Some features and assumptions to consider when deciding among tablets and eReaders:
- you, the reader
- readers' needs are different -- "one size does not fit all; your mileage may vary..."
- evaluate hands-on if possible
- Checkbox Syndrome: Why We Spend Money on Things We Don?t Need (and How to Avoid It) 5/15/2012
- the eReader or tablet
- more than the sum of its specifications and reviews
- part of a "reading system", including you, books, stores, environment, ...
- there are always design (and environmental) tradeoffs: no 'perfect' information system/device: desktop, laptop, tablet, eReader, smartphone, media player, wristwatch, ... even paper (including eyeglasses, lamp, shelves, search, ...)
- battery life
- hours (tablet); days - weeks (eReader)
- iPad family aces battery tests while Android tablets lag 12/7/2012
- weight, portability, travel
- eReaders are lighter than tablets
- FCC urges FAA: Let passengers keep gadgets during takeoff 12/7/2012
- Do Our Gadgets Really Threaten Planes? The ban rests on anecdotes, not on hard evidence?because there isn't any; 9/7/2012
- The FAA is studying expanding device usage on flights but don?t worry, voice calls are off limits; 8/27/2012
- Wearable Gadgets Upset F.A.A. Curbs on Devices 6/17/2012
- The Mystery of the Flying Laptop (TSA screens laptops but not netbooks, tablets, e-readers, phones, ...); 4/6/2012
- Q. When an e-reader is loaded with thousands of books, does it gain any weight? (A. yes, on the order of an atogram, or 10-18 g.); 10/25/2011
- eReader: books only vs. tablet: enhanced books, apps, media
- storage capacity for books, documents -- and apps, video, audio?
- Finding Your Book Interrupted ... By the Tablet You Read It On (distractions: e-mail, Facebook, videos, ...); 3/5/2012
- Reading Books on a Tablet Is Dumb (single device vs. distraction); 3/5/2012
- display
- display area: phone (4-5"); eReader (5-6"); tablets (7-10")
- contrast, brightness (indoor vs. outdoor use); optional light; fonts
- resolution (pixels; ppi:pixels per in.)
- iPad2: 1024x768 @ 132 ppi
- Kindle Fire: 1024x600 @169 ppi
- Kindle Fire HD: 1920x1200 @ 254 ppi
- 'new' iPad: 2048x1536 @ 264 ppi ('Retina display')
- black&white (eInk) vs. color (LCD)
- Light Reading: How the Kindle Paperwhite Works 12/26/2012
- The New Old Age: The Gift of Reading back-lit screens and adjustable font sizes may lead to faster reading by older adults; 12/12/2012
- E-readers grapple with a future on the shelf e-reader (eInk) has become a transitional technology; 10/28/2012
- LCD vs. E Ink: Which is better for e-reading? 5/31/2011
- How Electronic Ink Works
- navigation
- keyboard and/or buttons vs. touch (and gestures)
- page turning, scrolling, Table of Contents (TOC), library, store
- ease of search, definitions, annotation, bookmarks
- Apple Granted Patent for Their Page Turn Animation 11/15/2012
- networking
- desktop(USB), WiFi, 3G-4G (cellular); bookstore-only or web?
- online stores: book -- and app -- availability; samples; lending
- file formats: open (ePub) or proprietary; Mobi; PDF; other?
- how many apps available? from vendor only? security, e.g., screened for malware?
- Android's Tablet Troubles 10/14/2012
- How Compatible Are Rival E-Readers? 5/10/2012
- Digital ecosystems: an in-depth comparison Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Sony: movies&music, reading, gaming; mobile, desktop, shopping, social, integration; 4/18/2012
- Informal e-reader library comparison (book and periodical availability: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad); 10/28/2011
- content: quality, adware (e.g., E-book 'missing content'? Amazon must do better); 9/30/2011
- reliability, support; software upgrades
- it's generally a good idea to wait a little while after a new model is first available to learn about any hardware omissions or issues, or software problems that can (or can't) be patched
- OS and app upgrades may be non-existent / infrequent, esp. for generic devices
- Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support 10/26/2011
- additional unsupported features may be accessed by "hacking", "jailbreaking" or "rooting" your iOS or Android device
- however, this requires technical skills, increases vulnerability to malware, and may void your warranty -- not recommended, and not covered here
- DRM (digital rights management, i.e., copy protection)
- usually specific to publisher, author and/or book: text-to-speech?
loan? print? email? copy/paste? - users "DRMed" if E-books do (incompatible across platforms);
authors "DRMed" if E-books don't (more difficult to create revenue) - Read E-Books On Multiple Devices 3/8/2012
- iBook?s DRM Defenses Are Now Only for Show (Requiem); 2/25/2012
- Our relationship with e-books: It?s too complicated (Balkanization, ebook hell; sharing notes/passages: OpenMargin, Readmill, Findings; sharing books, unavail features, DRM); 11/1/2011
- Text To Speech (TTS)
- Text to speech on the iPad Tutorial (with iBooks, etc.); 4/8/2010
- Random House shuts down Kindle text-to-speech for their titles 5/15/2009
- Disability groups demand full return of Kindle's text-to-speech 3/20/2009
- Kindle Read-to-Me
- Kobo, Nook: TTS not currently supported?
- media: pictures, animation, video, audio (music, narration), esp. children's books
- So Now What Will iPad Rivals Say in Their Commercials? (Adobe drops support for mobile Flash); 11/9/2011
- Booktrack adds sound effects and music soundtracks to eBooks 9/7/2011
- Vook digital book with video, ...
- accessories, other hardware features
- speed, camera, GPS, storage cards, ...
- Is the iPad making men effeminate? ...sales of manbags are soaring, because men need somewhere to put their iPads. At the same time, women's bags are getting smaller?; 10/14/2012
- Furniture Meets the Digital Age (adapting to E-readers and tablets; 3/29/2012)
- Dressing Up an E-Reader for Style and Comfort (lights; screen management; audio enhancement; stands); 2/16/2012
- Tablets: What Amazon and Apple know that all the CES tablet peddlers are still missing (services rather than features); 1/10/2012
- total cost
- device, books, advertising 'tax', subscription/carrier lock-in, accessories, ...
- save money on older models / competitors' products discounted when new models are introduced
- save money on refurbished models (w/ original warranty)
- Kindle Fire HD: Amazon's anti-Apple profit engine Bezos: "We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices"; 9/6/2012
- Why Not Carry Different E-Book Readers? 9/5/2012
- "lifetime value" 10/26/2011; (razor and blades business model)