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.

Netbook sales were robust in 2009, jumping eightfold in the United States, to 7.5 million devices.  Worldwide sales tripled to 34 million, but the rapid pace of growth stalled last year.

For example, according to the market research firm NPD, year-end retail sales of netbook computers in America fell 38 percent from a year earlier, .

The market research firm IDC predicts that worldwide sales will fall in 2011 by about 7 percent, but that would still be 32.9 million netbooks which would account for roughly 10 percent of the total PC market.

On the tablet side of the equation, there is an opposite story. The Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report shows the last year’s growth of worldwide tablet sales at nearly 200%. They expect 55.7 million tablets to be shipped in 2011, and total shipments of the mobile PC market (netbooks, laptops and tablets) are expected to reach 503.8 million units by 2014. Tablet PCs are expected to account for 35% of this share.

Netbooks continue to enjoy brisk sales in cost-conscious markets, including China and Latin America, and in sales to schools, which want an affordable way to equip students with computers.

But the limitations in the first generation of netbooks will continue being an impediment to increased sales. The first generation devices were under- powered for many tasks that PC owners demand. They were slow to boot, slow when forced into multitasking, had cramped keyboards and a 10.1 inch screen.

The new generation of netbooks is beginning to be sold. They feature multi-core processors with better battery life and much improved multi-tasking. Although the screen size is still small, and there have been big improvements in the keyboard, they are still somewhat cramped. The price, however, is still staying generally between $300 and $500;  this will keep the device in contention even with its limited functionality.

Such has been the fortune of netbooks. They got off to a fast start when first introduced, with growth in triple digits, but their growth rate began slowing even before the iPad came on the scene. The iPad turned a slowing growth rate into an absolute fall in total units sold, with growth now negative, as is shown in the chart above.

There is still a future for the netbook. Its low price, its low weight and long battery life make it more convenient to use than the heavier and bulkier laptops.  It also has an improved keyboard, is better at multi-tasking, and it has the huge advantage of being able to run a wealth of Windows software. These advantages still give it an edge on the tablet computers for specific uses.

Another area of competition is coming from the higher end of the laptop spectrum—the conventional laptops. These devices have more robust computing power, internal hard drives, and larger screen sizes. There is not much competition, though, with screens above 13 inches. The weight alone of a 14 through 17-inch screen makes them too heavy for comfortable portability, and their bulk is inconvenient when placed on a table.

The greater threat to the netbooks lies in the ultra-portable laptops. With screen sizes running from 11+  to 13.3 inches, their weight is generally  four pounds or less. Their processing power is much greater than the netbooks, with full storage spinning drives and even lighter weight and faster SSD drives becoming increasingly available. Prices are from $800 to $1000, but some go over $2000 with SSD built in.  This makes them too expensive for many netbook owners and will keep netbooks in the market.

From my experience with laptops, netbooks and tablets, my final mix will include only three computers: a desktop that will remain as my primary machine for heavy duty work and play; an ultraportable for mobile use when serious work needs to be done, and an iPad or some other tablet for supplemental and mobile use.

Stand-alone eReaders are also facing similar constraints in their market. Tablets, laptops, netbooks, and desktops all have eReading applications from the major suppliers.  A few, such as the Nook Color, have elements of use similar to both tablets and eReaders. A slew of new tablets coming to market this year, many with 7 inch screens, may provide another competitor for stand-alone eReaders. This part of the market is not showing signs of a major slow-down, however, so its fate is yet to be determined.