The history of web tablets is very equal to the history of e-book readers: During the internet bubble several companies revealed such devices. However the first generation of this devices were pretty lousy i.e. keeping their prices in mind. Unfortunately, companies did not spend much effort in developing 2nd generation devices but instead complained that there was no market for web tablets. These have returned under the name MID, Mobile Internet Device.

Now, when the hardware components are cheap and there is a pretty good infrastructure for web devices (private and public WLAN hotspots, 3G cell networks), the chances for Web Tablets, also know as Media Tablets, are very good. But companies are generally extremely wary of releasing such devices. Possibly the introduction of the Nokia internet tablets (Nokia 770 and Nokia N800) will herald a renaissance of web tablets. The MA companion touch and the Touch Book may change the whole market place. A functionality increases these devices may compete with the Tablet PC for some users. The recent announcement of the Apple iPad may finaly main stream this class of devices.

This matrix lists devices that allow browsing the Internet via a wireless connection AND reading documents offline. They are tablets in that they all have a touch screen. Unless specifically marked these are all released. (The Adam was included as it is the first announced PixelQi screen product which is break through technology.)

Brandname	Augen Gentouch	Nokia Internet Tablet	Archos 7	Archos 9	Apple iPad	Adam
Model	Gentouch78	N800/N810	7" Internet Media Tablet	PCTablet	iPad 2	Adam (Jan 11 release)
Manufacturer	Augen	Nokia	Archos		Apple	Notion Ink
Dimensions	7.36" x 4.65" x 0.63"	144 x 75 x 13mm	190 x 110 x 16 mm 7.48" x 4.33" x 0.6"	256 x 134 x 17 mm (10.1" x 5.3" x .67")	241 x 186 x 8.8 mm (9.5" x 7.3" x 0.34")	239 x 158 x 13 mm (9.4" x 6.2" x 0.5")
Display	7" 800x480 color	4.1" 800x480 2^18 colors	7" 800x480 16 million colors	8.9" 1024 x 600, full color	9.7" 1024 x 768, 132 ppi full color	10.1" WSVGA, 1024 x 600, full color
Display Type	TFT	TFT	TFT	TFT	IPS LED backlight	PixelQi or TFT
Touch screen	yes	yes	yes	resistive	multi-touch	multi-touch
Full-screen Refresh Rate	TFT	TFT	TFT	TFT	IPS	?
Wi-Fi	802.11b/g	802.11b/g	802.11b/g	802.11b/g	802.11b/g/n	802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth	n.a.	2.0 + EDR	n.a.	2.0 + EDR	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR
Other Interfaces	USB 2.0, headphone	USB 2.0, headphone, camera	USB 2.0 (device and host), headphone, Docking connectors to connect DVR Station	USB 2.0, headphone, WebCAM, connector for port replicator	proprietary connector, WebCAM, microphone	WebCAM, 3.5 mm Headphone, Microphone, USB 2.0 Host - 2, HDMI, docking port, FM Radio, 3G
Memory	256MB Ram + 2G Flash	128MB Ram + 256 MB Flash	128MB Ram + 160 GB or 320 GB hard drive	1 GB RAM + 60 GB harddrive	16GB, 32GB, 64GB	16 / 32 GB eMMC
Expansion Slots	SDHC	2xMiniSD/RS-MMS	none	none	accessory adapters	micro-SD
Supported Services and Formats	PDF, ePUB, TXT, HTML, JPG, BMP, MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, Internet	Internet (Opera8, Flash7), Instant Messaging, VoIP, Internet Radio, PDF, Picture Viewer, MP3	Internet (Opera), PDF, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, H.264, WMV, M-JPEG, MP3, WMA, AAC, AC3, Flac and OGG Vorbis, JPEG, PNG, BMP	Internet IE, email (MS live), Lotus symphony, Windows Media player. Other formats downloadable.	Internet Safari, e-mail, PDF, H.264, MPEG-4, mov, MP3, AAC, JPG, PNG, TIF, DOC, PPT, XLS, RTF	browser, All major eBook formats supported
DRM	Adobe	?	Plays for sure (Music/Video)	full windows	FairPlay, ADE with 3rd party apps.	?
Power	Lithium	Li-Polymer 1500 mAh (BP-5L)	Li-Polymer	removable Li-Polymer	Li-Polymer	3 cell 24.6Whr Li battery rechargeable & replaceable
Battery Life	?	3,5 h	10 h (movie playback) 39 h (music playback)		10h movie playback, 30 days standby	140h audio & 16h HD video
Weight	?	206g	640g (23oz)	800g (1.8 lbs)	601-613g (1.33 lbs)	600-650g (~22 oz)
OS	Android 2.1	Maemo (Linux)	Linux	Windows 7	iOS 4.3	Android 2.3/3.0
Boot Time	?	?	?	?	?	?
SDK	STD Android	yes	?	?	yes	Tegra
CPU	800 MHz	Texas Instruments OMAP 2420 at 320 MHz	ARM CortexTM-A8, 32 bit, 600 MHz	Intel ATOM Z510 1.1 GHz	1GHz Apple A5 Dual-Core	Dual-Core ARM® CORTEX -A9 MPCORE™
Software	Full Android Apps		Opera, video viewer, image viewer, audio player, PDF viewer	Security, Windows live, Lotus, Web TV, more	Full iTune Apps	1080p HD, audio player, eBook Client
Services	Android Store				Apple iTunes	Android Store
Publisher Partners					Big 4	?
Price	$150-180	250€	$449 (320GB)	$549	$499 base model	$399-$549
Misc Info	Augen also makes The Book, This unit will also play 720P movies		A 5" devices is also available. The main purpose of this device is to be a mobile media player that becomes a video recorder when plugged into an additional base station	includes WebCAM 1.3 Mpixel, optional port replicator adds VGA, microphone input, additonal USB and headphone	optional base station adds keyboard. Many apps will add eBook readers including iBooks.	4 variants, standard LCD and PixelQi with 3G and Wifi options

Possibly the future will bring more devices which function as both web tablet and e-book reader at the same time. See also the ePaper E-book_Reader_Matrix and the LCD E-Book Reader Matrix.

[edit] More Web Tablets

• PC World - Tablet comparison including iPad 2.
• Kindle Fire VS Nook Tablet Specs - Compare specs of Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet.
• Viliv X70 Atom - 7" device with 1024 x 600 resolution, running Windows.
• Lenovo Ideapad S10-3t - a 10.1" Web tablet/Netbook
• ZTE V9
• Motorola XOOM 10.1" Android
• Cruz Tablet
• Asus eee Pad Transformer
• Galaxy Tab‎‎ 7" and 10.1" 16x9
• gTablet 10.1"
• HP TouchPad - 9.7" WebOS
• Bluefire G2‎‎ - Android 7" tablet
• AirPad - Android 7" tablet
• Vizio VTAB1008 - Android 8" 4:3 tablet
• Sony Tablet S - Android 9.4" 16x9 tablet
• Sony Tablet P - Android with dual 5.5" screens.
• PlayBook - &" Tablet that runs BlackBerry PlayBook OS