Thinkpads Forum

I have quit a bit of reading of ebooks on my X61s lately. Its nice to be able to read in bed with the lights out. I have been using the mobipocket reader for windows. I can't help but thinking a tablet would be better for this. I also use my X61s for web browsing, email, etc. Any thoughts on replacing the X61s with an X61 or X60 tablet... and would MV/MT be best for this? I don't want to have to pull out a stylus when reading. Not sure about the buttons on the X60 vs X61 tablet screen being used to page thru a book.

I don't like that the tablet is bigger than the X61s... so was also thinking maybe the Fujitsu P1610 might be nice but the keyboard would probably be a bit small for everyday use.

I am hoping someone else doing some ebook reading that would like to give their opinion on a laptop/tablet doing double duty as an ebook reader and in particular the X60 or X61 tablet. I really don't want to buy a proprietary ebook reader.

tselling wrote:I really don't want to buy a proprietary ebook reader.

You know some of them support more than one format, ie you're not stuck with a certain proprietary format.

you can nicely do eBook reading on x61t or x60t they do not differ much. MT would be fine, but I would suggest SXGA+ for best readability. The NavDial plus other Bezel buttons allows page flips etc.

Otherwise also the Nokia N800 is a good all purpose UMPC (Linux based) now at $220 and best suited for eBook reading due to its 800x480 display and light weight.

Thanks for the responses so far.

I don't want to add to my collection of devices so a separate ebook reader is not what I want. Likewise I think I want a convertable tablet since I like the keyboard for email and such so I don't think I want an internet tablet.

I am curious about recommending the sxga+ resolution. I am not sure I want such a high resolution on a 12" screen. The WSXGA+ on my 15.4" T61p seems to be a perfect size. And since I don't have a problem reading books on the X61s, I wouldn't think the 1024x768 resolution would be bad.

Is there much difference in battery life between the LCDs? That could be a consideration.

Since the bezel buttons work for turning pages, I guess a touchscreen isn't absolutely required for my purposes.

MT and SXGA+ have identical backlight, so power consumption is pretty close. There is a 0,5 watt difference due to more work for the Graphics adapter though, depending on what you do, but in eBook reading this will be neglectable.

Keep in mind that you are much closer to the screen when reading in tablet mode, so I find SXGA+ on 12" just fine, in fact SXGA+ on 10" would be optimal IMHO. You can always zoom in, so small fonts are no issue. But you might benefit from the high resolution to fit a page in portrait mode. And I find sharpness to make a huge difference when reading...