Pratt, K. (2010). Netbook, eReader, or iPad? - that is the question. Computers in New Zealand Schools:
Learning, Teaching, Technology, 22(2).
Netbook, eReader, or iPad? – that is the question
Keryn Pratt
University of Otago College of Education
Dunedin, New Zealand
Email: [email protected]
Introduction
Recently it seems as fast as you can buy new technology, newer technology hits the news –
particularly when you live in New Zealand and new technology can take some time to be
available. While netbooks have been available for some time in New Zealand, eBook
readers are only recently appearing (with the Kindle being released at the end of August),
while iPads have just been released. So what are these devices, what do they do, and which,
if any, should you buy? Like so many technology questions, the answer is simple – it
depends on what you want to do – and how much you want to spend.
Figure 1: The iPad, Eee and Kindle
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At a glance
The eReader: The Kindle
The Kindle is an eReader. At their simplest, eReaders are devices or software that allow
you to read books electronically – on a dedicated device, such as a Kindle (Amazon), Kobo,
or Nook, or on your laptop, smartphone or iPad. eReaders vary in terms of whether they
have a backlit screen (like your computer) or use E Ink (which looks more like reading
newsprint). They also vary in the degree to which you can take notes or highlight text.
Currently, the format of the books you download differs depending on the eReader, or
eReader application, you own.
The Kindle is Amazon’s eReader. It is available from Amazon and is due to be released in
New Zealand in late August. It currently retails at between US$139 and US$489,
depending on the model you choose. The base models have a 6” display, and can hold at
least 1,500 books, while the larger DX model has a 9.7” display and holds up to 3,500
books. All models have adjustable font size, allow for the image to be rotated from portrait
to landscape, and use E Ink. A Kindle takes around two hours to charge, with the battery
charge lasting between one and two weeks depending on how much it is used, and whether
wireless is on or off.
Figure 2. The Kindle with its index, and showing the font sizes available
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eBooks are purchased from Amazon, from their website, by browsing the store and
downloading chosen books wirelessly, or, on some models, by doing this via a cellular
network (3G). The wireless and 3G service is free in countries where the Kindle is sold, but
can incur a US$2 surcharge outside of these areas. New release hardback books mostly cost
between US$9.99 and $12.99, with most other books US$7.99 or less. Free Kindle software
is available for computers, iPhones, Blackberrys and iPads, which means you can read
Kindle eBooks on these devices, as well as on the Kindle itself.
The Netbook: The Eee
A netbook is a small laptop with cutdown features. Manufacturers have often named their
range of netbooks, hence the ASUS Eee, Acer’s Aspire One, or Dell’s Mini. Netbooks vary
in size (generally from around 5” to around 10”) and in features, but generally have no CDRom or DVD drive, and fewer ports than a laptop. They have longer battery life (around
eight hours) but have a smaller capacity. They are generally slower, although this depends
on whether you run full versions of software such as Windows and Microsoft Office, or
less memory intense versions, such as Linux and OpenOffice.
Figure 3: The Eee
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The Eee 1005HA is one of ASUS’s range of netbooks. It has 160GB of hard drive space
and a 10.1” screen. The battery lasts up to 8.5 hours, depending on how it is used. When
purchasing, you can choose between a Linux or Windows operating system. The model I
have used has Windows 7 installed. It came with a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office,
and we have subsequently installed a licensed version.
The iPad
The Apple iPad can be described as either a large iPhone, or a version of a tablet computer.
It’s 24 cm x 19 cm, with most of this being screen. The screen is a touch screen, which
rotates automatically to the direction in which you are holding it. There is a home button
and an on/off switch, but you use your finger for all commands other than this. The
structure and function of the iPad is very similar to the iPhone, so actions using your
fingers such as swiping (to move pages up, down or sideways), pinching in and out (to
zoom in and out) are used. Typing is done via a virtual keyboard.
Figure 4: The virtual keyboard on the iPad
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There are two models of iPad. One has wireless internet capability (wifi), while the other,
more expensive model, has this capability as well as the ability to connect to a cellular
network (3G). Each model comes with one of three sizes of memory: 16GB, 32GB or
64GB. The battery lasts around 8–10 hours. The price varies with the model, with costs
ranging from $799 - $1349, depending on model and hard drive size.
Built-in applications include email, calendar and contacts applications, as well as iTunes,
notes, maps and Safari (web browser). It also comes with built-in photo software. You can
purchase Pages (word processor), Numbers (spreadsheet), and Keynote (presentation)
applications for NZ$13.99 each. iBooks, Apple’s eReader software, can be downloaded for
free. This can be used to read books purchased from the iBooks store, as well as any books
in the epub format, which is the most common non-device based format. Additional
applications can be bought from the inside the iTunes store and generally range in price
from NZ $1–$15.
So what do they do, and are they any good?
The Kindle
As an avid reader, I had considered an eReader when I first heard of them, as it would solve
the problem of running out of space to store all my books. I didn’t think, however, that
anything electronic could ever replace the joy I got from reading a book. I was wrong.
While it took me about one month to get used to reading the E Ink, and to get to the same
speed as reading hard copy books, now I would not give it up. I bought my Kindle at the
start of a three-month stay in the United States, and at the end of my time had 70 books on
it. This highlights one of the advantages of an eReader, as I could never have taken that
many books with me. I could, of course, have used libraries or second hand stores, but I reread books on a regular basis – those on my Kindle were read three times while I was away
– meaning the Kindle was perfect.
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Figure 5: A comparison of the Kindle with the number of books I read while away
My Kindle went everywhere with me, and I read it everywhere from bus stops to airports to
sitting on a sunny beach. I found I really liked the E Ink, and did not get the sore eyes and
headache I get from reading from a backlit screen for any length of time. No backlighting
also meant I was able to read my Kindle anyplace I could read a book, including in direct
sunlight – and I did. The charge lasted long enough that I could not tell you how long it
lasts – all I know is that I am surprised when I need to recharge it, and cannot usually
remember when I last did so.
Having said this, there are downsides to the Kindle. While the E Ink makes reading from it
a pleasure to me, it also means it is black and white, and you need light to read it. The
pages take a small amount of time to change, it takes a second to respond to some
commands, and the note-taking and highlighting features are very clumsy. Being able to
change the font size, and the number of words on a line, mean that it uses location numbers
rather than page numbers. While this means that you can be sure you are at the same place
irrespective of the font size, these bear no relation to page or chapter numbers in the actual
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book. This is a problem if you wish to describe the location of a particular event or sentence
to someone not using a Kindle, such as when you are quoting.
The range of books is generally good – as long as you want recent popular novels, or pre1923 out-of-copyright books. It is much harder to find work-related books and, while you
can upload your own PDF documents to it, you cannot change their font size. Having books
on my Kindle also means it is difficult to lend them to others. Lending a book on my
Kindle involves lending them the whole device, along with all the books on it. When you
pay for a book you can download it to devices other than your Kindle, but there is a limit to
the number of devices. One feature that can be an advantage or disadvantage, depending on
your perception, is that no one can tell what you are reading from the cover. How you
perceive this depends on what you are reading, and whether you like discussing your
reading choice with those around you.
The Eee
I have to confess that I am not entirely enamoured of netbooks in general. While they are
certainly smaller and more portable than my 15” MacBook Pro, I find the portability does
not compensate for the features I tend to use that are not available. I am used to working on
multiple screens and frequently have multiple windows open at one time – something that
is not possible on a 10” netbook screen. I also frequently use CD-ROMs and DVDs when I
am away, either to watch movies or to play games, neither of which I can do on a netbook.
Having said this, I can certainly see their advantages for people who use computers solely
for work purposes. The Eee is half the size of my laptop, and as such is much more
portable. Even the charger is smaller and more portable than that of my laptop. The
keyboard, while smaller, has the standard layout, and I found I became used to the small
size very quickly. Whether this is the case for someone with larger hands is less clear – my
hands are small enough that I use a laptop-sized mouse as standard. The Eee I used has
Windows installed, along with the Microsoft Office suite. This means that there was no
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learning curve associated with the programmes, and all files were compatible with my
laptop. There is also plenty of hard drive space, and it has wireless access built in.
iPad
I was lucky enough to be in the United States when the iPad was released, and was ordered
to bring one home for my husband. I bought it a week before I left, but have rarely been
able to use it since, as it almost never leaves his side. While he is a fan, I chose not to buy
one for myself – not because I don’t think it is a useful tool, but because I couldn’t justify
the price for the functionality I would gain from it.
It is small and portable, although I would call it shoulder-bag sized rather than the handbagsize of the Kindle. The battery life is good, and the startup speed is instant. It uses the same
operating system as the iPhone and iPod Touch, and like the iPhone connects either through
a 3G network (a type of network that allows data to be transferred using cellphone
technology) or, if you buy the more expensive model, a wireless network. While it does not
have the Microsoft Office suite of applications, it does have equivalent programmes, and
files created in these can be easily converted. It does not have an optical drive, however the
applications available include games and you can purchase or hire movies to watch, which
go some way to compensating for this.
While initially I was clumsy when using the onscreen keyboard, I quickly became
proficient, particularly with the screen in landscape view. The touch screen is largely
intuitive and easy to use. The screen is very crisp and clear, but despite the ‘fingerprint
resistant’ coating on the screen, it quickly became covered in smudged fingerprints.
Watching a movie was enjoyable, as long as I kept it out of the sunlight, as glare was a
major problem. The backlit screen meant that I needed to be careful how long I spent
staring at it, but this is a problem generic to this type of screen, rather than related to the
iPad in particular.
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Where the iPad truly shines, though, is in the range of applications available for it, at
relatively low prices. Most of the applications developed for the iPhone work on the iPad,
while more are being developed that take advantage of the large screen size of the iPad.
The range of applications can also be a problem, however, as all available applications are
displayed on the opening screen (which you can scroll sideways through to see any that do
not fit on one screen). This can make it difficult to find the application for which you are
looking – although this is due to be solved through a free software upgrade due shortly.
There are also difficulties in multitasking, as you can only have one application showing at
once, although again this will be resolved in the coming upgrade. If you are used to having
multiple windows open at once, this takes some getting used to. Applications available for
the iPad can only be purchased via Apple’s iTunes store. It is a ‘locked down’ device,
which means that software from third parties cannot be installed.
Figure 6. iPad showing the home page, which shows the first page of applications
There are too many applications to discuss here, but one I will touch on is iBooks, the
eReader application. This combines replicating the look and action of a traditional book
with, in some case, multimedia elements. The pages on the screen look like those of a book,
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and you can see either one page or facing pages at once. Turning a page involves using a
flicking motion with your finger, in the bottom right hand corner (think of the motion you
would use if you had a book flat on your desk, and were turning the page from this corner).
The full colour and high definition screen mean that the books, particularly those with
colour illustrations or diagrams, look great, although glare can be a major problem. One of
the features that I really like, though, is the interactive nature of some books. Some books,
often children’s books, but also some textbooks, allow you to interact with material on the
page. As well as reading words aloud, you can interact with elements of the illustrations or
diagrams, making these move, or gaining further information. As I left the United States, I
heard of one elementary school district choosing to implement an iPad initiative, with all
elementary school students being progressively provided with an iPad. The touchscreen and
applications such as this show me some of the possibilities of this type of device in an
educational setting.
Eee, Kindle or iPad? – that is the question
Each device was designed for a particular purpose, and each has advantages and
disadvantages. The Kindle was designed primarily as an eReader, although it is promoted
for educational purposes, particularly with regard to the notetaking and highlighting
features. While I love the convenience of reading books on my Kindle, I would not
recommend it for anything other than reading books. The notetaking is clumsy, and while I
find the E Ink gentle on my eyes, the lack of colour is likely to be an issue for subjects that
rely on images or diagrams. If all you want to do is read books, and have the advantage of
having hundreds of books available to you in a package that is less than the size of one,
then an eReader is the device for you.
Different eReaders also have different features, so if you prefer a colour screen and
backlighting is not an issue, find one that has this. If you read books from a particular
publisher, make sure you buy an eReader that is compatible with the format of books
available from that publisher. Of course, if you don’t mind backlighting or what size screen
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you read on, you can always download the free applications to your computer and read
them that way – although it is hard to curl up in front of the fire with a good computer.
Like the Eee, the iPad is small and portable, has a longer battery life than a laptop, has no
optical drive, and can be used as an eReader, but there are critical differences that go
beyond the touchscreen iPad and the traditionally laid out Eee. The Eee is cheaper than an
iPad, and has a correspondingly smaller range of features. There is a lot to like, though,
about the Eee and other netbooks. If you want a small computer to use for surfing the
internet, emailing and with the Microsoft Office suite, this is perfect. If you want to run
processor-intensive programmes, or anything that requires an optical drive, however, this is
not suitable. This is a small laptop, with a small number of features, and a relatively small
pricetag. If the features and size are what you need, then this is perfect.
In contrast, rather than being a cutdown laptop, the iPad is an extended iPhone, and
includes applications that allow you to do most things that the Eee can do. If I had to
choose between the two, I would choose an iPad. For me, the instant start-up, additional
features and choice of applications wins out over the lower price and familiar applications
of the Eee. While not having the same applications or operating system means I would to
have go through a learning curve, the additional features means that I am willing to go
through this.
Once again, though, the decision is a personal one, and comes down to how you want to
use the device. If all you want is the basic Office suite and internet access, the Eee is a
cheaper and probably better choice. If, however, you want the application range offered for
the iPad, and the multimedia nature of the device, then I would pay more and get the wifi
version of the iPad. If you need or want to have easy and frequent access to the Internet and
email, then it is worth considering the wifi + 3G model. Remember, though, that you will
pay for data used when using the 3G network. Plans are available through Telecom and
Vodafone, and range from around $20/month for 250MB - $50/month for 3GB.
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So what is the answer?
For me, the answer was a Kindle, but I already had a fully-featured laptop, and what I
wanted was some way of keeping myself in books for three months without spending a
fortune on excess luggage. I read a lot, and so having a screen that was easy on my eyes
was important. The Kindle was the most appropriate – and cheapest – device for my
purposes. I would never travel any length of time without a laptop, as I like having access
to all my files, and having a DVD drive, so a netbook or an iPad would be an additional
rather than replacement item of technology, while the Kindle replaces the large number of
books I used to carry everywhere with me. In addition, while I think I could make use of an
iPad and would enjoy doing so, I could not justify the price for an additional device, rather
than an essential one.
For my husband, the answer was an iPad. He already owned an iPhone, and found the touch
screen and user interface very effective. While the iPhone has a touch screen keyboard, he
found using this very difficult. In contrast, he now takes his iPad to all his meetings, and
types notes directly into this. The iPad cannot replace his iPhone, due to its size, but he
finds it complements it.
For the Centre for Distance Education and Learning Technologies, the answer was the Eee.
We wanted a device that staff could borrow to take away with them – to conferences,
workshops, or simply home for the weekend. Our staff most commonly use Microsoft
Office and the Internet, and are familiar with the layout of a laptop, so a netbook like the
Eee is very familiar to them. While the iPad has additional features that staff would no
doubt use, these features were not critical, and we could not justify paying the higher price
that a device like an iPad entails. Having said this, I can see that in the future it is likely that
the Centre will purchase at least one iPad.
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Figure 7: The Eee, Kindle and iPad
It appears, then, that as is so often the case with technology, its appropriateness depends on
what you want to do and how you want to do it. Before purchasing any piece of technology,
you need to you know ensure what features you want, and how and when you will use your
new device. You should also think about how long you expect to be using it, and whether
your needs will change in the future. You can then decide which device best suits your
purpose. After you have made this decision, remember to shop around for the particular
brand or model that best suits you and your budget. Most importantly, whatever you buy,
remember to allow time to explore its features, to ensure you gain the most from it.
This work is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 New Zealand License. To view a copy
of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/nz/ or
send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San
Francisco, California 94105, USA.
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