@Lord Nemesis
I hear you bro. I understand why the iPad doesn't appeal to you. In fact, if you read another one of my posts above and in some e-book reader threads in the past, you'll realize that I have been following the e-book reader and tablet scene for a long time. Even I wish the ADAM would come out and be available to us in all its shining (and matte) glory. But I really wanted a device that did all that I wanted it to do and currently only the iPad fits the bill there.
I have said it before and I stand by it even now, reading on the iPad is a breeze for me. When I have stared at laptop and monitor screens at full brightness for hours and hours, then reading on the iPad LCD with adjustable brightness is really soothing. I know e-ink is still better but I wanted more out of my second device.
I looked at all the tablets/MIDs/PMPs in the US market as well as read about the ones available in the Chinese market. None of them turned out to be the complete package. Some have old Android builds and don't have the hardware for future updates, others have rickety hardware to begin with, while others still have Windows based OS (yuck!). I know you work with iPads and mobile OSs and probably full OSs on tablet computers too, but tell me one device where Windows OS (CE or 7) has worked well (minimum screen size 6"). They have all had their problems and faded away into obscurity. Even I would like a good strong Android based tablet (looks towards ADAM again), but there is none in the market today. That is where iPad stands out. It is good at what it does. I know it doesn't have flash on it, but I have yet to encounter a website that has given me trouble, at least not the ones I frequent. Web surfing is nice, reading is cool, even better is reading comics and graphic novels, and some of the games are plain brilliant! Have you seen the iPad play a 720p video that has been encoded properly? It is amazing. If I want to play Halo or God of War I'll go to my consoles, iPad is a portable device and it does that better than anything else.
Apple makes its profit based on its products. The products invariably do well. Don't get me wrong, I hate Macs and every accessory by Apple. I only like iOS devices by Apple.
Lastly, based on your requirements you should just wait for a super duper powerful tablet PC to come into the market someday. Maybe the ADAM will actually live up to the hype and beat the living lights out of the iPad (I seriously hope so, and I will get one), or maybe Microsoft will actually come up with the Courier. Who knows? For the moment the winner of the market is the iPad and thats what I wanted.
Do you mind telling me about how you find the iPad restrictive? What is it that you want to do with a tablet/netbook/e-book reader that the iPad can't do? Please don't say flash, because HTML5 is here and thousands of youtube videos are already playable natively in Mobile Safari.
--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
Good reads for all you people who are confused about what to get.
You don't need a tablet or e-Reader but you're gonna want one
and
Tablets, Tablets, Tablets: PhoneDog's Buying Guide
I hear you bro. I understand why the iPad doesn't appeal to you. In fact, if you read another one of my posts above and in some e-book reader threads in the past, you'll realize that I have been following the e-book reader and tablet scene for a long time. Even I wish the ADAM would come out and be available to us in all its shining (and matte) glory. But I really wanted a device that did all that I wanted it to do and currently only the iPad fits the bill there.
I have said it before and I stand by it even now, reading on the iPad is a breeze for me. When I have stared at laptop and monitor screens at full brightness for hours and hours, then reading on the iPad LCD with adjustable brightness is really soothing. I know e-ink is still better but I wanted more out of my second device.
I looked at all the tablets/MIDs/PMPs in the US market as well as read about the ones available in the Chinese market. None of them turned out to be the complete package. Some have old Android builds and don't have the hardware for future updates, others have rickety hardware to begin with, while others still have Windows based OS (yuck!). I know you work with iPads and mobile OSs and probably full OSs on tablet computers too, but tell me one device where Windows OS (CE or 7) has worked well (minimum screen size 6"). They have all had their problems and faded away into obscurity. Even I would like a good strong Android based tablet (looks towards ADAM again), but there is none in the market today. That is where iPad stands out. It is good at what it does. I know it doesn't have flash on it, but I have yet to encounter a website that has given me trouble, at least not the ones I frequent. Web surfing is nice, reading is cool, even better is reading comics and graphic novels, and some of the games are plain brilliant! Have you seen the iPad play a 720p video that has been encoded properly? It is amazing. If I want to play Halo or God of War I'll go to my consoles, iPad is a portable device and it does that better than anything else.
Apple makes its profit based on its products. The products invariably do well. Don't get me wrong, I hate Macs and every accessory by Apple. I only like iOS devices by Apple.
Lastly, based on your requirements you should just wait for a super duper powerful tablet PC to come into the market someday. Maybe the ADAM will actually live up to the hype and beat the living lights out of the iPad (I seriously hope so, and I will get one), or maybe Microsoft will actually come up with the Courier. Who knows? For the moment the winner of the market is the iPad and thats what I wanted.
Do you mind telling me about how you find the iPad restrictive? What is it that you want to do with a tablet/netbook/e-book reader that the iPad can't do? Please don't say flash, because HTML5 is here and thousands of youtube videos are already playable natively in Mobile Safari.
--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
Good reads for all you people who are confused about what to get.
You don't need a tablet or e-Reader but you're gonna want one
and
Tablets, Tablets, Tablets: PhoneDog's Buying Guide
.... Can any one of Kindle owner here convert a pdf to mobi and tell me the experience?????? I mean is it better than viewing pdf directly on kindle or not?