Which Tablet PCs best for long hours of reading PDF files???

[TJM]

I have to frequently read lengthy technical manuals in PDF format, and I often
experience eyestrain after a few hrs. when reading these documents on my Sony
CRT monitor.

I am shopping for a high-quality tablet PC, and I was wondering if they are
better suited for reading documents on them vs. CRT monitors. Sometimes I spend
3 or 4 hrs. a day reading these technical manuals, so I need a bright screen
with a high refresh rate. I noticed some of the newer laptop screens seem as
good as the best LCD screens, so I am hopeful that tablet screens are close to
this quality.

Which screens are the best?

[Chris H.]

A whole lot of factors would play on the decision, including where you
normally want to use the Tablet PC. Remember, a Tablet PC is closer and
more personal than a laptop or desktop because you hold it, lean it against
pillows, etc., like you would a paperback novel. The screens really are
pretty standard. There's something like a total of five manufacturers of
the screens, no matter the brand.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"TJM" <t...@nospam.com> wrote in message
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[Charlie Russel - MVP]

Screens are less important for reading that comfort and feel. For this
particular task, I suspect that the lighter the better, and beyond that, thin
is good. The NEC is the thinest and lightest made, but doesn't seem to be
generally available. (An even lighter and thinner version is available in
Japan, and I've seen it, held it, and lusted after it, but no signs that it
will ever make its way to North America. ) Of the machines I've spent
substantial amounts of time with (Acer 101, Fujitsu 4100, Motion 1300, and
Toshiba M200), the Fujitsu would be my first choice for extended on screen
reading. It's slightly lighter than the Motion, and slightly thinner, but
more importantly I felt more comfortable with the button arrangement when
reading a book. The Fujitsu buttons were positioned exactly where my fingers
fall, making scrolling up or down, either a line or page at a time, easy and
natural.

--
Charlie.

[romy]

>> I often experience eyestrain after a few hrs. when reading these
documents on my Sony CRT monitor.

You are human. EVERYBODY experiences eye strain after reading a few
hours, no matter what the device. But I have found some things to help.
(I have a Gateway, but I think it wouldn't matter.)
(1) You can read the pages in the PORTRAIT orientation to begin with, then
switch to WIDE and zoom in more, as you need to. Good thing they are
PDFs, which maintain high type clarity.
(2) But I would turn OFF the text smoothing (anti-aliasing), as I think blurry
text makes the strain worse-- others disagree; but I generally dislike
ClearType and any such attempts to "fix" type edges. There's a setting in
Acrobat prefs itself, as well as the one for the system.
(3) Sometimes I can actually see better with LESS light coming from the
screen, when I'm tired. Try different settings with the backlight brightness,
and with ambient room lighting.
(4) If it's mostly text, you can take a vision break by letting your system read
the text to you for a while-- even 15-20 minutes with your eyes closed,
listening, will really help. I'd do that every couple of hours, once you start to
wear down. The Microsoft voice vocab has some ideosyncratic blips now and
then, but you kind of get used to it.

--romy

[Chris H.]

Very good suggestions. Since you mentioned ClearType, it reminded me there
is a "tuner" for the display shown in the left panel under ClearType:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/WhatIsClearType.mspx Remember, though,
because of the way the red/green/blue pixels are displayed, the real
advantage is seen by tuning for Landscape mode only. In either Portrait
mode or Secondary (upside-down) Landscape, the pixels are displayed sideways
or upside-down, so ClearType loses some of the intended clarity.

--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

"romy" <anon...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0bf901c5114b$e09556b0$a501...@phx.gbl...

[Sharon F]

On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 14:34:07 -0800, Chris H. wrote:

> Very good suggestions. Since you mentioned ClearType, it reminded me there
> is a "tuner" for the display shown in the left panel under ClearType:
> http://www.microsoft.com/typography/WhatIsClearType.mspx Remember, though,
> because of the way the red/green/blue pixels are displayed, the real
> advantage is seen by tuning for Landscape mode only. In either Portrait
> mode or Secondary (upside-down) Landscape, the pixels are displayed sideways
> or upside-down, so ClearType loses some of the intended clarity.

There is a new "power toy" : a local cleartype tuner. Install and it adds
an icon in your control panel. It runs the same routine as the online
tuner. I sometimes find a need to readjust cleartype and find it very
useful to have it available whether I'm online or not online.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User