EbookMarketWatch

We've seen a dozen iPad cases with keyboards now, but Crux has gone the extra step by incorporating a battery in the shell for an extra 7.5 hours, plus a touchpad. Is that worth $250? No. [Crux via UberGizmo]

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by brizzle born and bred

Netbook as E-Reader ? A Comfortable Compromise

The technology behind e-books has advanced considerably in recent years – just go pick up a Kindle or Nook at Best Buy and check one out – and the interface is pretty much intuitive. The only remaining problem is the price. E-books themselves remain expensive only so long as the old publishing houses retain their preconceived notion about how much a book should cost.

The one remaining hurdle to catching an early ride on the e-book bandwagon in the immediate future (read – your next four years of college), then, is the hefty price tag of the e-readers themselves. Kindles and Nooks and Sony Readers are priced reasonably, but they are pretty much one-blade jackknives: they give you text to read, and that’s about it. It’s a little difficult to justify that kind of purchase.

That’s where your shiny new Netbook comes in. You probably already bought one for studying, but if you didn’t, you can get really nice members of the species for under 400 bucks. Yes, this is actually more expensive than almost any given e-reader, and it isn’t a perfect platform for reading (the screen won’t display the pages with the same ergonomic benefit of a dedicated e-reader), but it has advantages as well. Netbooks can do all the things you would normally do on a computer and provide the benefits of e-books all in one package. In the end, you are going to completely avoid the upfront cost of the e-reader, and with a good wireless connection on your netbook, you’ll be able to buff out the dent in your wallet caused by the e-books you buy, too.

Once you have your netbook ready, it’s time to download the (free) software that will make the magic happen. Generally-speaking, the more of these you find the space for on your hard drive, the better your selection of books is going to be, but the most important will probably be Nook, Kindle, Sony, Adobe Digital Editions, Microsoft Reader, and Calibre. These devices will help you read your e-books the same as you would on an e-reader, minus the interface. They will also help you find plenty of content, free and otherwise, but some additional sources for your searching really flesh out the offerings: this website will get you well under way in that department.

Do what you can to make the most of your netbook’s battery life. One of these power-saver options, reducing the brightness onyour screen, also helps to reduce glare and make longer periods of reading easy on the eyes in a well-lit dorm room (and if you want to cuddle up with your book at night, this can be changed back again – unlike on an e-reader). Although counter-intuitive, adjusting your netbook’s power settings so that closing it doesn’t turn the machine off also helps avoid energy wasted while you wait for your netbook to boot up. As another added bonus, this helps the device seem more like a book: close it and pick up where you left off later on. If you do all this and the battery life of your netbook still dismays you, solar power is an option. The price isn’t for the faint of heart, but then someone who needs that kind of battery life probably already goes places the faint-hearted don’t venture.

It only remains to rotate the computer display 90 degrees so that you can hold your netbook horizontally – the joint assumes the position of a book spine. You can now read entire pages on your small screen, use the space bar to serve as your page-flipper, and hold the device comfortably in your lap. The end result of this tweaking is a tool superior to the e-readers out on the market in terms of flexibility, utility, and overall cost, and which doesn’t lag far behind in areas like battery life, ease-of-use, and portability.

While the future of e-books is still uncertain, there is no reason you can’t take advantage of what’s available now without making a risky investment in a device that may or may not prove useful.

The iPad is a touch screen tablet computing device. But touchscreens are now also available on netbooks (for example the Asus Eee-PC netbooks). The iPad touch screen experience and sensitivity are far more superior than any tablet …

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There has been continued speculation about whether the iPad would be impacting the sale of netbooks, and it’s beginning to look that way. Even Microsoft has admitted the iPad is taking sales away from Windows-powered netbooks. …

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by Stacy Lynn Baum

Question by Vonny S: I already have a laptop but I want more portability. What should I buy next, “Netbook” or “Ipad”?
I’m basically looking for something easier to carry around since the laptop that I purchased this past summer is a 15inch Lenovo. The primary use of my new purchase would be surfing the web & downloading books.
Now I seem to be stuck between the “iPad” and “Netbook” choices.
Which one would be best? Thanks in advance.

Best answer:

Answer by Indian_reader
You can go only for Netbook (Mini)

Its a great choice of today net users

Give your answer to this question below!

This is definitely the slickest iPad case-cum-keyboard we’ve seen so far, and one of the most flexible, too. It closes up in “carry mode” for full protection, or can be used in “laptop mode,” or bent back for watching movies.

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Hello, trend. The Crux 360 is the third such device that we’ve seen in the past two months, and if we had to guess, we’d.

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HP Slate: The $800 business netbook without a keyboard
HP has at last revealed its long-awaited Slate, an 8.9-inch tablet with capacitive multi-touch and running Windows 7.

Read more on CNN

Staying connected doesn’t mean weighing yourself down. So we designed the Freestyle for your netbook and eReader needs. The fuzzy, felt lined laptop sleeve is designed to protect your 10″ netbook, but it will protect your Kindle, Nook, or iPad too. The adjustable cam buckle enables you to strap on the Freestyle with ease and the front organizer and key fob will keep you sane. Safety and organization has never been so fun! www.timbuk2.com

In our 100th video we discuss the newly announced Apple iPad and why it s is not the proposed netbook killer some for proclaimed it to be. I would also like to all our viewers and subscribers for all the support. Thank you and enjoy