I have used an iPad since the day it was first introduced, and the first application I downloaded to it was the iBook reader.  The second was the Kindle app for the iPad.

I have also had a 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab for a few months, and, again, I made sure I had the Kindle reader in place immediately after buying it.  Although I bought the 7-inch device for its hotspot ability, I ended up using it as my primary e-reader.  This part of my use was not planned; I didn’t know it would work out this way.  But being a frequent reader, it has naturally gravitated to its current status through its own merits.

Although I love the iPad for the things it does, including being an e-reader, it does not measure up as a strong competitor to this specialized activity.  As an e-reader, the iPad’s great strength as a general purpose tablet, its smooth touch interface and large screen, do not translate well for reading electronic texts for any length of time.  In short, it’s large screen, while displaying a beautiful display of texts, is too heavy to hold for any length of time.  And, let’s face it, its high resolution screen yields little for a display that consists entirely of text.  Graphics, yes; texts no.

I tend to read much of the time while in bed before going to sleep.  And in this setting, the 7-inch format shines.  It is light, and I can hold it for a long time in one hand before having to switch hands.  I can’t hold the iPad for half an hour in two hands before tiring.  The weight and balance are too much for holding an iPad in one hand.

Now, how does this relate to the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet directly without ambiguity.  7-inch tablets are light, light,light.  They have half the screen size, depending on how it is measured, so they have much less weight.  If we use ounces as the measuring rod, here is how it works out:
       iPad2′s  9.7-inch screen weighs in at 1.34 lbs which translates to:                                                         21.44 oz
       Amazon’s Kindle Fire weighs             14.6 oz
       Nook Tablet weighs                          14.1 oz
       Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 weighs          13.58  oz

The iPad, from these numbers weigh in as 146% of the Fire, 1522% of the Nook Tablet and 157% of the Galaxy tab.  This is about one and a half times more than the 7-inch devices.  As one who has held them, it is a big difference over any span of time.

In favor of the iPad is surfing the web.  A 7-inch screen doesn’t do well on a web page, at least not for my old eyes.  Surfing with the Tab is agony when compared with the iPad.  There is no comparison; the iPad wins hands down.

Another area where the iPad wins is in the interface.  iOS5 is smooth. The touch maneuver always works instantly and accurately.  You cannot say this for any Android device.  It looks as if Google could figure this out, but Apple has a ten year history of working with touch controls.  Google has a couple of years.  The difference is huge.

But, back to e-reading.  A touch on the side of the screen will always bring the next page up with all of the e-reading apps I have used, so for e-reading, the touch interface advantage of the iPad is nonexistent.

The bottom line of these tortuous calculations is that both devices have their advantages.  That is what leads me to believe that there is room for both sizes.  I own both, and I will continue doing so.  For the things I use the iPad for, no 7-incher can compete.  For things I use the Galaxy Tab for, the iPad cannot touch it.

Not everyone, of course, will see it this way, and certainly many users will not see the cost/benefit of having both size devices.  I do, but I use them a lot, and I write about them regularly.

A real life example will provide my last piece of evidence on the joys of using both devices.  I had to drive to Beaumont, Texas this morning to get some medical tests done.  I took the Galaxy Tab.  I can put it in my back pocket, it has GPS navigation, which I use, it has email and surfing capability, such as it is, and it has a built in e-reader.  I figured for my time in the waiting room and on the road, the Tab was my best bet. 

Sure enough, when I was waiting, the 3G capability of the Tab helped me keep up with some important e-mails that I was in the midst of, and I could access the web well enough to satisfy my needs.  My iPad could not have done this since I have the WiFi model without 3G.  And even if I did have 3G on the iPad, I would still not have taken it with me.  Its size and general capability were still a disadvantage for what I had to do.

Now that I am home, I switched to the iPad for typing this article and doing some other surfing chores.  I am glad I have both.  They are well worth it to me.  I think I can, by inference, say the same for the Fire or Nook Tab.  I would be happy to have them in some occasions, and at $200 or @250, they would well be worth the costs.

It is important to remember when comparing the two new 7-inchers with other, older models of the same size, is that neither the Kindle Fire nor the Nook Tablet are full-fledged tablet computers.  Neither has a camera, and neither has access to the unabridged Android Marketplace.  While both Amazon and Barnes and Noble will be offering some apps, they are not offering all the Android apps.  Both devices require some tweeking to run on their interface, so the selection is going to be quite limited.

As far as a direct comparison of the pure hardware, the Nook Tablet is the superior machine.  It has a faster processor by 20%, and it has SD storage capability which the Fire lacks.  The screen resolution is the same, but B&N claims theirs has a wider viewing angle.  However, the Nook Tablet is $50 more in cost.  Whether the increase in speed and availability of external storage is worth that is a personal matter.

There there are the proprietary extras.  Amazon offers a tight integration with its store, including movies, books, magazines, comic books, etc.  So does B&N, but their offerings are not up to those offered by Amazon, in my opinion.

In my own view I would rather have a full fledged 7-inch tablet, such as the Galaxy Tab 7 +, the HTC Flyer or, perhaps Acer’s new model, to name a few.  But I would rather have them at a $250 price, not at $499 or $399.  Whether their prices will come down to this level will not be known until the Christmas selling season is well under way, and it may be too early even then to know.  The manufacturers will have to make that call, and they must wait to see if customers are willing to pay their high prices for a full-fledged small-screen machine.

I think there is room for both a 7-inch and a 10-inch tablet. But now we have something of a bifurcated market within the 7-inch category.  Machines like the Fire and Nook Tablet are “almost” machines, while the others mentioned go all the way.  There is probably room for all, and the ultimate consumer will eventually make the call as to how viable these new products are.

9/30/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Coming

The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus was unveiled today, delivering an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet that comes with a 7-inch display and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. Boasting 802.11n wireless support as well as HSPA+ compatibilities, the new tablet also comes in two sizes: 16GB or 32GB with a microSD slot to add more storage.

No pricing is available yet which is not surprising given the blockbuster pricing announcement made by Amazon a couple of days ago.  It is rumored the Tab 7.0 Plus will sell for $200 with a 4G data plan contract with T-Mobile., but this has not been verified, nor has the availability of this new tablet.

It will be rolled out in Australia in October, and, presumably, later in the U.S. market.

9/27/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 In Next Few Days

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be available for sale in the United States beginning October 2, according to Samsung.  Along with the announcement of the new device’s availability Samsung also mentioned a 4and 5-inch media player that will be available soon after that.

The price of the Tab 8.9 is said to be $469 for the 16GB version, with higher prices for more memory.  The new model is also apparently a WiFi-only model.  Perhaps 3/4G versions will be offered later.  Screen resolution is strong, at 1280 X 800, so the graphics should be great.

8/26/2011: Motorola Xoom in New 8.2 and 10.1-inch Models?

The rumor mills are flying now with photographs of two new Motorola Xooms in the factory. The top picture above is of the new 8.2-inch Xoom, supposedly to be called Xoom 2 Media Edition.  The second picture is of the back sides of the 10.1 and 8.2-inch Xoom 2.

The current preproduction models are said to be full of bugs, so it may be some time yet before we see these new machines.

The original Xoom does need an update to be faster and have more capacity, as well as lose some weight.  My first guess is that we will see both these new devices before December.

The news of the leaks have been reported in several blogs this morning.

9/24/2011:  Color Kindle Announcement on Wednesday?

All eyes will be on New York, N.Y. this coming Wednesday as Amazon convenes it recently announced press conference there.  The timing of the announcement and the mailing list of invitees strongly supports the supposition that the announcement will be about the Color Kindle, the highly touted potential competitor to the iPad2.

It is no longer a secret that a Color Kindle is in the works.  This has been confirmed by the top executives of Amazon.  Neither is it doubted that the new device is slated to be available for the upcoming holiday sales season.  Given this state of affairs, an announcement of its future availability will help put a stop to some of the early Christmas shopping for tablets, especially for Kindle aficionados.  It would be a major mistake to wait much longer before at least announcing the details of their new gadget.

It is possible, of course, that they could be announcing a new thinner touch Kindle or some other item.  But this scenario seems decidedly unlikely.  October is less than a week away.  The Christmas selling season is looming large.

I look for a seven-inch device, more like the Nook Color in design and price than the iPad2.  But I don’t know.  It could actually be more than one form factor—perhaps a seven-inch and a 10.1, too.

9/22/2011: Kindle Accepts Library eBooks

Amazon’s Kindle, for most of its existence, has been the leader in both sales and features of electronic books and book readers.  But for the last year or so it has lost the feature leadership to Nook and Nook Color.  The Nook was one of the first to joint the public library eBook lending.  Even the stodgy old Sony Reader series could borrow books from a public library.  Kindle was left out of this important ability, as is has in touch control.

But this changes today.  Now Kindle owners can set up a borrowing account with their local library and “borrow” an eBook for two weeks.

This move was done in the face of a clear trend for public libraries to get into the eBook business—pushed, of course, by the many eReader owners.  The growth statistics of library lending of eBooks is impressive.  From January to September of this year, according the to New York Times, the number of e-books checked out from public libraries increased by 75 percent over the same period last year.

There has also been an astounding growth of libraries around the nation that offer access to eBooks.  Two years ago only 12 percent of public libraries had this ability.  Today it is 67 percent.

Forrester Research estimates that roughly 15 million eReaders would be purchased in the U.S. this year, which will increase the demand for electronic services even more.

It is good to see Amazon responding to this new wrinkle in the electronic reading market.  The strength of the Kindle brand will contribute significantly to the growth of electronic reading of books and magazines, and it will help the Kindle stay competitive to an increasingly effective competition from Barnes and Noble and other reader sellers.

9/22/2011:  RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook Sales  About 1/4th of Projections

In April of this year, RIM forecast sales of 4-5 million PlayBooks in 2011. Unfortunately, RIM shipped fewer than 800,000 units during the first half of 2011 and monthly shipments have dropped to about 100,000 units in the third quarter, according to their manufacturer in Taiwan.

The discrepancy in the difference in forecast and actual sales is attributable to several factors:  features on the PlayBook were decidedly lacking, depending on owning a BlackBerry smartphone to even get one’s email or access to contacts, and the price was too high.

The PlayBook was originally priced at $499—the price of a low-end iPad, but the owner would get only a fraction of the screen size for the same money, not to mention fewer features and a more stable operating system.

In an earlier article I noted that the 7-inch tablet cannot reasonably be expected to sell for the same price as a full-sized tablet.  And, it appears, RIM is getting the picture.  They are offering some Canadian citizens who work for one of the primary cell-phone service providers a half-priced PlayBook.  I hope this price will stick, because that is probably the only way they can begin to meet their inflated sales expectations.

9/20/2011:  Samsung Galaxy 8.9 to Launch Sept. 22 at Best Buy

Samsung has announced that its new 8.9-inch tablet will be offered at most Best Buy stores on September 22.  Some stores will not get their inventory until the 25th, however.

This is a new form factor that places the screen size just under the iPads’s 9.7-inches and 1.3-inches above their new 7.7-inch device.

In my testing I find the 7-inch form factor to be almost unusable for ordinary surfing, since a full web page cannot be viewed in a readable font size.  But, the 8.9-inch may solve this problem, although there will be much added weight.

But the smaller dimensions are handy for eReading, eMail and other activities where the screen size is less critical. The small size make for easier hand holding and stuffing in a back pocket. The industry will, some day, settle on some standard sizes, but in its current stage, every brand seems to be searching for the best size for customers.

The specifications for this new form factor include overall dimensions of 9.1” X 6.2” X .3”.  Weight is under one pound.  This may be a viable product, but the final verdict will have to wait until some hands-on time.  I will file a report as soon as my local store gets its inventory. Comparing a couple of other small screen form factors.

Length/Width	Screen Size	% of iPad 2	Brand
9.1 X 6.2	56.42 Sq.Inches	81%	Galaxy Tab 8.9
7.48 X 4.74	35.45 Sq.Inches	51%	Galaxy Tab 7
10.1 X 6.9	69.69 Sq. inches	100.36%	Galaxy Tab 10.1
9.5 X 7.31	69.44 Sq. Inches	100%	iPad 2

The price of the 8.9-inch tablet is said to be $470 for the 16GB model, which is 94% of the iPad2’s $599.  This makes it more expensive per square inch of screen size, but apparently Samsung is counting on the benefits of the smaller screen and weight to make up for this discrepancy. 

9/16/2011:  RIM BlackBerry Playbook Heading for Lower Price

The rumors are that the BlackBerry Playbook, RIM’s 7-inch tablet, will soon fall in price, although no one is saying how much the price cut will be.  Sales of the Playbook have been from half to one third projections.  About 900,000 have been sold, but the units are nor measured in sales to customers but in sales to stores.  So no one knows yet how many have actually reached customer hands.

RIM’s profits for the last quarter were down over 50% from the previous year, so something must be done to correct the problem.  Since a brisk selling tablet was part of the company’s strategy for success this year, adjustments must be made.

The rumors are also stating that a coming software upgrade will bring a native email application and other enhancements, so the upgrade should help push sales when combined with lower prices.

Prices on 7-inch tablets has been dropping lately, so I would look for a $399 price or even lower. 

9/13/2011:  Windows 8 On Display on Tablet

Windows 8, the new OS from Microsoft that represents Microsoft’s answer to the touch interface of Apple’s IOS, is demonstrated in the video of Engadget. Click her for video and article on a hands-on demo.

5/20/2011:  eBooks at Amazon Outsell All Print Copies

Amazon announced that since April 1 of this year, sales of Kindle books at their site have exceeded sales of all print titles.  According to their press release, for every 100 printed books sold, 105 eBooks are sold.  Furthermore, free books are not included in the sales figures.

This change has been building for several years.  eBooks sales exceeded hard-cover sales last year.  But now both hardcover and paperbacks combined sell fewer copies than the Kindle books.

5/11/2011: New Android Releases To Be Consistent

The Android Operating System has been an astounding success.  According to Google, 310 different devices run on Android, and there have been more than 100 million activations of the OS to date.

But there have been problems.  There are so many versions of Android that work on only one devices, and the versions between devices is confusing to everyone, developers and the public. 

Google announced that a new release out later this year will be of a new type.  Any application written for any Android device will work on any other Android devices.  To accomplish, the app will adjust itself to whatever device it runs on.  Thus, a developer who releases an app for a smartphone will find that the same application will work on tablets and television sets.  The version number will no longer relate to any specific device.

This is huge for Android.  Not only developers but those who use the app will also gain much from this consistency.

5/06/2011:  Kindle to Walmart Stores Soon

Walmart has been selling eReaders for a long time, but they have not sold the most popular eReader, Amazon’s Kindle.  Walmart offered the Nook and a cheap Kobo to their shoppers.  But that deficit will be remedied with a couple of weeks as the nation’s largest retailer picks up the nation’s most popular eReader, the Kindle 3G and the cheaper WiFi-version that is ad-supported.

This is probably the final stage of the life of the Kindle and other E-Ink readers.  Tablets have been eating into their once sacred domain, and recent data from Nielson suggests the transition from a single-purpose reader to a multi-talented iPad, or Xoom or Galaxy Tab is strongly under way.  Only steep price drops will keep the E-Ink devices in the game.  Perhaps we will see a $75 Kindle in the future, or even a $50 price tag for the low end units.

5/5/2011: Barnes and Noble With a New eReader?

Barnes & Noble has filed an 8-K form with the SEC that reveals its intentions to introduce a new e-reader.

“The form, filed earlier today, says that the company "indicated it expects to make an announcement on May 24, 2011 regarding the launch of a new eReader device. . ." Considering the Nook Color just got Froyo, is it possible we’ll be seeing a Honeycomb version come the 24th?” (Engadget)

Nothing more is known about B&N intentions, but I will be monitoring this with great interest.  Is it possible they will beat Amazon to the punch again by bring out a full-fledged Android tablet to market?  Stay tuned.

4/28/2011:Moto Xoom Sells 250K Units 1st Month

Motorola reported that they sold 250,000 Xooms in the first month of its young life.  Apple’s iPad 2 has sold about 4.7 million over the same period.  There is some speculation as to whether Xoom is a success or a failure, although it is impossible to say unless the sales goals Moto had for its tablet were known. I have yet to read a single review of the Xoom that put it on parity with the iPad, so given its high price and limited configuration offerings, it seems like a moderate success.  Motorola expects to sell 1.5 to 2 million units for the full year.

A better test of Android’s operating system 3.0 will be when Acer, Asus, Samsung and Toshiba announce the sales of their10-inch tablets.  By the end of the first half of the year, we will have a better picture.

4/27/2011: Archos’ Arnova 8 Tablet Now Available

Archos, the maker of cheap tablets and other devices, has their latest tablet, the Arnova 8, a $161 budget tablet, available for shipping at Amazon now.   The tablet has an 8 inch, 800 x 600 pixel display, Google Android 2.1, 4GB of storage, and support for 720p HD video playback.

These are not impressive specs.  It has has a resistive touchscreen rather than capacitive and has an estimated battery life of up to 5.5 hours of video playback.

This device doesn’t qualify as a quality tablet, but at $161 plus shipping it may be of interest to some buyers.  It could do email, for example, and it has WiFi g.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Sold Out on First Day

“The tablet just went on sale in the States, and it’s already out of stock at most retailers. Buy.com, Amazon, B&H, TigerDirect, DataVision, Newegg, and Best Buy all show the tablet as either out of stock or available for pre-order.”  source: Liliputing

It isn’t known how many units the retailers had in stock when the sale began, but it must have been few.  But all of them running out so soon seems to indicate a strong potential demand for the new tablet/keyboard combination.

4/25/2011: World’s Only Typewriter Factory Closing

The last standing typewriter factory in the world, Godrej and Boyce, is closing its plant in Mumbai, India.

Typewriter sales have plummeted in the past several years: the company sold less than 800 machines in 2010, down from the 50,000 it produced every year in the 1990s.

The last models produced were for the Arabic language.

Time marches on.

4/24/2011:  Nook Color Upgrades to Android 2.2, Adds Apps

Barnes and Noble is sending out an over the air upgrade to its Nook Color owners.  The upgrade will install Android 2.2 on their device and give users access to the Nook Color’s own app store.

The new app store has about 125 appst to begin with, some free, some paid, including Angry Birds, as you can see from the upper right icon on the photo to the right.

The new app also include a default email application, which, when added to an upgraded web browser, brings significant enhancements to the eReader that make it closer to a standard Android 7-inch tablet.

The upgrade will be rolled out over the next few weeks to existing Nook Color owners.

Dell Streak 7-inch Tablet, WiFi Only for $399

Dell is ready to begin selling its 7-inch Streak with WiFi-only for delivery in a week or so.  Dell’s price for the WiFi model is $399.  Amazon is charging $20 less on their site.

04/23/2911 $499 HTC Flyer 7-inch tablet pre-sale next week at Best Buy

Best Buy will begin taking pre-sale orders for the HTC Flyer 7 inch Android tablet on Monday, April 25th. The tablet will be available in the US later this spring at $499.

The HTC Flyer features a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display.  It joins a fairly limited field of 7-inch screen tablet.  The Flyer will also accept pressure-sensitive input from an included stylus.  This ability gives it an edge against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and the BlackBerry Playbook, neither of which accept pen input..

The tablet has a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon single core processor and runs a customized version of Google Android 2.3. An Android 3.0 Honeycomb update is expected later this year.

/22/2011: Kindle eReader App for Android Up-dated For 3.0

The original Kindle eReader app for android was for smartphone-sized screens.  Although it would work on the Honeycomb 3.0 version, which was designed for tablets, it did not take advantage of the many features of the new OS.

Amazon has now fixed the problem by releasing a 3.0 version of the Kindle eReader software for Android.  This is good news for those who are in the market for one of the many new Android tablets coming to market.

The new tablet version offers a new layout for newspapers, magazines and is optimized to take advantage of the larger tablet form factor.

This was an essential update if Amazon want to continue its “buy once, read everywhere” policy.

4/21/2011;  Asus Eee Tab Transformer in U.S. April 26th, $399

This is good news for tablet buyers.  My earlier article (Click Here) provides the specifications and a couple of reviews.  A keyboard that attaches in a way to give it a notebook look and feel is said to cost another $150.  When Microsoft brings out an ARM based Windows this will be a viable product for laptop replacement.

4/20/2011: Amazon To Allow Kindles to Join Library Lending Services

Amazon announced Wednesday that it would join a library loan program for electronic books. The press release didn’t say the precise day the program would begin, but simply said “Later this year.”

More than 11,000 libraries in the United States participate in this electronic-book-loaning program, managed by a company called OverDrive. To see if your library has a contract with OverDrive, go to overdrivesearch.com and type in your ZIP code.

Amazon is late to the lending party. The Barnes & Noble Nook and Sony Readers already allow users to check out digital books from their local libraries using the service. The company offers more than 400,000 digital books and has had a library loan program for e-books since 2003.

The electronic-book checkout process is similar to that for real-world books. Eligible books are checked out for a certain period of time — two weeks in many cases — after which they become locked and inaccessible on a person’s e-reading device.

One needn’t own a Kindle to use the service, but it is necessary to have the free Kindle app on the device you want to use for reading the book.  This can include Android smartphones, iPads, PCs, BlackBerries, Macs, iPhones, iPods and Windows Phone 7s.

4/19/2011: LG G-Slate on Sale Tomorrow at T-Mobile

LG’s G-Slate for-Mobile goes on sale in the US tomorrow, for $529.99 after rebate with a 2-year service plan. It will run $729 with no contract..

The G-Slate features an 8.9 inch, 1280 x 768 pixel HD display, a 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor, 32GB of storage, and runs Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It features an HSPA+ modem for speedy mobile interenet access.

It also has a 3D camera.

The early reviews for the tablet are in, and here’s what people have to say:

• BGR: The G-Slate has excellent build quality, but there still aren’t many apps designed specifically for Android 3.0 tablets. The 3D video feature apparently works well, but BGR dismisses it as a “novelty.”
• Laptop Magazine: The 8.9 inch display makes the tablet smaller than other tablets, but it weighs just as much as the Apple iPad 2. The viewing angles are great and the screen is very bright, but text seemed a bit too sharp on some web pages. (That’s a problem I experience regularly on 10 inch netbooks with HD displays).

• Android Community: The tablet is one of the fastest around in terms of benchmarks, and the battery life is on-par with the Motorola XOOM.
• TechnoBuffalo: The form factor is great, but T-Mobile’s HSPA+ isn’t as fast as Verizon’s LTE.
• SlashGear: Aside from the pointless 3D feature, SG seems to like the tablet — but not the price tag.
• Engadget: One of the few reviews to run a real battery life test, Engadget found the tablet ran for over 8 hours when playing HD video. That’s about the same as the Motorola XOOM but it falls short of the Apple iPad or iPad 2.

Also, Edgadget rated it:

Narrower profile fits nicely in the hand
Lighter than the Xoom
Solid 4G speeds

Plasticy back
No WiFi version available
Poor cameras

it weighs 1.3lb;

Review of Engadget: Click here.

4/15/2011:  E-Book Sales Take Over

From a CNN report:

“The publishing tide is shifting fast: E-book sales in February topped all other formats, including paperbacks and hardcovers, according to an industry report released this week.

E-book sales totaled $90.3 million in February, up 202% compared to the same month a year earlier, according to a study from the Association of American Publishers. That put e-books at No. 1 "among all categories of trade publishing" that month — the first time e-books have beaten out traditional publishing formats.

Update on BlackBerry Playbook Reviews

For an answer to the recent criticism of RIM’s new PlayBook, the BlackBerry CEO, Jim Balsillie, said in a Bloomberg interview that  "We’ll have an over the air email client to announce very very soon. We haveBlackBerry World — our user conference — in a couple weeks. Stay tuned for all capabilities we have coming out on this stuff."

The reference to the email client was the absence of that critical application on the PlayBook itself.  Owners of BlackBerry phones can link their devices to the new PlayBook and take advantage of the phone’s email capabilities, but this was not seen as sufficient for most users.

The reference to BlackBerry World was referring to the absence of many apps for the new device.  Although they promise Android apps and the legacy BlackBerry apps will eventually work on the PlayBook, it is just a promise.  For those buying today, that isn’t much consolation.  If the “couple of weeks” prediction is true, it means that there will be some apps available when the new gizmo begins selling later this month.

RIM stock declined 3% yesterday after the raft of middling reviews were absorbed by investors.

New Generation 13.4-inch ultra-portable announced by MSI

My recent post about the new generation of 11.6-inch ultra-portables can be updated for a new entry into the market, although with almost two additional diagonal inches of screen real estate. MSI, the originators of the netbook, announced their new 13.4-inch ultra-portable, the X370.  Their new gadget uses the same AMD Fusion dual-core processor that Lenovo, HP and Sony use, the E-350.

4GB of memory, a 500GB hard drive, HDMI-out are included along with a 1.3MP webcam, a 4-in-one card reader and an 8-cell battery for about 7 hours of use time. It weighs 3.8 lbs with the 8-cell battery.

Listed at $599, Amazon is taking orders for $579.

My review article of the new generation of ultra-portables is seen Here.

For a Laptop Magazine review of the new MSI, click here.

4/13/2011: Video of The New WebOS Emulator in Action

An instructive video of how HP’s WebOS will look and feel when the HP Tab is released.

 

 

4/11/2011:  Kindle Price Falls to $114 With Ads

Amazon announced today that the new Kindle with Special Offers will sell of $114 — $25 less than the currently lowest-priced Kindle.  The price reduction comes at a cost, however, as ads will be shown at the bottom of the device’s home page and its screen savers.  The new units will begin shipping on May 3, and it will also be sold in Target and Best Buy stores on that date.

This is another of a long line of price reductions of the Kindle, which began its life at a price of $399 in 2007.  No word on the Nook, yet.  It will be interesting to see if Barnes and Noble responds or keeps the Nook ad-free.

4/8/2011:  Acer Joins The Tablet Fray:  $450 10-Inch Model

Acer has announced its entry into the tablet world with its Iconia Tab A500 that will be available for sale in Best Buy and other retailers on April 24th for $450.

The new tablet will run Android 3.0, and the specs are impressive, essentially duplicating the Motorola Xoom:  a dual-core 1GHz Tegra 250 SOC, a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 LCD screen, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage, a 5 megapixel camera around back and a 2 megapixel imager up front, HDMI-out, not to mention a pair of 3260mAh batteries that Acer claims are capable of eight full hours of life while playing HD video.

No reviews are out yet, but I expect some soon.   This is important because it breaks the $500 price barrier for a full-featured tablet.

Apple Applies For Patent on E-ink/LCD Switching Display

According to information released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Apple has applied for a patent that will allow displays on a screen to switch between LCD full color and an e-ink paper.  The device would detect when an eReading environment was needed and switch from internal illumination to e-Ink, making the display easier on the eyes and be capable of being read in direct sunlight.

This must be sending shivers through Amazon’s R&D department, for it would completely obviate the need for a separate Kindle-type of eReader in addition to, say, an iPad.

The sketch to the right is from the patent application according to AppleInsider.

This is only a patent application, so it is far from being a product, but it seems like a sterling idea to me.  I am one of those who likes to read on the light-weight Kindle with its e-Ink screen, so I have to carry it with me if I’m traveling.

Admittedly tablets are heavier and can’t be held as long as the Kindle, but it would still be a big advantage not to have to carry two devices.

 

4/7/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab WiFi for $350

The Galaxy Tab has not been a good seller for Samsung.  It was priced too high, way too high, and its feature set was good but not outstanding.  The prices of its 3G models have been slipping, and now the WiFi-only version is to go on sale April 10 for $350.  This price puts it $100 above the Nook Color, but its design and feature set may justify a slightly higher price, but the specs on it are less than compelling than they were last year.

It includes a 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display and runs Google Android 2.2. It has 16GB of storage and weighs 13 ounces. It’s also one of the few Android 2.2 tablets to come with access to the Google Android Market  and Flash video.capabilities.  The tablet has 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Blueooth 3.0, and a USB 2.0 port.

The press release mentioned that it will be available at multiple retailers for that price

4/6/2011: Moto Xoom and Atrix Not Selling
Well

A report from analyst James Faucette of Pacific Crest says that neither of these new tablets are selling well.  The Xoom is priced too high and was up-staged by the introduction of the iPad 2.  The Atrix is also too expensive, and dismissed by some as a gimmick. Reviews have been mixed.

The sales of both are well below forecasts, with competition from the iPad 2 and from a welter of new Android tablets contributing to these high profile flops.

4/5/2011:  Dell’s 10-inch Win 7 Tablet Delayed

According to leaked documents from Dell, there is a new 10-inch tablet under development that runs Windows 7.  Its code name is Rosemount.

A recent insider story from Forbes indicates that the Rosemount tablet will be not see its first sale until the fall of this year.  Past rumors had it appearing in the summer months.

This will be a tablet aimed at the business user, and given Dell’s recently released five and seven-inch tablets, Rosemount will not make much of a ripple in the tablet-hungry population.  It appears to be more like the HP Slate rather than the iPad.

3/28/2011:  Samsung’s New Series 9 Challenge MacBook Air

Apple has owned the “Wow” factor for years in the ultraportable category of laptops.  The MacBook Air has been in a class by itself with the thinnest, sleekest, sexiest design available. Although there has always been a tradeoff between thin and performance, the MacBook Air keep its balance in an acceptable zone for those who demand a super thin and light ultraportable.  The image at right has the MacBook Air on the left facing the 13-inch Series 9.

Samsung has now joined the competition with its Series 9 laptops.  The two models are thin, light and powerful with a Sandy Bridge design i3 or i5 Intel processor.  Both the 13-inch and 11.6-inch models are drawing rave reviews for their looks and performance.  Price, as usual, though, is high.

The 13-inch Series 9, shown on the right side of the above graphic, is priced at $1,649.  I have no word on the price of the 11.6-inch version which is to be available in early April.

CNet has reviewed the 13-inch model and has a video of their demonstration.  I like their early statement: “. . .if ever a Windows 7 lover dreamed of getting his or her own MacBook Air, the Series 9 is it.”  This sets the tone of the review.  The new Samsung takes only three seconds to awake from hibernation, for example, and compares well in other categories.

CNet Hands-on Video Here

Their full review can also be read on the same site as the video reference.

3/25/2011  RIM BlackBerry Playbook to Run Android Apps

In an important achievement, Research In Motion announced on Thursday that users of its PlayBook tablet will be able to run Android and Java applications.

If the RIM’s new 7-inch tablet is to be successful, it must be able to have a wide library of applications available to its users.  With a brand new operating system, QNX, however, there would be few to no apps available for the Playbook.  By making the new OS capable of running Android apps, then, RIM has taken that objection away.

The details of the announcement state that the Playbook will be able to run Android apps of version 2.3 and later, and they will not be available on the Android Market.  Publishers will submit their apps to RIM who will make them available in BlackBerry’s own app site.

Rumors now stress mid April as the release date for the Playbook.

 

3/22/2011:  Amazon to Open App Store Tomorrow, We Hope

An unnamed "trusted source" has told Wired that their App store for Android devices will launch Tuesday, March 22. Customers will be able to purchase apps both online via the Amazon website and through a native application designed for Android devices.

It is already known that the store’s launch will come with at least one major exclusive: the latest in Rovio’s Angry Birds lineup, Angry Birds Rio, will launch first in the Amazon App Store before being distributed to other online outlets.

It will be handy to use Amazon’s “One Click” buying procedure on Android Apps, whether for paid or free content.  Also, a hacker got a look at the App Store earlier and found that many of the app prices are lower on Amazon than on the Android Market.

 

3/21/2011:  Asus Eee Pad Transformer in America Soon

Asus has a good idea in its new tablet design.  It may be bought with the optional keyboard that transforms it into a conventional netbook-like device.  Notice that the tablet mounts on the keyboard in a horizontal mode rather than vertical.  Good for Asus: I dislike the iPad’s vertical mount.

The specifications are familiar: A 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor and a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel IPS capacitive multitouch display. It comes with 1GB of memory and 16GB to 32GB of storage. While it will run Google Android 3.0.  802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a mini-HDMI jack, audio jack, and microSD card reader complete the  basic configuration.

If the keyboard looks and preforms as well as it appears in the picture, this will be an important innovation in the tablet sphere—possibly ending the existing division between netbooks and tablets, although tablets cost much more to buy, a combination would be preferable for those who value the extra flexibility gained by a detachable keyboard.

The new device will be available in Taiwan by the end of this week and in America soon thereafter.

3/20/2011:  Amazon Working on Android Tablet Reader

The rumor that never dies: Amazon is developing a color eReader that competes with the Nook Color and the iPad.  There is a good reason this rumor refuses to die:  Amazon needs to offer a more comprehensive solution to eReading than its black and white eInk Kindle. In the latest round of competitive moves, Barnes and Noble clearly beat Amazon when they introduced their Nook Color. 

The color tablet fro B&N has proven popular, although precise sales figures have not been published.  In the blogosphere many in the technical press have praised the $249, 7-inch eReader/tablet.  It has been rooted and seems to make a credible alternative to other tablet designs.  Surely Amazon has been reading the tea leaves about a color device.  It appears that B&N beat Amazon badly with their Nook Color.

The new  rumors are fueled by hiring ads for Amazon’s Lab 126 website.  The New York Times reported: “At least five new jobs were added in the last week alone seeking developers with Android programming experience.”

Although Android programmers could be doing many things, the arrow seems to point to a new machine, and few would argue with the need for such a device from Amazon.  They have nothing on the market to counter B&N’s tablet/eReader, and they need one.

If Amazon is working on a competing device, I hope they go all the way with it and omit the proprietary layer of software that surrounds the Nook Color.  A pure Android OS would, in my view, be a much more competitive device.  It would capture some of the pure tablet market as well as conventional eReading, and Amazon’s marketing muscle could help them gain a foothold in this new market.

3/16/2011:  Motorola WiFi Only on March 27th

Motorola has officially announced that a WiFi-only version of the XOOM tablet will be  web available in the US starting on March 27th for a retail price of $599.  The WiFi + 3G model currently sells for $799.

Amazon, Best Buy, RadioShack, Staples, and other US retailers are reported to be authorized resellers and should be available in those stores on the launch date.

3/15/2011: HP Touch Pad With WebOS in June

The new CEO of HP, Leo Apotheker, announced that the TouchPad will be available for purchase in June.  HP announced the Tab in February for Summer availability. The Tab will sport a 9.7 inch display, a dual core 1.2 GHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 1.3MP camera, and a 6300mAh battery.

Significantly the tablet will be the first device to run webOS 3.0, a version of HP and Palm’s webOS smartphone operating system optimized for tablets

The new OS is what excites most of the technology  community.  The forerunner of this new OS was written by Palm for smartphones, and the reviews of it from the technical side were quite good.  It was praised by programmers as friendly and competent.  HP has spent the last year working on it to make it usable on larger, tablet-sized screens.  This device will be as highly anticipated as the Xoom was for Motorola and the Playbook for BlackBerry.

3/9/2011:  Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9” Set For 3/28 Debut

Samsung has made it official.  Their 8.9-inch Tab will be unveiled at a special press event on March 28th.

This side shot shows an exceptionally thin tablet, so it will rival the iPad2 thinness.The bulge is to accommodate the headphone jack, so you can get an idea of how thin it is if you look closely.

Samsung also has a 10-inch model that will be revealed sometime soon, giving them a total of three models: 7-inch, which has been out for months, a 8.9-inch and a 10-inch model yet to be shown.

 

Nook Color Gets GPS App Via Smartphone Tether

In a novel adaptation of a software app for the Nook Color, you can now use a $2.99 app to tether your smartphone to the Nook Color and get driving directions on the larger screen.

TetherGPS is available from the Android Marketplace for $2.99.

 

3/4/2011: Motorola Xoom WiFi Only for $539 as Sam’s Club?

An employee at Sam’s Club has leaved a photo of a large sign showing the Motorola Xoom with WiFi and no 3G for sale for $539.  This may or may not come to pass, but if it does it will relieve some of the pressure against Motorola for pricing its new baby too high. A $40 premium over the iPad 2 is certainly justified by the huge advantages of more storage memory, external ports and system memory on the Xoom.

3/4/2011:  Windows 8 Will Run on ARM Chips

Microsoft announced that the next versions of Windows, Windows 8, will run on System on a Chip (SoC) processors, including ARM.  Microsoft also demonstrated Office applications running in native mode on an ARM SoC device.

For the entire press release: Click here..

This is huge for the entire industry.  ARM chips are powering most of the tablet computers, such as the iPad, Motorola Xoom, Galaxy Tab and RIM;s BlackBerry Playbook.  ARM chips also run almost all smart phones. And most of these devices run either Android, iOS or RIMs older OS,  With this move, Microsoft has made itself a player.

Using tablets and smartphones with native Windows applications will open up portability of documents between architectures for the first time.  It will eliminate the often clumsy and time-consuming steps of converting documents from Word format, e.g., into Pages format for the iPad or other word processing apps on all the other ARM based tablets.

Partners on the new SoC project include NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Intel and AMD.  I would expect a rush of all the other OEMs to jump on this bandwagon soon, as it would be a huge competitive disadvantage not to have the ability to read and write legacy Windows application programs.

The big looser in the long run may be Android, which is now the leading operating system for tablet and cellphone devices.  The ability to run Word, Power Point and Excel files will give Google a serious run for its money.

The release version of Windows is expected in 2012, with Beta release expected in the second or third quarter of this year.

3/1/2011:  Barnes and Noble Selling Nook Color for $199 on eBay

Engadget reports that Barnes & Noble is currently selling itsNook Color on eBay with a $50 coupon code.  This bring the final price down to $199, which is $50 less than it sells them for in stores or on its own website.

This may be B&N’s way of testing the waters for how elastic demand is for their flagship product.

2/28/2011:  AT&T To Sell Kindle 3G in March

AT&T announced today that they will carry the Kindle (3) with 3G and WiFi connections in their company-owned stores in the United States.  Sales are set to begin on March 6, one week away.

The 3G part of Kindle relies on AT&T 3G signals, so it is natural for them to sell Kindles.  This will certainly increase the availability of Kindles, but the price will stay at $189.  For a video of a Kindle commercial look below.

2/25/2011:  Google Books Available on Androids and PCs

Google has created a new Books section of the Android Market. The Books tab shows up if you’re running the Market app on a tablet with Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb (such as the Motorola XOOM which hit the streets today). But you can also browse the book listings in the web version of the Android Market by visiting market.android.com/books in a browser.

You don’t need an Android tablet to use the new books directory. You can select any title and click the “Get it Now” button to add it to your Google Books account. From there you can read the title on any computer with a web browser, or access the books from a mobile device running the Google Books app for Android or iOS. The Barnes & No

 

2/23/2011:  New iPad to be Announced March 2nd

Apple has scheduled an event for March 2nd, and according to Kara Swisher at All Things D, the company will likely unveil the second generation iPad at the event.

There isn’t much speculative about Apple’s plans to up-grade the iPad with new features.  This has been in the works since the day after the first iPad was introduced.  Rumors about new features include a much higher resolution screen, dual-core processor, and two cameras.  Light Peak ports are also talked about as well as multiple 3G mobile broadband capability.

2/17/2011:  Kobo Assures its Borders Customers All is Well

It was some months ago that Borders decided not to develop their own eReader hardware or  its own library of electronic book titles.  Rather than make a major investment in the new technology, Borders farmed the entire job out to a third party, Kobo.

It was Borders’ attempt to get by on the cheap; in retrospect, probably not a good idea.

Now that Borders has filed for bankruptcy, Kobo is out with a note to their Borders clients that there will be no interruption to their reading experience.  Kobo is financially independent of Borders and can continue supporting their clients.

I wonder without the draw from Borders how Kobo will do in the future.  Of course, Borders will emerge from bankruptcy eventually, but their long term survival is by no means assured.  Their management was too far behind the curve to make the cut in the new electronics world.

Ray Hendon

MG Siegler of Tech Crunch Blog has posted an account of his one hour session with the rumored Amazon Kindle. His time with the new entrant into the tablet arena is instructive as for what to expect from Amazon this coming November.

Rumors of Amazon’s entry into the iPad territory have been too widespread to be ignored for the last few months, and it looks now that the final touches are being added to the new device, with the expected date of release during November—in time for the 2011 holiday buying season.

The picture shown is a guessed-at look based on Mr. Siegler’s description of what he saw.

The fundamentals of the new tablet are:

· A 7-inch tablet with capacitive touch sceeen.

· Internally illuminated—no e-ink to be found, and color defines the experience.

· Tight integration with all of Amazon’s current offerings: e-books and magazines, downloadable music and videos, the Amazon market place in place of Android Market.

· Android is the underlying operating system, but we may not recognize it because of the extensive modifications Amazon has instituted in the interface. No Honeycomb or otherwise a recognizable Google version of Android—this it Amazon’s baby all the way.

· Cost is $250—about the same as the Color Nook of Barnes and Noble.

· A 10-inch version will not be this year, but one may be released early next year.

· A full browser included.

· Mr., Siegler guesses the 7-inch version will be a single-core processor. The 10—inch, he assumes, will be dual core.

· Minimal RAM (probably 6GB) emphasized the “cloud” nature of the device.

· WIFi only for the first version, but Amazon will be working with carriers to bring a 3G/4G version to the market later.

· No camera.

· Overall looks are similar to the RIM Playbook.

Overall the new entry is designed more to compete with the Color Nook rather than the iPad, or so it appears. The 10-inch version will be more in the iPad’s category.

With the price point now revealed, or at least guessed about, it is becoming clear that the 7-inch tablets do not compete well with the 10-inch models. The original 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab now going for $200 from Verizon, with a service contract for 3G services, and the Color Nook priced at $250, it is clear that 7-inches will sell at a price size-adjusted for the area of the screen.

Having used the Galaxy Tab 7-inch model for a month or more, this seems about right. There is a huge difference between surfing on the iPad vs. the Galaxy Tab. $200-$250 seems about right using screen area as the dominant criterion.

As an e-Reader, however, the 7-inch device has advantages over the 10-inch devices. The lightness and small size allow the G-Tab to be held with one hand and held for a long time. The iPad is simply too heavy and clumsy for prolonged one-handed operation.

With the heft of Amazon’s marketing and strong and loyal installed base of e-Readers, Amazon is going to be accounted for in this new area. Although late to the party, they will get some notice, and they will probably outdistance the Nook efforts for their fine color machine. The game isn’t over just yet.

Ray Hendon

11/20/2010

The month of November has been a watershed for this website.  For the period from November 14th through the 26th, the number of inquiries per day jumped about 600%.  And then, on November 24th, the drop off was dramatic.  Black Friday marked the end of the surge.

During this time of greatly expanded inquiries, I noticed that certain articles were receiving a huge proportion of the hits, and now that it is over, I have gone back to my data and painstakingly compiled exactly which ones got how many requests.

The results for the top 14 of the eReaders are posted in the table below:

Name of eReader	Percent of all Inquiries
Nook Color	20.3
ViewSonic 10”  and 7” Tablet	18.5
Velocity Cruz	18.5
Galaxy Tab	8.75
Kindle	8.0
Archos	6.8
Faceoff*	4.8
RIM Playbook	2.8
Sony Readers	2.0
Sylvania	1.85
Pandigital	1.75
Nook	1.4
Kobo	1.04
iPad	1.0

*Face-off is for a single article posted that compared the iPad, the Sony Reader series, Kindle and the Nook.

A bar chart of the percentages is shown below.

I tracked six additional names, but none of them got to the one percent level.  Also, the iPad got relatively few hits, but this is a site for eReaders, so those looking for information were, I assume, looking at the iPad as an eReader and not as a full functioning tablet computer.

A number of things stand out in the data.  First, color rules.  I didn’t count the request under the generic heading of “Color eReader,” but if I had, this generic label would have placed rather high in the ranking.

Secondly, the numbers of requests for Kindle information is not good news for Amazon.  From a third to half of the Kindle requests were for an article I did on the possibility of a color Kindle in the near future, and which I answered in the negative.  Thus a large percentages of the Kindle requests resulted in an answer that would possibly point the interested party away from Kindle.

If my conclusion that color rules is correct, then that explains part of the reason Sony, the third largest supplier of eReading devices, places so poorly in the rankings.  It also expalins why the Nook (without color) didn’t even make the top ten.  I expect the price of it and the Kindle to fall in the not too distant future, if this shift to color is as pronounced as it appears.

A third conclusion is that the seven inch tablet is a strong product, at least for those looking.  The Nook Color, Velocity Cruz, View Sonic, Galaxy Tab and RIM Playbook are all seven inch screens, and all with color and fast refresh rates.  If they dominate in sales the way they dominated the requests my site received, seven inches is a winning number.

The last thing that stands out in the numbers I collected is that there is a great deal of price elasticity for tablets.  This means that a small price drop will bring in more revenue to the seller through a large increase in sales.  There is some pent-up demand for colorful surfing and eReading from a segment of the population that can’t pony up the $500 or more for an iPad or Galaxy Tab.  A manufacturer that can bring a good quality tablet to the market under the $500 price mark will likely be rewarded by large sales.

For these reasons, it looks to me that Barnes and Noble has won this Christams from Amazon.  Its Nook Color has hit a sweet spot among those looking for eReaders with color and surfing ability.  My guess is the the Nook Color is going to be under many Christmas trees soon.

All four major of the major retailers of electronic books provide free software for reading their titles on mobile devices.  These applications extend the ability to read well beyond the proprietary reader hardware they sell, and give their owners a flexibility in what, when and where they read that was unimaginable a few years ago.

I will describe and review the mobile offerings for all four:  Amazon’s Kindle Reader, Barnes and Noble’s Nook, Sony’s Reader and Borders’ Kobo.  There are also other mobile and desktop readers, but for this article, the focus is on the main players.

Amazon’s Kindle

Amazon leads the field by providing mobile software for six mobile devices now, with an additional one for Windows Phone 7 promised “soon.”  Their list of supported devices:

Windows PCs

Macintosh Computers

iPhone

Android Phone

BlackBerry

iPad

Windows Phone 7 –  soon. 

An eighth device, the Galaxy Tab is also supported, but the software comes installed.

Barnes and Noble’s Nook

B&N has largely kept pace with Amazon in making their reader software available of on mobile and fixed devices.  There are currently six supported :

Windows PCs

Macintosh Computers

iPhone

iPad

Blackberry

Android Phones

Sony Reader Editions

Sony lags the other eReader sellers.  They currently support two devices, with two more promised by December.

Windows PCs

Macintosh Computers (desktops, laptops)

  Promised in December:

    iPhone

    Android Phones

 

Borders’ Kobo

Borders has done a good job in keeping pace with its major rivals.  It partnered with Kobo and now has its software readers available for the same devices and B&N:

PC

Macintosh

iPhone

Blackberry

Android.

I have installed, subscribed and use all of the above apps except for Mac and iPhone, and while they all do the same thing, more or less, there are differences, especially on PCs and Macs.  On mobile devices, however, there is little to separate them, since the real estate on phones is so limited.  I can’t tell the difference in any of them while reading on my Android phone

The story is a little different on PCs and Macs, but even here, there isn’t a great deal of difference.  They are all competent, and they all make it as easy as possible to get new and existing purchases into your reading library.

As for which one is preferred, the obvious first choice is to get the app that matches your dedicated reading device, if you have one.  I bought a Kindle early this year, so I got their app for my desktop, laptop and netbook. When I bought an iPad the Kindle app was my first download.  I bought a Droid at about the same time, and the first app for it was from Kobo, so I began with it and added Kindle a couple of weeks later when it was released.

If you are looking for the “best” app, I cannot name it.  The look and feel is different even within the same app on different devices.  On my Windows machines, I actually prefer reading with the Sony app.  It reads just about every format available (except Kindle, of course) and its navigation and font control are handy—not elaborate, but enough to give me control I want. I do not use my PCs much for reading, though, especially since the Kindle and iPad came along.

Most of the apps are good on the iPad, but I generally prefer the Kindle, especially now that they offer two-column reading in the landscape mode.  The Nook reader is excellent on the iPad, too.  Kobo does not do two-up columns in landscape, and it is slow to load and a tad unreliable for some titles, so I almost never use it on my iPad.  But, on my Droid, Kobo is a good as any.

The last thing to consider is the book selection, and here the winners are Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Both have a great selection of free and not-free books. Both are easy to buy and download; their syncing is good.

One last point about book availability.  Most of my electronic reading is of the classics, although I buy a stray new title ever now and then.  As for the classics, all are free at Gutenberg or Manybooks.net, and all are downloadable in virtually any format your want. 

Amazon and B&N also have a good selection of free titles.  Sony does not, and Borders is somewhere in between—it has some, but not as many as the two leaders.

Whichever reader you chose, it is wonderful to have your entire library with you wherever you may be.  I do not always carry my iPad or Kindle, but I do always carry my Droid, so it is handy to be able to read a few minutes while waiting on an appointment or other occasion when I have a few minutes to spare.

All are free to try, so don’t be bashful in trying them out.

There have been comparisons of iPad vs Kindle vs. Sony vs. Nook before.  The reviews , however, have been dated by the recent introductions of the newer Kindle 3, and of the new Sony line of its Reader Editions.  The Nook has seen no major changes, but it has had some critical software updates that stabilized and otherwise enhanced the Nook.

Cnet has a new head-to-head review of all the latest models of these devices, and they offer a generally accurate and balanced appraisal of each brand.  They also offer a list of questions that, in my view, is helpful in narrowing the choices between this disparate group of gadgets.  Click here for the full review.

There is a legitimate argument that the iPad should not be compared with a dedicated eReader, since the iPad is a completely different device.  It is more of a full-featured computer than the stand-alone readers.  Nevertheless, many iPad owners use it to read electronic editions of books and magazines, so it deserves a place at the table for that reason.

For the same reasons, the Galaxy Tab is also mentioned as a viable alternative for eReading.

There is one error of omission in their assessment.  Item # 6 implies that many of the free downloads of eBooks are not available to the Kindle because it does not read the ePub format.  My experience in downloading free eBooks is that the sites I use most, Gutenberg and Manybooks.net, both offer downloads in multiple formats, and both include Kindles’ proprietary format as an option for the download.

That said, I supplement my Kindle library with some ePub downloads, because the iPad reads them, and the software version of the Sony and Nook readers do so as well. 

I find the Sony  PC reader software to be exceptionally robust in reading just about everything on the market.  I like it better than any other eReading software when reading on my PC.   I do not have a Sony Reader, however, although I think well of their hardware offerings.

If you are contemplating buying an eReading device, I recommend the article at Cnet as a good starting point.

 

Ray Hendon

Nov. 5, 2010

How do the various eReading devices stack up?  There is no list that will pass with everyone, but PC World does a credible job in ranking the top nine—they say top 10, but include only nine devices..?

I might quibble over a few of the placements, but overall, I think the list has merit.

#1: Amazon Kindle 3-with WiFi and 3G

The third-generation Kindle is the first to truly make e-reading an appealing proposition. PC World Review

Engadget Review

Geek Review

#2: Sony Reader—Pocket Edition PRS 350

For a small-screen e-reader, the new Pocket Edition is one of the best models you can buy–but you’ll pay extra for Sony’s unique touchscreen design. PC World Review

Goodreader review PC Magazine Review

cnet Review

#3:  Amazon Kindle DX

Large-format e-reader now comes with improved contrast and Wi-Fi. PC World Review

Engadget Review

Gizmodo Review

#4:  Barnes and Noble Nook

Pokey performance that may or may not be owing simply to an as-yet-unresolved software issue makes an unqualified recommendation of this attractive, innovative device impossible.

PC World Review

cnet Review with Video Engadget Review

#5:  Spring Design Alex

Innovative, intuitive design distinguishes the Wi-Fi-connected Alex e-reader, but it lacks an on-board bookstore, and carries an exorbitant premium over the competition. PC World Review

Engadget Review PC Magazine Review

#6: Aluratek Libre eBook Reader Pro

Budget e-reader delivers clear text and basic functionality in a light, well-presented package. PC World Review

Gizmodo Review

#7: Bookeen Cybook Opus

Although a little expensive, the Cybook Opus is a great, highly portable e-book reader for anyone who doesn’t care about frills.PC World Review

ZDnet Review

#8: Kobo eReader

E-reader is easy on the wallet, but expect to make compromises on performance and usability. PC World Review

Engadget Review

#9: Pandigital Novel

PC World Review

Engadget Review

PC World has done us all a favor by packaging all the relevant specs of the iPad and the Galaxy Tab into a comparison matrix.   The tale is shown below.

It appears that Samsung has a real rival to the iPad, not only from the specs but also from some of the early reviews of the device.  If Verizon is the first mobile phone vendor to offer the Galaxy Tab, that would be a win for those who need 3G coverage.  AT&T’s coverage is notoriously horrid, and from my experience in recent travels in some remote corners of the U.S., Verizon 3G is a vast improvement.

Also, the Galaxy Tab will have a built in smartphone, although it would have to be used with a bluetooth device to be practical.

Rumors have it that Samsung will also introduce a 10” screen later this year, and this would make for a better, toe to toe comparison.

For the full review of the Galaxy Tab, follow this link.

I am anxious to see how the eReader looks on the Galaxy, too.  They have one, or two eReaders, depending on who was speculating, but being Android 2.2, it will have the Kindle Reader and the Nook Reader software available for download.  The seven inch screen is close enough to the Kindle and Nook native formats.

by Ray Hendon

The review of four of the most popular eReaders by Switchedon is one of the best I have seen in maintaining an objective attitude throughout the evaluations.   Their conclusions seem reasonable to me. Follow this link to read the full review.

The reviewer ranks them: Kindle 3, with Sony and Nook more or less tied (although he did not rank them).  Kobo brings up the rear, especially at $129.  Kobo is not going to sell at that price to anyone who does the least bit of homework.  Perhaps in a captive environment like Barnes and Noble Stores, some will buy it at that price.  They are prime candidates for buyers remorse down the road.

I thought the model of Sony Reader they evaluated was not the best choice.  They should have tested the Touch Edition since it is closer to the specs of the Nook and Kindle.  Rather, they chose the PRS-900 which has a huge 7.1” screen, is thick, out of date, and not really comparable to the other units.

Nevertheless, the conclusion about the screen contrast being poor has been mentioned by virtually every reviewer of Sony Readers.  It appears to me that the large, 7+ inch E-Ink screens are headed for extinction before too many cycles of the seasons are counted.  They are too clumsy, too heavy and inconvenient to hold for long periods, and they are too expensive.  They have had their day in the sun.

Amazon has begun shipping its new Kindle eReader, and one of the first recipients of the new device was the Technology Editor of the New York Times, David Pogue.  In today’s edition of the NYT he offers his review.

Here are a few snippets of his remarks:

The Kindle 3 is ingeniously designed to be everything the iPad will never be: small, light and inexpensive.

Really, though, what makes the Kindle so successful isn’t what Amazon added to it; it’s what Amazon subtracted: size, weight and price. Nook’s two-screen setup makes it fussy and complicated. Sony’s additional screen layers make the E Ink less sharp.

In the meantime, certain facts are unassailable: that the new Kindle offers the best E Ink screen, the fastest page turns, the smallest, lightest, thinnest body and the lowest price tag of any e-reader. It’s also the most refined and comfortable.

His review is quite positive, and he leaves no doubt that in his mind, the Kindle 3 (as he calls it) is the best eReader available today..  Sony’s Reader has much less screen contrast, and the Nook is slower and has a quirky color navigation screen.

To read the full review follow this link.

8/27/10:  A new review out today from PC World offers a much more comprehensive review of the new Kindle.  They go into details of new features that exceed those reviewed by David Pogue. 

To read this review follow this link.

The conclusions by the reviewer, however, are the same as Mr. Pogue’s—he likes it and concludes that it is now the best stand alone eReader available.

On a different page related to the review, which you will not see if you follow the link above, you can see 16 photos of the new Kindle side by side with the old model.  Follow this link to the slide show.