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LibrieE-books could get a boost if an experimental $645 tablet/PDA hybrid from NEC takes off.

The specs as reported in the Japanese-language PC Watch and translated for Tech Japan: the Linux OS, an 8.4-inch 640X480 touchscreen LCD and a CD-ROM.

NEC will make just 4,000 of the Linux tablets the first year, so don’t count on seeing one at your local CompUSA, but, as a Slashdot contributor observes, the new machine is a helpful start by a major Japanese company

Meanwhile Sun’s Linux will be reaching Wal-Mart via Microtel machines, raising the intriguing possibility that perhaps Sun or partners like Microtel will get into the low-cost tablet business.

E-book benefits

Ramifications for the e-book business, assuming that NEC and the Sun/Microtel /Wal-Mart combo can succeed with tablets? Plenty. Many buyers might find the tablets to be easier to read from than the usual PDAs, especially as screen resolutions improve, and the low-cost systems might be especiallly attractive to school systems as textbook replacements when loaded with e-books.

The result, combined with other trends, might be that a whole generation of young people will grow up accustomed to reading off e-books off the screen.

Also, If Linux fares well on low-cost machines, Microsoft and its Tablet PC partners may have to think twice about the prices they are charging. What’s more, with Linux counting for more, Microsoft, Adobe and the like may not be quite as successful at imposing their DRMish visions on the whole planet. All this could be good news for e-books.

 
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