Using a Tablet PC to Read
Published: July 15, 2003
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One of the promises of computers has been that they will replace paper. We're not there yet, but the Tablet PC is definitely bringing that closer to reality. My Tablet PC works really well for reading books, magazines, and newspapers in digital format. I'm able to read a novel, the latest edition of a travel guide, a newspaper such as the New York Times, or catch up on the latest geeky news in InfoWorld, all from the comfort of my bed or living room.
Reading a book or periodical on a Tablet PC is a vastly better experience than trying to read a book or magazine on your desktop or laptop computer. The form factor makes it more portable, but also allows you to read in a more natural way. You can move the tablet computer just as you do when you're reading a book, greatly reducing the strain caused by trying to read from a fixed screen. The keys on the side of my Fujitsu Stylistic ST4000 Tablet PC really help, too, giving me page up/down and line up/down right under my thumb.
There are three different types of media you can read on your Tablet PC over and above the usual white papers and other PC documents:
| • | Books |
| • | Newspapers |
| • | Magazines |
Each type of media has somewhat different reading requirements and there are different software programs, called readers, to support the different media. In this column, I'll look at each of the different readers for the Tablet PC, explain how to use them, and point out their differences. You'll find out where to get a Tablet PC reader, what kind of content is available for them, and where to go to find that content.
Electronic Book Readers
The electronic book or eBook has struggled to take hold. Dedicated eBook readers, which are specialized hardware for reading electronic books, have not proved as successful as hoped. And many people read eBooks on a standard multipurpose computer. However, it's much more comfortable to read eBooks on a tablet computer. Three different software programs support eBooks on the Tablet PC:
| • | Microsoft Reader |
| • | Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader |
| • | Palm Reader |
Microsoft Reader for Tablet PC is an enhanced version of Microsoft Reader that takes advantage of the unique capabilities of Tablet PC.
Microsoft Reader for Tablet PC
Microsoft Reader, shown in Figure 1, is available for all Windows computers, including Pocket PCs and a specially-optimized version for the Tablet PC. The software is free but requires activation.
Figure 1
Microsoft Reader for Tablet PC is the most flexible of the three eBook reading programs I've used and has the best-looking interface. Books can generally be downloaded up to four times on a single purchase, giving you a fallback position in the event of a crash or other lost copy of the book. Purchased books can generally only be read by the person who purchased them—they are know as "owner exclusive" books, but can be read on more than a single computer, as long as the same person is reading it. So I can read a book on either of my Tablet PCs, as long as I'm logged on as myself.
If you're using Microsoft Reader for Tablet PC, you can annotate your book with ink or text, highlight passages, and place bookmarks so you can move around easily.
There are currently over 9,300 eBooks available from Powells.com for Microsoft Reader and also over 1,800 free eBooks available from a variety of sources including the University of Virginia. It's easy to download an eBook. I use this procedure with Microsoft Reader for Tablet PC:
1. | Open Internet Explorer and navigate to the site you're getting your book from. In my case, this might be Powell's.com Microsoft Reader eBooks or the University of Virginia Free EBook Library. |
2. | Find a book you want to read. If it's a free book, there will be a link to download. If it's a commercial book, you'll need to go through the usual purchase process, and then a link to download the book will be provided. |
3. | After you download the book, Microsoft Reader starts automatically, and the book will be added to your library. |
Books are placed in My Documents\My Library by default.
Create Your Own Microsoft Reader Documents
You can easily add the ability to convert a document into Microsoft Reader format from within Microsoft Word 2002 by downloading and installing the Read in Microsoft Reader add-in. To install:
1. | Close Microsoft Word if it's running. |
2. | Download Read in Microsoft Reader and save the WordRMR.exe file to disk. Remember where you put it. |
3. | Double-click WordRMR.exe to install it. You may be prompted to restart your computer. |
4. | After the reboot, open Microsoft Word. You'll see a new icon on your toolbar for Read in Microsoft Reader. |
5. | Open the document you want to convert, and click the button, or click Read on the File menu. |
Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader
The Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader, shown in Figure 2, is a full-featured reader that uses the popular PDF format.
Figure 2
Although I did have some installation problems with the reader and dislike that it always starts minimized, it does work well and you'll find a large number of books available for it. Powell's shows slightly more titles available for the Acrobat eBook Reader than for Microsoft Reader, but there doesn't appear to be as many free offerings available for the Acrobat reader as for Microsoft and the Palm reader.
As with Microsoft Reader, titles can generally be downloaded up to four times, however, with Acrobat eBook Reader, they can only be read on a single computer.
Books can be annotated, but there is no support for ink annotations, a major lacking in my opinion. As with Microsoft Reader, Adobe's eBook Reader supports bookmarks and highlighting.
Palm Reader
The Palm Reader, shown in Figure 3, was originally developed for the popular hand held device, but is now available on a wide variety of formats and works well on the Tablet PC.
Figure 3
It has a more limited functionality than either the Microsoft or Adobe offerings, but does allow for the insertion of bookmarks to improve navigation. Although Powells.com has only about half as many titles available in this format as it does for either the Microsoft or Adobe readers, there are a large number of free titles available from a variety of sources, including the University of Virginia site. Titles can be downloaded up to 20 times, and you can easily move them from machine to machine. However, to open the book you'll need to remember the exact name on the credit card you purchased them with, and the full credit card number. Each time you open the book to read it—a pain, to say the least.
NewsStand.com Newspaper Reader
Newspapers are another source of reading material for the Tablet PC. I get the New York Times electronic version from NewsStand.com. I really like this format, because I never have time to read the Sunday New York Times on Sunday any more, and this lets me carry it around with me until I'm done with it. Try sticking the Sunday New York Times in your brief case for a few days and you'll quickly decide the electronic version is the way to go. True, if I'm going to read today's Times, I need to make sure I'm where I can get connected to the Internet at least once a day, but that's really the only requirement. The figure below shows the NewsStand Library interface.
Figure 4
NewsStand.com allows you to download any copy of the newspaper onto any computer you happen to be working on, which is a great convenience. You can even download the same issue multiple times, for an additional fee. Once downloaded, the newspaper can only be read on the computer it was downloaded to and generally expires in 21 days. Highlighting, annotating, and bookmarks are not an option with the NewsStand reader, which is Adobe Acrobat-based, nor can you copy text to the clipboard.
Zinio Magazine Reader
Magazines are the forte of the Zinio Reader. Designed for magazines and other rich media content, the Zinio reader fully supports ink annotations when run on a Tablet PC, as well as text annotations and highlighting. Magazines can be read from more than one computer by simply copying them to the other computer (or keeping them on a networked drive), but are only viewable by the original purchaser. Also, ink annotations can only be viewed on a Tablet PC, unfortunately.
Limitations on Electronic Reading
What are the current limitations of electronic reading on the Tablet PC? Probably the biggest limitation at this point is the screen size and the nature of current LCD screens. Current LCD screens were designed for a typical landscape orientation and because of pixel placement and orientation don't do nearly as well in a portrait orientation.
And my older eyes would be happier with a somewhat larger screen as well, especially one with a higher resolution. I think a 768 x 1024 resolution is simply the minimum that makes reading workable. As we see new screens coming into the Tablet PC market, the reading experience will definitely improve from the increased resolution.
The other limitation is the weight (and sometimes the heat) of the typical Tablet PC. Although most tablet computers are substantially lighter and thinner than a conventional laptop, they still need to go on a bit of a diet for me to want to spend several hours using one as a book.
And, finally, the issues of usage rights. This is a tough one. I absolutely understand the need for limiting the use of content that has been downloaded, but there needs to be a bit more flexibility, in my opinion. If I buy a book, I can read it wherever I happen to be and even lend it to a friend to read. I think there needs to be a mechanism for "lending" a digital book in the same way. And this is especially true of magazines. I often want to highlight an article in a technical publication and pass it on to colleagues and other members of my team, and that's not easily possible. And I'm not likely to be sending my Tablet PC on a round through the inter-office mail system any time soon.
What's On My Tablet PC Today?
The Tablet PC makes the whole experience of reading in a digital format better than I've ever found it to be on a desktop or laptop computer. For our upcoming vacation, we'll be taking several books with us on the Tablet PC, both pleasure reading and travel specific.
Having the travel books available online is especially useful and allows us to quickly search for a phrase or location. And we can store dozens of extra books on the Tablet PC for no additional weight, so it makes sense to use it for that. I'll also get to read my New York Times in the morning and InfoWorld every week no matter where we travel.
Contact Me
If you use Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, and you have a topic you'd like to see me cover in one of my columns or just want to tell me about how the Tablet PC has changed computing for you, feel free to write me at Charlie@mvps.org. I really want to hear what you think about your Tablet PC and in what interesting ways a Tablet PC makes your work better.
I can't acknowledge or answer individual e-mail message and I can't provide individual technical support via e-mail. I do regularly participate in the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Newsgroup and look forward to seeing you there.
