Comparison of Tablet PC and E-reader

Salam. If you’ve following the technology trend regarding the tablet PC, then you must have heard about iPad. Yes, iPad is the most popular tablet PC in the market right now. But do you know that there are few other including E-book reader such as Kindle, Nook and Copia and Sony E-reader and the latest Samsung Galaxy Tab. Here’s the quick review of 7 products here.

iPad

iPad by Apple has been one of the most wanted gadget this year. The dimension is 242.8 x 189.7 x 13.4 mm and the screen resolution is 1024 x 768 pixel. It comes with three price tags. 16GB around RM1600++, 32GB around RM2000 and 64GB around RM2400. Price is according to Singapore Dollar. If you went to Lowyat, you can purchase iPad within RM2300-RM2800.
Visit Apple iPad website

Kindle

Kindle by Amazon, featuring ‘Graphite’, the third generation from its earlier version. It doesn’t have touch screen and it has keyboard. The screen resolution is 1200 x 824 pixel. It main purpose is for reading e-books. The dimension is 7.5″ x 4.8″ x 0.335″. The price is around RM1288++.
Visit Amazon Kindle Website.

Nook

Nook by Barnes and Noble is an e-book reader based on Android platform. The price range is between RM510 to RM676++. The size is 196 x 125 x 13 mm and the screen resolution is 600 x 800 pixels.
Visit Barnes & Noble Nook website.

Copia

It has the same function just like Kindle but it comes with a social reading feature. It means that you can read and share what you read with your friends. Copia has few Reader models and it is the smallest in among other reader in this entry. The picture above is the Tidal Touch 3G model with 600 x 800 pixels screen resolution and sized at 124 x 170 x 8.9 mm.
Visit Copia Website.

Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350SC

Sony has come up with e-reader product and this is the latest version with touch screen feature, this is probably after seeing the potential of touch technology on iPad. The size is 146.05 x 104.78 x 8.7 mm with 800 x 600 screen resolution. The price is about RM611++.
Visit Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350 SC website.

HP Slate

I’ve been waiting for this one as an alternative to iPad. It is scheduled end of 2010. It will run on Windows 7 and webOS. The screen resolution is 1024 x 600 pixels. HP Slate dimension is 23.4 cm height x 14.5 cm width and 1.4 cm thick.
Visit HP Slate PC on Wikipedia.

Samsung Galaxy Tab

This is the latest gadget in the tablet PC world from Samsung. It is a direct competitor of iPad with smaller size at 190.09 x 120.45 x 11.98mm with the screen resolution of 1024 x 600. It runs on Android platform. I’ll update about the price later. It needs to be cheaper than iPad if I want to consider buying this one.
Visit Samsung Galaxy Tab website.

Size Comparison

Click for larger view.
I’ve always wanted to see size comparison of these gadgets. Apparently, iPad is the biggest on. But I wonder why HP Slate and Samsung Galaxy Tab has identical design as iPad?

What kind of application that I want?

1. Flipboard – The best magazine style for sharing stuff

I have been imagining something like this. I’m reading the newspaper while having breakfast at home. Then I want to share interesting news with my friend through FB & Twitter. Well, Flipboard is the fastest way to do that on iPad.

2. Digital Quran with Translation & Elaboration

In near future, I’m thinking that I’ll be carrying e-reader to the mosque and I can easily read Quran with it. I know there’s a electronic Quran out there but I need a device that has more feature. The picture above is the screenshot of Quran Reader HD from Batoul Apps.

3. Doing sketches and design

As a designer, I’ve been dreaming of getting a tablet PC but WACOM Cyntiq is way too expensive. It just a matter of time when these touch technology will become more precise and people will no longer needs to buy Wacom devices. Watch the video of Autodesk SketchBook Pro for iPad.

Well, with more competition and tablet PC plus e-book reader in the market right now, I will have more option. It just a matter of time and I hope I can choose the best one by the end of this year. However some of these products are not available in Malaysia yet.

So what’s kind of reader or tablet PC do you like? Please leave your answer in the comment box. Thank you.