iPad alternative

[emorphien]

Anything with a backlit screen is going to fall short. Power consumption will be MUCH higher which will lead to poor battery life , eye strain will be an issue from the backlight, and readability in direct sunlight will also be an issue.

The PixelQi screen functions in two modes. One with a backlight and another without, relying on reflected light like the e-ink displays. The fundamental technology behind it is different from what I recall, but I don't remember the details.

 

[krzywica]

The PixelQi screen functions in two modes. One with a backlight and another without, relying on reflected light like the e-ink displays. The fundamental technology behind it is different from what I recall, but I don't remember the details.

Very nice! I wasn't aware of this! Thanks for the info.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

PixelQi aren't only dual mode screen. There's also Qualcomm Mirasol. Not sure why I haven't need much of it in production but specs look extremely impressive...

http://www.mirasoldisplays.com/how-it-works

 

[emorphien]

I think there might be a couple things demonstrating Mirasol displays but both that and PixelQi still have yet to take off. It's a shame but I think there could be a big market for devices with these types of displays. I know I'm interested!

 

[darien87]

Hey guys,

Sorry, but i'm not a "techie" so most of what you are saying here just goes right over my head. But recently I've been thinking about getting an eReader. At first I was looking at the Kindle, but then I saw the Nook with color. But $250 is pretty steep for something I'm just going to use to read books. So I thought if I'm going to spend that much money, why not get something with more functionality.

What is a cheap iPad alternative for someone like me that doesn't need a powerful computer or anything? I basically just want to be able to read books, surf the internet and maybe listen to music and stuff.

Thanks,
Darien

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Hey guys,

Sorry, but i'm not a "techie" so most of what you are saying here just goes right over my head. But recently I've been thinking about getting an eReader. At first I was looking at the Kindle, but then I saw the Nook with color. But $250 is pretty steep for something I'm just going to use to read books. So I thought if I'm going to spend that much money, why not get something with more functionality.

What is a cheap iPad alternative for someone like me that doesn't need a powerful computer or anything? I basically just want to be able to read books, surf the internet and maybe listen to music and stuff.

Thanks,
Darien

Imo Nook Color is a bad eReader, but potentially great 7" Android Tablet.
Bad due to lack of eInk screen -Nook Color has regular IPS screen - bad in direct sunlight and has a poor battery.
Potentially great since have to root it first, but as I heard on other forums is pretty easy to do. http://nookdevs.com/NookColor_Rooting
After rooting you can enable Google Market. Exchange email, Sideload app etc....

I'm still waiting for cheap Android eReader with dual mode screen like PixelQi or Mirasol

 

[darien87]

Imo Nook Color is a bad eReader, but potentially great 7" Android Tablet.
Bad due to lack of eInk screen -Nook Color has regular IPS screen - bad in direct sunlight and has a poor battery.
Potentially great since have to root it first, but as I heard on other forums is pretty easy to do. http://nookdevs.com/NookColor_Rooting
After rooting you can enable Google Market. Exchange email, Sideload app etc....

I'm still waiting for cheap Android eReader with dual mode screen like PixelQi or Mirasol

Thanks for the info, but even some of that went over my head. I was looking at this Pan Digital eReader at Best Buy. This one seems promising and is priced right at $129.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pandigital+-+Novel+Digital+Book+-+Black/1409299.p?skuId=1409299&id=1218255942091

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Thanks for the info, but even some of that went over my head. I was looking at this Pan Digital eReader at Best Buy. This one seems promising and is priced right at $129.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pandigital+-+Novel+Digital+Book+-+Black/1409299.p?skuId=1409299&id=1218255942091

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pandigital+-+Novel+Digital+Book+-+Black/1409299.p?skuId=1409299&id=1218255942091#tabbed-customerreviews
Far from stellar reviews

Let me put it simply for you: ANY Color eEreader today =
1) Very hard to see or read anything of it's screen outside when sun is out
2) It's Battery life is upto 8 hours (wifi off) , much less with Wifi On
vs Kindle battery life is about 3 WEEKS or more depends on use

Sorry, I can't put it simpler than that.

If you still want color ereader/internet browser/mp3 player - get Nook Color
(then Maybe spend some time reading guide on urls I posted above to add even more value to nook)

 

[digicidal]

...Very hard to see or read anything of it's screen outside when sun is out

You're far too qualified in that statement... at least in my opinion - "very hard to see or read anything" is all of that you needed.

It's not that I wouldn't love to have a nice color iPad like device - or hell, for that matter an iPad itself. But I think many of the people considering it are not actually thinking about the issues that backlit LCDs have with reading materials. It's similar to reading an actual book (remember those) outside on a very sunny day. If you're like me, even that is an uncomfortable amount of glare - and paper is much less reflective than even matte LCDs let alone glossy ones like the iPad.

That's one thing that the B&W eInk or SiPix readers have way better... you can actually read them for hours without getting significant eye-strain. It's easy enough to see if it's a problem for you - just load up your favorite ebook or PDF manual that's over 20 pages long and read it on your monitor.

I find that to be just fine (monitor) as long as I'm using a 'referrence' and just skimming until I find 5-6 paragraphs I need to read in detail. But reading a novel on it will give me a headache in less than an hour most of the time. Must be something about the way the eyes focus differently... because I'm on the computer 10hrs/day professionally - never have a problem. Assumedly it's because my eyes are moving all over the place and changing focus in reaction to different apps/tasks/sizes etc.. when it's a page of 10pt text that goes on and on - I'm reaching for the Ibuprofen in no time.

 

[digicidal]

PixelQi aren't only dual mode screen. There's also Qualcomm Mirasol. Not sure why I haven't need much of it in production but specs look extremely impressive...

http://www.mirasoldisplays.com/how-it-works

Excuse me while I go change pants...

That's very nice - I sure hope there's something available soon. It's hard to tell in their video (and I realize that they're showing prototype devices that may not even actually be functional IRL) but it doesn't seem to be operating fast enough to support full video - not that it's not fast enough to be tolerable in that are - just don't see wanting to watch anything longer than a 2 minute product demonstration.

EDIT: I see it says "tens of microseconds" - so that should be more than fast enough - however, I'd really want to see it in person... the speed at which an LCD cell can change is pretty fast too - however, it's the controller that might be the issue more than the actual physical speed at which the films converge in the Mirasol that would be at issue I would think.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Excuse me while I go change pants...

That's very nice - I sure hope there's something available soon. It's hard to tell in their video (and I realize that they're showing prototype devices that may not even actually be functional IRL) but it doesn't seem to be operating fast enough to support full video - not that it's not fast enough to be tolerable in that are - just don't see wanting to watch anything longer than a 2 minute product demonstration.

EDIT: I see it says "tens of microseconds" - so that should be more than fast enough - however, I'd really want to see it in person... the speed at which an LCD cell can change is pretty fast too - however, it's the controller that might be the issue more than the actual physical speed at which the films converge in the Mirasol that would be at issue I would think.

About year and half ago I wrote small writeup about it, since then I guess not much changed since then
http://www.boredsysadmin.com/2008/05/qualcomm-mirasol-revolution-in-display.html
I guess the problem is making large arrays could get very expensive very quickly....

 

[darien87]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pandigital+-+Novel+Digital+Book+-+Black/1409299.p?skuId=1409299&id=1218255942091#tabbed-customerreviews
Far from stellar reviews

Let me put it simply for you: ANY Color eEreader today =
1) Very hard to see or read anything of it's screen outside when sun is out
2) It's Battery life is upto 8 hours (wifi off) , much less with Wifi On
vs Kindle battery life is about 3 WEEKS or more depends on use

Sorry, I can't put it simpler than that.

If you still want color ereader/internet browser/mp3 player - get Nook Color
(then Maybe spend some time reading guide on urls I posted above to add even more value to nook)

Thanks for the info. I ended up buying the Pandigital Novel last weekend. Sorry, but I just couldn't get myself to spend $250 for the Nook. I read for about 1/2 hour at Taco Bell on Sunday and it worked pretty well. There was a lot of light in the restaurant but I was still able to read easily.

The touch screen isn't the best, you sometimes have to swipe a couple of times to get it to change pages, but so far I'm liking it. Sure it's not an iPad and the Nook Color has a better, more responsive screen, but for $129, I can't complain. I'm still not sure if I'm sold on the eReader thing, but the Novel seems to do what I want it to do at a good price.

I really like the screen on the Kindle, but no way do I want to surf the web in black and white. I'll give the Novel a few more days before I make my final decision. If I don't like it, I can always return it. The cool thing is that I noticed that Pandigital is right here in Dublin, CA and I like the idea of supporting a local company.



Oh yeah, the Novel also has a "Night Read" mode where the background turns black and the text is white. I've read both ways and I'm not sure which way I like better. Do you know which way uses less power? Also, the manual says to turn off Wi-Fi if you're not using it to save batter life. Why is that?

 

[JohnA]

Thanks for the info. I ended up buying the Pandigital Novel last weekend. Sorry, but I just couldn't get myself to spend $250 for the Nook. I read for about 1/2 hour at Taco Bell on Sunday and it worked pretty well. There was a lot of light in the restaurant but I was still able to read easily.

FYI you can hack it very easy and run a true Android OS on it, and there are ways to get to the android app store too.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Mini Review:

My manager got yesterday Nook Color. I rooted it with instructions from nook-devs site - it was pretty easy and I already had required micro-sd card handy
It did required [STRIKE]some[STRIKE] a lot of fiddling to get it work as regular android tablet, but results nothing short of amazing!
We were able to do: Push Gmail and Exchange Email, sync google contacts and calendar. Play Angry Birds - looked great btw, Play Youtube full screen w/o any lags, With RockPlayer - full screen avi movies playback and much more.
The lack of dedicated android keys is a bit annoying, but not too bad - there is a dedicated software able to help with this issue.

All in all for $250 vs Galaxy Tab - $500 - I know which tablet I'd take

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

My manager got yesterday Nook Color. I rooted it with instructions from nook-devs site - it was pretty easy and I already had required micro-sd card handy
It did required [STRIKE]some[STRIKE] a lot of fiddling to get it work as regular android tablet, but results nothing short of amazing!
We were able to do: Push Gmail and Exchange Email, sync google contacts and calendar. Play Angry Birds - looked great btw, Play Youtube full screen w/o any lags, With RockPlayer - full screen avi movies playback and much more.
The lack of dedicated android keys is a bit annoying, but not too bad - there is a dedicated software able to help with this issue.

All in all for $250 vs Galaxy Tab - $500 - I know which tablet I'd take

Mini Review Part 2:
Multi-touch is still lacking in lots of apps as well as copy & paste.
Built-in exchange app doesn't sync contacts & Calendar, but you got get Touchdown for that.
Some hacks required to disable default on cell radio service, which does consume tons of battery.
I wish someone will make good ROM for Nook Color since hardware is very promising, unfortunately only one dedicated button makes things a bit "un-anderoidy"....

ViewSonic has similar tablet with dual core Tegra CPU for $380... Stock ROM seems to suffer from poor performance, however there are several alternative ROMs avaiable for it. It also more hunkier than Nook - something to consider if you still intend to use it for reading books

Said that - $250 is still heck of deal for that, but I'm afraid it's still not ready for none-technical person.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Speaking of tables I found this little jewel:

This is what happens when you visit this site from an iOS device. Toshiba's little jab at Apple's expense

 

[3db]

I'm interested in RIM"s playpad which is supposedly much faster in operation than the iPad. It wil be an interestingto see if Apple can maintain market lead. The biggest single smart phone comes from Nokia, not Apple.

 

[its_bacon12]

No mention of the Moto Xoom?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

No mention of the Moto Xoom?

Somewhere on the 1st page of this thread I did say

Android for tablets isn't really ready for prime-time at least not till Honey Comb.

Moto Xoom is Android 3.0 aka HoneyComb. I seen previews from CES but it's still to early from production and a bit hard to judge what benefits will have over Froyo except it might have questionable pricing strategy:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/217509/motorola_xoom_tablets_price_will_shoot_it_in_the_foot.html

For me - I'll be on wall at-least till I could get tablet with battery life of 20-30 Hours and usable screen under sunlight....

 

[digicidal]

That Toshiba tablet looks nice, but I noticed some glaring omissions from the demo site - namely battery life and built-in storage capacity. Maybe I'm just a stickler for those things - but when they weren't prominently displayed (in fact I couldn't find them anywhere on the site at all) my "conspiracy theorist" brain starts going full tilt.

Maybe it just wasn't finalized, maybe they aren't finished testing - or maybe both really suck - like 8GB and 3hrs or something along those lines.