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-   -   A device for every situation (https://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=28204)

RogerS 2009-04-10 22:43
A device for every situation
 
Quote:
For the last ten days I've been putting an Amazon Kindle 2 through its paces, wondering how desirable a dedicated e-reader is.

The resolution of the Nokia Internet Tablet screen is 225 pixels-per-inch; on the Kindle 2, it's 167 ppi. In a one-inch square, that means there are nearly twice as many pixels on the full-color NIT screen; too, video plays marvelously there. "White" on the 16-level-gray-scale K2 screen is, well, light gray; animation is not possible; and video doesn't even enter the realm of speculation.

Yet the K2's 6-inch-diagonal screen encompasses wonderfully more text than pocket-sized devices. And that is no small thing. In these electronic times I have re-subscribed to the print edition of The New York Times, added magazine subscriptions and now carry NYPL and Montclair library cards in my wallet; still, 90 percent of my reading is done on-screen. The pencil-thin K2 capitalizes on our need for reading to be mobile beyond any previous device.

As for portability, the K2 doesn't just talk the talk. Native-born to the walkaround web, its purchase enables you to browse all the non-moving-pixel parts of the internet from anywhere within reach of Sprint's 3G wireless network, for no cost whatsoever. And buy books at any hour, with immediate access.

In so many ways inferior to an Internet Tablet, but not without charm. However, that's not a Kindle 2 pictured below, but a prototype of the so-called CrunchPad, Michael Arrington's quest for a $200 "Macbook Air-thin touch-screen machine that runs Firefox and possibly Skype on top of a Linux kernel."

http://www.internettablettalk.com/wp...htablet-1b.jpg

The more you learn about the CrunchPad, the more it justifies the same label put on the K2, "monotasking hardware." It is (or will be) a just-browsing-please tablet.

Good Morning Silicon Valley pointed me to a well-put response at CloudAve by Zoli Erdos, who wrote:

Quote:
It's not a full-fledged computer, and it should not be. It's 2009 and we no longer have just one do-it-all computer.

A tablet for lazy surfing, a netbook for travel, an iPhone for when we don't even want to carry that much, a full laptop for everyday work, and even a full desktop as the multimedia workhorse: at these price levels we may very well have 5-6 or purpose-designed computers, situational devices. Pick up one, continue on the other as you move around — the switch should be seamless ...
Well, I'd sure like a 12-inch screen for surfing ... and something that fits in my pocket ... and that I can read on while I'm falling asleep ... or do some work on ... or watch a movie on ... Yes, maybe 5 or 6 different devices is what I want.
Read the full article.

mullf 2009-04-10 22:49
Re: A device for every situation
 
And when you are done using it, you just fold it up and put it in your pocket!

RogerS 2009-04-10 23:06
Re: A device for every situation
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mullf (Post 278902)
And when you are done using it, you just fold it up and put it in your pocket!
Yeah, one of those too!

JoeF 2009-04-11 01:20
Re: A device for every situation
 
The Kindle is a USA only device. Big limitation.

geneven 2009-04-11 01:42
Re: A device for every situation
 
Not if you live in the US. I wouldn't have liked it when I was living in Russia.

And, by the way, the Kindle works fine in other countries -- you just can't do the instant download trick there.

Doesn't most technology become available first in one or a few countries and then spread to others? Can someone name a technology that started with worldwide availablity? Even the www was not available everywhere at once.

In other words, the Kindle could spread, or something like it will.

I like the "a device for every situation" formulation. It reminds me of one of the thought-provoking threads that appeared on this site when I started here, a few years back. It was titled, "how many radios do you have?"

chlettn 2009-04-11 01:57
Re: A device for every situation
 
I think the single-purpose approach works well for the Kindle, because nobody wants any distractions while being immersed into a good book.

But for a web-tablet, this Crunchpad would have to be dirt-cheap to stand a chance against netbooks (especially all those upcoming convertible ones). If I'm surfing, I want some sort of MP3 player, I want some sort of Twitter app, I want to be able to some simple image manipulation and I most certainly want some sort of word processing to collect results of whatever research I'm doing on the web. I don't think a completely neutered device (like the Crunchpad seems to be) is going to cut it for many people.

Also, it seems like an ergonomic mess - too big to use a thumb keyboard, no kickstand to bring it to a convenient angle while typing when it's lying on a table...

fast1 2009-04-11 07:00
Re: A device for every situation
 
kindle is awesome but yea i agree awesome only for the people in US. but what an invention!

tso 2009-04-11 10:27
Re: A device for every situation
 
i question the focus on pixel-pr-inch as there is a point of diminishing return, and i keep bumping into that on my N800 all the time (specifically to do with the terminal, and trying to show as much info as possible in htop or similar).

allnameswereout 2009-04-11 23:04
Re: A device for every situation
 
Kindle doesn't even support colours. Hmm! Well, Amazon is facing competition. That is for sure.

BeBook, for example.

More interesting is that screen you fold up like a paper. Thin, yet portable. Imagine being able to use that as output on your NIT or mobile device (smartphone, DAP, ...)

tso 2009-04-11 23:15
Re: A device for every situation
 
http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/04/0...l-is-a-gadget/

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives...k_concept.html

geneven 2009-04-13 00:03
Re: A device for every situation
 
I'd like to debunk one myth pushed by Amazon. It DOES need color. Not only does black and white not work adequately for color photographs, many many textbooks use color diagrams and use color in other ways.

If you disagree, I invite you to read the triumphant hype I guarantee Amazon will use when they release a color Kindle. It will happen.

johnkzin 2009-04-13 20:50
Re: A device for every situation
 
I don't mind devices that do one task at a time (which is what "monotasking" means to me). But I do mind devices that are only able to run one application at all (or a very narrow, and static, range of applications). That's what turns me off about the crunchpad. "browsing only" isn't enough for me... and adding the possibility of skype isn't enough of a fix.

Mainly browsing? sure. Only enough screen/CPU to do have one running task at a time? sure. No Pidgin/IM client? not good enough. No ssh/VNC client? not good enough. No PDF viewing? not good enough. Not even a light Office document viewing app? not good enough. Not being designed to install more apps as people come up with novel/useful/killer ones? not acceptable.

(and, obviously, it would need some form of virtual keyboard for some of those)

The best thing I can think of to do with the crunchpad is: expand its RAM and storage as much as possible, and then install Mer-x86 on it.

tso 2009-04-13 22:01
Re: A device for every situation
 
id like to see the full specs on that pad before i pass final judgement, but so far its borderline meh except for packed with a stand, keyboard and mouse...

except that makes it a very odd netbook...


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