Netbook Tablet as a Viable eBook Reader Option

[thinkpad]

Thanks for trying (I would give you my login to try it out if it wasn't a login from work). Safari recently switched from HTML to Flash which has made the site a lot heavier to run, so I'm not sure it will run smooth on a netbook, especially when it's touch.

I found another thread where they have actually tried Safari with the t91MT and not with very good success:

Originally Posted by Houndx

That said, if you're hoping to read on that web page in portrait mode then it won't work imo. The page has a minimum width of about double the portrait screen width. If you want to read in landscape it's ok but not great.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...oks#post660868

[mrkarl]

I just don't like the way they don't even give you a limited look(well, I couldn't find one anyway)at what thay have to offer. It sort of sounds like a good place for doing research.It kind of looks expensive. It would be neat to try and see how well it runs though

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Here's my followup to using the Calibre reader:

...

I don't like the lack of a margins setting to adjust how the book appears on screen. This results in partial lines being displayed at the bottom of the screen. Setting a margin at the bottom would perhaps alleviate that.

You cannot set the text color or background color.

First of all, thanks very much for your review and for starting this great thread.

Just a small point about the Calibre Viewer: you have a lot of capabilities to alter the formatting using CSS.

Also, Calibre is a great fetcher of free newspapers and magazines, so even though someone may prefer another ereader app, it's kinda easy when you're right there in the app with the magazines listed to just go and read them with the Calibre viewer.

[mrkarl]

I tried the demo for the safaribooks thing (not really the type of thing I'd ever use I think).I dunno it didn't really seem slow or unresponsive.......yeah, landscapes the way to go.......they need something better for thier demo book

[Xerxes]

Damn this thread. Now I want a ASUS T91MT.

[Spirity]

Originally Posted by ChrisC333

Not sure if anybody mentioned it yet but Hewlett Packard do a tablet style notebook with a touch screen. The HP Touchsmart Tm2, which is extensively reviewed at the link below, including 3 videos and many pictures.

I bought one recently and it suits my requirement perfectly. I don't mind the weight of a laptop and can comfortably read on my HP tablet in bed for instance as well as lying on the couch with it propped against a leg, sitting with it on my lap, or whatever. And it's big enough to do a good job of displaying things like on-line magazines, news sites, PDF manuals etc.

It's a real winner for me. So thanks again to jswinden for this thread, which prompted me to investigate local availability of tablets in the first place.
Cheers,

Chris

Hey Chris! thanks for sharing your info, and also the comparison picture

I was all set to buy the Asus T101MT for my portable option, and a desktop for heavier work. Then, just recently, I discovered that Asus was shipping a scaled down model to N.America, and the specs I was expecting to get were only being offered in Europe! I was SO disappointed!

I thought I had finally figured out the best setup for my needs...

Not wanting to wait until Asus decided to share the better quality one with the US and Canada, I went back into research mode and discovered your post. I've been a happy HP laptop owner for years, and wasn't aware that there was a new, better version out for the tablet.

I found some Youtube videos that show it off really well, and now I'm sold!
Check out:

youtube 1
youtube 2
youtube 3
youtube 4

So thank you Chris I'm going to buy the upgrade version with all the bells and whistles, and have it as my main computer + ereader. I am totally glad that I was delayed from purchasing now! lol

[mrkarl]

that HP's pretty nice.......way more than I need though.....one thing I've noticed using mine as a reader, even at a little under 2 pounds(I think) after 45 mins or so I do find myself looking for different ways to hold it. Not that it really gets heavy or anything, it's just that your fingers start to notice the wieght.....

[ChrisC333]

Originally Posted by Spirity

Hey Chris! thanks for sharing your info, and also the comparison picture

You're most welcome. I hope you enjoy the machine.

Looks like you found some good videos too. I haven't viewed them all yet, but the first one gave a really thorough run down of the reflectivity/view angle issue which was good to see. As he said, it's similar to many other laptops now, but could be a turn-off for somebody who was used to a different type of screen. I've found the view angle not to be a problem when using it as a text reader but, like the other laptops I've used, it needs careful adjustment when using something graphics intensive such as playing games. (I also found that my multi-focal glasses aren't too good for screens, and that wearing single focus glasses works a lot better for computing, but that's kind of off topic).

Like that reviewer, I was pleasantly surprised that it could run current games. I've been playing Dragon Age on mine. It's not exactly a Gaming Monster but it runs it OK. I have the slower 1.33 CPU but the fancier switchable graphics option (the game doesn't really run on the built in graphics chip) because that's how it came configured here. Mine also came with a separate USB DVD drive.

There was a large amount of pre-installed software which could be viewed as either good or as annoying bloatware, depending on your taste! I disabled a couple of start-ups but had to add one back as it had removed the function of the button that changes the display orientation.

It takes a while to work through all the options, but there's a big range of built in HP help. Battery hours seem good and there are a couple of ways to keep them high - by selecting the power saving option over the default HP setting, and also by not always running the higher end graphics unit, etc and it can take a while to find where all the settings are. But it's just the usual stuff with working through a new machine and new(to me) OS.

As he mentioned it's quiet and doesn't run hot. The 'pen' is great to use too.

I hope you can get the specs you want and it does the job for you.

Cheers,

Chris

[Xerxes]

Any of you heard of the GIGABYTE TouchNote?

[wodin]

Originally Posted by Xerxes

Any of you heard of the GIGABYTE TouchNote?

Seems a tad spendy for basically a netbook (and not a very impressive one at that) with a touch screen overlay. I wonder if I can get $100 of if I dont want the GSM 3G card.

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by wodin

Seems a tad spendy for basically a netbook (and not a very impressive one at that) with a touch screen overlay. I wonder if I can get $100 of if I dont want the GSM 3G card.

Yeah and most likely unable to muster 720p. I'm not trying to do anything like that, just saying. But it does have higher resolution compared to the others.

I've been going back in forth on getting a Lenovo S10-3t or ASUS Eee PC T91MT. Something about the T101MT was skip-able. HP Touchsmart TM2 seems a bit much.

Edit: T101MT isn't skip-able. After looking into it, just needs a little tinkering to be pretty kick ass.

-Install SSD, think 64GB might do the trick
-Install extra 1GB of RAM bringing it to 2GB
-US version comes without BT but the connectors are still there from the Europe version that does include the BT built in. I'd really look into adding a Bluetooth Adapter.
-Wipe to room inferior OS and bloatware; then install Windows 7 Ultimate and optimize it a bit for being on a netbook
-Read about using Asus Super Hybrid Engine to safely overclock the processor to 1.83GHz over on Amazon.

This or the new Gigabyte T1000P. But the latter isn't out yet.

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by AdrianWerner

all thinkpads have matte screens, so they won't be anywhere near the finger print magnet and you will be overall hardpressed to find better convertible laptop than X200t series. Altough rember they lack the touchpad (which is a big plus to me), so if you want one get x201 instead.
I actualy ordered X61t today (cheaper than x200 and has more comfortable or pdfs 4:3 screen). All this tablet/ipad/slate hype has awaken my gadget lust, but then I just calmed down and went for THinkpad as always

Have you gotten it yet? How well does it run. Been thinking about one of these.

[Crowl]

Does the T101MT only come with 1GB of memory in the states then, I saw one in a local store yesterday and it came with 2GB.

After having seen the asus and considered the weight of it, it seems a very nice little machine, but I am now very tempted by the acer aspire 1825ptz which offers a larger screen and avoids using an atom cpu.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/a...your-pleasure/

[mrkarl]

a couple shots....both alright size for reading

[mrkarl]

that acer does look mighty fine too, and it's probably a reasonable price too