook Air represents the standard of the new ultra-thin portables.  No other vendor can match its looks or performance.  $101 off is not a steep discount, but it represents a fairly consistent way Apple cleans out its inventory with shallow discounts.  Such is the demand for their products.  The Air is available in 11.6-inch and 13-inch models ranging in regular price from $999 to almost $1300 for the 13-inch screen.  These will probably be the best prices one can expect for these highly valued machines.  Both the Air and MacBook Pro models have good eReading software from everyone who counts in the industry.

The MacBook Pro, the heavier model that has, for years, represented Apple’s standard for a conventional portable computer, is now giving way to the Air, with its lighter, thinner design.  You can go all the way up to an Intel i7 with this model, and a $100 off is probably is as good as it’s going to get.  

The model will probably be around for a few more years.  It has, of course, all the eReading software one could ask for.

iPad 2 @ $41 to $61 Off

The iPad 3 is headed to market by March or April of 2012, so Apple has some iPad2’s to close out.  As discounts go, these are not killer amounts, but it what we should expect from Apple. This firm has always maintained it high price points.

It looks like an exciting day on the busiest shopping day of the year. BestBuy is opening their stores at midnight. Arrive early if you have your sights set on a particular product. eReading on the iPad is fine, but it is a little heavy for long-session reading.  The King of the tablets gives nothing away as the best of the best in the tablet world.

Bon shopping.

Ray Hendon

I use my iPad2 everyday, and I love it. No, a 7-inche tablets will not replace it. But, a few months ago I bought a 7-inch Galaxy Tab 7 solely because it had a 3G/4G hotspot capability. I needed a hotspot, and another alternative was to pay Verizon $100 for their stand-alone hot spot device-which was nice.

But, for an extra $100 I could get a full-fledged tablet with all its attendant benefits, so I decided to with the tablet. I was using the hotspot a lot then, being several thousand miles from home and having only Wi-Fi on my iPad2 and on my Windows ultraportable. But, I began playing with some of the Tab 7’s other capabilities: I downloaded some free apps for weatherbug, file management, video players, screen-writing (DRAW) that allows me to use my finger to make lists and memos, etc..

For the first month I used it mostly for hotspots, but I found that the screen writing program was nice for writing to-do lists for the day and for grocery shopping lists. It fit in my back pocket, and I could whip it out at a moment and view my lists. When the item was completed or purchased I could swipe a line through it and that way work my way through it. This was handy, but questionable as being worth $100. Still, I shouldered on.

The next big thing I discovered was how robust the email application on the tablet was when compared with all my other email applications. The Tab 7 has the “All Mail” option which keeps a long historical record of the inbox. iPad also has it, but it is not as convenient to carry around, so I find myself using the small tablet for email more and more.

Then, there is the camera. At 5 megapixels it is equal to my Droid’s, but the pictures are displayed on a much larger screen and are, therefore, much more viewable and entertaining. And, it’s easy to have with me; I find I use it a lot.

At first I didn’t like surfing the web on the small screen, and I still don’t for general purpose surfing. The small screen is too small for my poor eyesight, so I much prefer the iPad for this chore. But, I have discovered that when I use the mobile page for many sites, special features make it usable for doing quick updates on headlines. Plus is has a handy Twitter app that is readable on the small screen.

Playing flash video is also nice when I am reading the news online. The iPad does it only with videos accessed through sites that have an iPad app.

The biggest thing, though, is e-reading. The small screen is perfect for this chore, and I can hold it in one hand if I read in bed, which I do quite a bit. I can access all of my Kindle books, Nook library and borrowed books from the public library on it, and I use it now almost exclusively for that purpose.

With everything considered, I have no regrets on buying the 7-inch tablet. I use it for what it does well, and I use the iPad and other computers for what they do well when it is most convenient. It turns out, I couldn’t do what I had envisioned on the iPad when I first bought it, but I discovered many things I could do with it that I had not envisioned. The same is true for the 7-inch device. I end up doing many things with it that I could not imagine at first.

I have seen some reviewers who declare that they can’t make a case for owning an iPad or another tablet.  The lesson I have learned is that you may not be able to make a case for it until you understand its many uses first.  It took me a couple of weeks to learn how to use the iPad, and it has taken even longer for the smaller screen device, but I am quite happy now with both.  The flexibility, mobility and power of a tablet, regardless of its screen size, make them much more usable than you might think.

Although it is too early to declare victory in the tablet market, the initial lead enjoyed by Apple is showing itself a formidable obstacle for Android and others to overcome. The data projections made by those who do this sort of thing are leaning sharply toward the iPad. And the existing sales data also show a huge lead by the Apple tablet. The graph below was compiled by Robert W. Bold & Co. It is based on a small sample, and it is a few months old, but it’s about all that is available for now. The question that forms the basis of the graph below is one of interest—i.e., which tablet computer would you be most interested in buying over the next six months.

There are a couple of things about this data that should be noted before any inferences are drawn. First, the survey included all screen sizes—7-inch through 10.1, where in my opinion a size division is called for. Also, the survey was taken before Asus, Acer, Sony, Motorola, etc., had any significance presence in the market. This makes it incomplete when compared with today’s market. There were more options coming but not announced when this survey was done, and some of those announced have already been withdrawn from the market.

Nevertheless, it does give us something of an idea of what the new competitors are to expect when they go up against the iPad. Although more recent sales figures confirm Apple’s dominance in the market, this does not mean there are not viable competitors. It’s just that they haven’t had time to hone their marketing and designs to the sharpness required to be effective.

A recent report of RIM’s Blackberry Playbook is not reassuring. About 500,000 of Research in Motion PlayBooks were sold in the device’s first quarter compared to 9.25 million iPads sold over the same period, according to a report. The second quarter, just announced a day or so ago are even worse. The Canadian firm sold only 200,000 in the second quarter. This is less than half the expected rate of sales. RIM’s profits were down over 50% because of this and other factors relating to their anemic smart phone sales.

Bloomberg cites a survey of analysts who predict RIM will sell around 2.2 million PlayBooks for the full year. Michael Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity, estimates RIM will ship 1.5 million tablets in 2011, according to the report.

It is important to remember that there are still some significant shoes to fall before the final tally can be made. The shoes I’m speaking of include a better version of Android-based tablets that has only recently been released. All the reviews in this piece have the new Android system.

Then, of course, there is Microsoft’s new Windows OS, Windows 8. It is taking aim directly at Apple’s iOS. Microsoft’s new entry will be oriented to touch operations, and it will run on the ARM processors as well as Intel’s x86 chips. This will, for the first time, make the important Windows applications such as Word for Windows, PowerPoint and Excel available on ARM-based tablets. Bringing these Microsoft legacy applications to the ARM community will turn the tablet from an almost completely passive (comsumption) device into one that can actively and easily produce content. Click here for a hands-on preview of Windows 8 running on a tablet

I don’t think the importance of this can be over-stated. But it cannot be known how successful it will be in its implementation. As a company, Microsoft is too big and too powerful to dismiss. But their track record in the tablet arena also gives serious cause for doubting their ability to make the transition to a new way of operating a computer. Microsoft ruled the mouse-centric world. Can they make this happen for our fingers? It will be another year before a clear judgment on this question can be made.

For Android devices, in spite of their progress, they are still playing catch-up, and they have not done so yet. So it is impossible to feel confident about any projection about how they will do in the future.

Projections for the Tablet Market

A new projection of the tablet market was recently released by the research arm of JP Morgan. Their take does not give much comfort to iPad competitors. The runaway success of the iPad2 forced them to change their total tablet sales projection for this year. They now project 51.9 million tablet units for this year, with the iPad taking about 71% of the market. The Apple share will fall, though, according to their projections, to 62.8% by the end of 2012.

These numbers would have astounded the industry if they had been made last year when the iPad was first introduced. The tablet format has taken the industry by storm as the new form factor carves out a big bite of industry sales.

Implications for the Future of the Tablet Market

One implication of the state of dominance achieved by the iPad is that for Android and other operating systems to compete, they must do it on price first and on features second. The main reason for this is that Apple has too long a lead in working with a touch interface. They began selling iPods on November 10, 2001, and they have steadily advanced the touch interface since that date. Perhaps the other OS developers will catch up some day, but they haven’t done so yet. In my view, this puts the price of competing devices as their primary vehicle for gaining market share.

The pricing policies of a few of the new entrants reflect this reality. Acer has a thicker and heavier tablet, the Iconia Tab A500, which has a suggested retail price of $449.  This is $50 under the lowest iPad. And it has a few features—flash and I/O ports—that offer some advantages in their own right. The $449 price has already been breached by several retailers—edging down toward the $399 mark.

Asus has followed the strategy with its interesting Eee Transformer (reviewed below). At $399 SRP it comes in on the low side, but it also has an ingenious keyboard arrangement that optionally makes it a virtual netbook without losing the touch screen capabilities.

The second thing that is clear is that the 7-inch tablet is not an effective substitute for a full sized tablet with a 9.7-inch or 10.1-inch screen. Manufacturers that are pricing their 7-inchers close to $500 are going to be sitting on their inventory for a long time. A screen of that size simply does not compete effectively with tablets that have similar features but with larger screens. There are legitimate uses of these smaller devices, but serious surfing is not one of them. Surfing with the tiny viewing area is clumsy and frustrating to use, although the a new 7-incher from HTC (The HTC Flyer) does a good job of getting a full web page to display in a readable format on their small screen.

The reality of the limits of seven inches is slowly being reflected in the retail channels. The original 7-inch entry, the Galaxy Tab 7, is now retailing for $200 with a two-year contract for data services. At this price it is a viable product. At $499 it was not. RIM has just recognized this unpleasant fact. The $499 price for the BlackBerry Playbook has kept buyers away in droves. RIM announced just last week that they will be lowering the price of the Playbook and enhancing its software. For now, Canadian buyers can bet the 16GB model of the Playbook for $299. But whether this new price will be adopted for American sales is not yet known.

The same will be true of the HTC Flyer. Both these tablets are fine pieces of equipment, but they don’t find traction at $500. I look for big price drops on all of the smaller tablets. The Nook Color is doing well at $250, and Amazon’s rumored 7-incher will, too. Whatever the executives in Taipei, Seoul, Seattle or Ottawa may have thought, they had better think again.

On this issue of size, Samsung seems to have caught on. Their replacement for their original Tab 7 will be almost an inch longer. And, a few others are experimenting with 8.x sized screens. I don’t know where the size will settle out, but Radio Shack is offering the Tab 7.7 for $349 with a two-year Sprint contract for data services.

To get my own biases out of the way, I own an iPad 2 and a Galaxy Tab 7 as well as a Windows desktop and a Lenovo ultra-portable Windows machine. I use these Windows devices extensively for daily computing work, including posting to my blog and all of my writing.

The tablets are used for other things where portability and immediacy are needed. I use the iPad extensively for on-the-go surfing, eMail, e-Reading and quick research if I am not at my desk.

The 7-inch Galaxy tab I got because I need a 3G/4G hotspot, and rather than pay Verizon $100 for a 3G-only device, I paid $200 for the Tab and get a wider set of features than a simple hotspot can provide. In practice, I use the 7-inch device for eReading, hotspot use, e-Mail and other utilities. It has, to my surprise, become my eReader of choice. I like its small size when holding it to read—it isn’t heavy or bulky, and I can stuff it in my back pocket when on the move.

Worthy Competitors to the iPad

There is no definitive way of trimming the long list of Android devices to a manageable size. I have reviewed numerous lists of the top five and top ten competitors, and there are some machines that seem to come out on or close to the top on most lists.

From my own experience of working with those that I can find at my local Best Buy or Office Max, I find the following large screen tablets to be viable competitors.

1. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Samsung.

It has a 10.1-inch screen, but it is the about the same weight as the iPad2. It is thin, easy to hold, and its operations are quick and smooth. It compares favorably with Motorola’s Xoom but is lighter and faster.

Reviews have been uniformly good. Its light weight and ease of handling are mentioned as is its smooth operations. PC World has a thorough review of the WiFi model Click Here. The reviewer praises the Tab for its superior design and the way it works.

“Happily for Samsung, the Tab 10.1–available in limited distribution starting today, starting at $499 for a 16GB version–parlays its design and its Android 3.1 operating system into a machine that vaults to the head of the Android pack.”

For specifications: “Like other Honeycomb tablets, the Tab 10.1 runs Nvidia’s Tegra 2 platform, with a dual-core 1GHz processor and 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. The Tab 10.1 has many of the now-standard tablet accouterments like rear- and front- facing cameras (3- and 2-megapixels, respectively, with rear flash), a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a digital compass, and an ambient light sensor.”

Criticism included the lack of built-in ports. To get a USB or SD port an additional attachment must be purchased that fits into the proprietary port that doubles as a charging connection.

There is also a Verizon version of the Tab 10.1 that has LTE 4G. A review by Nerdles praises the speed, but dislikes the costs of the contract for data services and for using it has a hot spot. Click Here for LTE review.

2. The Sony Tablet S

Sony’s new tablet is doing some unique things. Its main physical feature is a unique design that allows it to sit at a slight angle when resting on its back, making typing easier with a slant.

It will also run PlayStation 3 games, and it features a bevy of additional software options that tightly integrate it with Sony’s eReader software and reader store. It is also light and the reviewers are gratified with the way it feels in the hand. Its wedge-shaped design distributes its weight well for ease of handling.

Walt Mossberg, technical editor of the Wall Street Journal posted a review of the Sony Tablet S. Click Here for the review. Mr. Mossberg takes a generally positive view of the Sony device, saying it is the only tablet out that is not trying to look like the iPad.

CNet has a video review Click Here for CNet Review

The CNet review is quite positive, the major complain being its price ($499 for the 16GB model). The overall design is good and has some interesting and unique features. In my brief encounter with it I place it a close second to the Galaxy Tab 10.1. For PlayStation fans it may take the top spot. Regardless, it is an excellent tablet, well thought out and well executed.

3. Acer Iconia A500

The Acer A500has a 10.1-inch screen and retails about $400. Although thicker and heavier than the iPad 2, its low price and good build quality make it an attractive prospect. AT&T recently announced their 3G/4G version, A501, that has cell phone connectivity. The 4G part is not true 4G, i.e. LTE. Rather AT&T includes radios for HSPA+ network. Not true 4G in speed, it is faster than 3G, but AT&”T has no choice but go this way for now since they haven’t built out their LTE network. It will probably be a couple of years before they catch Verizon in this effort, but they will have their “almost 4G” to offer in the meantime.

Bottom Line

Acer Iconia Tab is a great, reasonably priced choice if you want to access your content via USB sources, but the current limitations of Android 3.0 and what you can do with that content via USB, coupled with this tablet’s display quirks, still make it a qualified recommendation.

CNet Review: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-20055061-251.html

Engadget Review: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/26/acer-iconia-tab-a500-review/

4. Asus Eee Transformer

The Asus Transformer brings even a lower entry price with the option of an ingenious keyboard arrangement that transforms the 10.1-inch tablet into a virtual netbook. Reviews of its operation have generally been good.Video of Transformer Demo

Specification for the Eee Transformer

· NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 1.0GHz dual-core CPU for excellent multitasking & HD video playback

· Android 3.2 Honeycomb O.S. with Adobe® Flash® 10.2 support*²

· Full QWERTY keyboard, touchpad input with Polaris® Office® for mobile productivity

· 16*¹ hours long battery life for all day computing with mobile docking

· Brilliant IPS panel with ultra-wide 178⁰ viewing angle made from scratch resistant and super tough glass

· One year of Unlimited ASUS WebStorage, two USB ports, SD and Micro SD card readers for easy sharing & storage expandability.

· 3D stereo with max bass response with SRS premium sound

For the PC Magazine review of the Transformer: Click Here.

Concluding their review is the statement: “The Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 distinguishes itself from the sea of emerging Honeycomb tablets with its aggressive pricing, and an optional accessory that turns it into a virtual notebook.”

5. Toshiba Thrive

Toshiba, once the dominant player in the portable computing space, is also being heard from with a nice 10.1-inch tablet, the Thrive. This new tablet features full-sized USB and SD ports. It also has an excellent file system that supports file transfers between external computers. Although heavier and bulkier than, say, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the presence of built in, full-sized external ports will be appealing to many who need to integrate their tablets with other computers.

The Engadget Review is Here They report a somewhat fat and heavy tablet, but they conclude its full sized ports and excellent file system make it a worthy offering for those who need these kinds of differences. Its speed of operation is typical for Android 3.1 operations.

All of the above tablets have features that make them worthy competitors to the Apple Pad2. The precise one that may fill the bill for you will depend on your own needs.

My own favorites of these mentioned are the Galaxy Tablet 10.1 and the Sony Tablet S. Both are light and easy to hold and their operations are smooth and consistent. Android is not a perfect substitute for iOS, but it is entirely workable, and the enhanced features all these manufacturers build into their devices may make them more appropriate for your uses.

Also, there are some new ones on the horizon. Motorola’s Xoom is slated for an upgrade soon, for example, and Windows 8 devices may be on the market after the first of the year, or, more likely, later. A year or two from now I cannot guess as to which brands will be on top and which on bottom. But the ones shown here will be in the mix short of some unknowable breakthrough between now and then.