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iPad or netbook for mobile video

bakerbloke
Dabbler
Posts: 19
Registered: ‎25-04-2010

iPad or netbook for mobile video

I see iPads are available to pre-order in the UK:
http://silenceisdefeat.com/~rwightman/PVRprojects/Blog/Entries/2010/5/10_iPAD_available_on_pre-order...
I'm wondering whether it is worth getting one for watching my TV programs on the train or am I better off with a netbook considering the high price of the iPad?
Video capability on the iPad seems adequate but is the lack of flash going to be a problem.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.

4 REPLIES 4
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: iPad or netbook for mobile video

bakerbloke
Dabbler
Posts: 19
Registered: ‎25-04-2010

Re: iPad or netbook for mobile video

I wasn't going to use mobile internet - just transfer the video files from my home PC (which has a freeview usb dongle thing) the night before. I have no experience of netbooks  some people say they totally lack power but I guess it depends on which make etc..
pierre_pierre
Grafter
Posts: 19,757
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: iPad or netbook for mobile video

I have two net books, an Asus 901 with linux, the on board memory is not good, but will take 8 G usb plays, my videos OK, but not good battery life.
the other is a Medion Akoya with  132 G hard drive and Win XP, currently on Holiday with a 3G dongle, can watch most videos ok, battery life much better
Be3G
Grafter
Posts: 6,111
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: iPad or netbook for mobile video

Some thoughts for you bakerbloke:

  • The iPad has a far superior screen compared to your average netbook: IPS with LED backlighting. What that means is that the videos you watch on it will look much more vivid than on a netbook, and they won't start looking off-colour if you tilt the screen away from you in the same way that cheap LCD screens do. (I should add that I speak from experience when I say how good IPS+LED displays are, although I haven't seen an iPad yet.)

  • The iPad is, obviously, a flat tablet; a netbook has a hinge. This therefore means that a netbook has an innate ability to be positioned at just the right angle for you to view the screen, whereas a tablet depends on something else to achieve the desired angle – e.g. your hands, or if you don't want to hold it for a long time, some kind of stand. A case such as Apple's could also be an option, as that can do double duty as a support for the iPad by folding it in a certain way.

  • The iPad's memory is fixed, so can't be expanded by, for example, lugging along a portable USB hard drive loaded up with videos.

  • The iPad is capable of playing back 720p high-definition video very smoothly, which is a task that a number of (not all) netbooks have difficulty with. Having said that however, the screen isn't quite big enough to show 720p content without it either downsizing or cropping slightly; but it can output the full 720p resolution to an external video device using the Apple adaptors.


Hope that helps.