Paragon News and Views
Netbooks, E-Readers and Tablets, Oh My!
March 15th, 2010 by Ken AgnetaThe Buzz these days is all around inexpensive (I guess $499 is inexpensive?) personal devices for surfing the web and reading your books and news. There are Slates and Tablets turning up everywhere and when Apple gets into the fray you know there is money to be made out there. You may even say that everyone is just trying to catch up to Amazon given the Kindle was one of the most popular gifts last holiday season. The value of these devices is questionable to business, but for the modern professional there is defiantly a lot to be had. Let’s take a look at these devices and you decide for yourself if you want to shell out another $500 of your hard earned cash on your third personal, portable device.
Netbooks and Netvertables
Netbooks sit somewhere in-between a laptop and a cell phone. You can get them real cheap from a cell provider like the Samsung Go from AT&T (No, I don’t get paid. Maybe I should, but I don’t) for $199.00! That’s just under a third of the retail cost for an ultra portable laptop that is always connected to the net. I think for some this will replace the need for a laptop all together. You are already used to texting on your tiny little cell phone pad, using a device like this to take notes and use your SAAS based applications like Salesforce.com and Google Apps will be a breeze in comparison. All these years the laptops have been getting smaller and smaller, I think we have finally found the ultimate evolution. The performance on these devices can be a little sluggish for some tastes but the portability, price and convenience make up for it. They come with Bluetooth, so you could even install Skype and use it as your cell phone very very cheaply. Where these devices get me is in the “Netvertable” category. These are essentially mini Tablet PCs like the Lenovo S10-3, you can have a detailed look at one here on Engadget. I am very interested in pen computing. Some of my clients prefer me not to be clacking away at a keyboard in a meeting with them. Plus I recently saw a study on Tablet PCs in schools that showed that a laptop monitor acts as a barrier to collaboration and that students were more productive in teams using tablets then using standard laptops. This little bad boy would do the trick for me. And if that is too small for you there is always the standard 14 inch Tablet PCs, but I have always found those to be a bit pricey. And just so you know both Amazon and Barns and Noble have free downloadable E-reader applications for PCs, Macs and Handhelds and I am sure Apple’s isn’t far off . Having a Netbook or Netvertable would eliminate your need for a Nook or Kindle.
Slates, Tablets and E-Readers
There was a whole lot of buzz about Apples “Tablet” on the internet months, maybe even a year, before it was released. And then in the week before the launch I must have seen at least a hundred articles and blog posts on the thing. For me, it’s kind of a dud. It is more then an e-reader, less then a Laptop and expensive. Now, I am a resent convert from an Apple hating maniac. The I-Phone and the latest OS X versions have really made me rethink my whole stance on Apple and Mac’s all together. That being said, they did not impress me here, I’ll wait for Dell’s Android powered Streak. As for e-readers I am sure they have their place for folks out there, but I just see them eventually gathering dust once the novelty wears thin and your back to whatever other device, your laptop or cell phone, that you normally use.
In the End, It’s a Matter of Taste
When all is said and done, almost anyone could get a lot out of any these devices. But really, do you need a third device? Do you need an E-reader a Cell Phone and a Tablet? I don’t think so. In fact I think a good Tablet or Slate PC could take the place of all three! Wouldn’t that be nice? Just one device to lug around instead of two or three? Next we won’t even need a Tablet or Cell phone, we’ll just have little wireless communication devices embedded in our heads. But I’ve said too much already.