‘Ten reasons why tablets will succeed’: Multiuse tabs to be a major way to read e-books?
The Tablet PC idea—that’s an HP Compaq incarnation to the left—was a big flop for Bill Gates and Microsoft.
But could better displays, more powerful CPUs, smaller sizes and other wrinkles change that? Microsoft, Apple and CrunchPad are said to have some new tricks up their sleeves—and over at PC Magazine, Lance Uboff is upbeat.
If tablets take off—both pure tabs and convertible laptops—will that steal lots of sales from the E Ink readers in the Kindle vein? Are the pickings big enough for everyone? 
Detail: The Uboff piece would have benefited from mention of PixelQI display technology. It lets you choose between a glowing color screen or a low-power mode with E Ink-type qualities. Refresh rates are far higher than current E Ink’s, making full-motion video possible.
Related: E-book-friendly tablet coming from Microsoft? Pure speculation,
Second image: That’s a Microsoft Courier tablet prototype.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
One reason multi-use tablets may not succeed, especially as eBook readers.
Battery Life
Pixel Qi display technology may help but if you are putting in a more powerful processor, and a bigger display, and wireless… you are draining the battery.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
All that’s required is manufacturers supply with a spare battery and charger.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I expect battery life to improve significantly over the next few years, especially with the push to provide better batteries for vehicle and renewable (solar, wind, tidal, etc) energy storage. New technologies are already being developed. So hopefully battery limitations won’t be too limiting much longer.