Is digital comic books on tablets really an option?

I have been thinking about getting a tablet for quite a while now, primarily for reading documents, organizing and keeping up with social networks while on the commute. Another use for a tablet I have considered is reading digital comics, having tried some on my laptop and found the experience unsatisfactory. Problem is that tablets are expensive and it's not exactly easy to get a hold of one to do some proper testing.
So when I got selected for the PadFone 2 testpilot event one of the first things I did was download the comiXology app and got busy reading some comics. After a few books I decided to try and put down my thoughts in hope of helping others decide if reading comics on tablets is for them and if it is as enjoyable an experience as the traditional way?

For those in a hurry the short answer is no, but it's not really that easy and much depends on why you like comics to begin with. 
Me, I like collecting almost as much as reading, and savouring that new comic book-smell, the un-creased spine and the satisfaction of an (eventually) complete collection lining up on the shelf are all integral parts of my comic book experience. Because of this I'm torn when it comes to digital comics since they are per definition insubstantial and less... well...collectable. This is compensated for somewhat by the convenience of carrying hundreds of comic books with you in a small and versatile package without unnecessary strain on the shoulders and the option to instantly get even more comics anywhere and anytime.

First thing first - The Hardware

These considerations aside there are of course downsides to reading on a digital device, first and foremost of these being the hardware. Depending on the screen of your device, reading outside might prove difficult at best as direct sunlight is like kryptonite to LCD screens. If you are lucky, your device has strong backlighting that makes the display moderately readable even in sunlight, but this will put strain on your battery and potentially shorten the reading session. Neither of these are really things that you have to worry much about with good ol' paperbacks.

The device I tested was a PadFone 2 which is a somewhat different take on the tablet concept, although the particulars of this aren't really relevant to this article. What is however, is that the PadFone 2 adresses both the concerns voiced above with a really bright screen with a dedicated outdoor mode that boosts lighting further, as well as impressive battery life thanks to the extra battery in the tablet dock acting as backup and charger to the one in the phone. Thus, I have had little trouble reading my comics on the commute even by day. Speaking of screens, this is one of those cases where size truly matters. While reading on a 4-5" phone screen  is certainly viable in a pinch, 10" is really the sweet spot as it minimizes the need for zooming and panning in most cases. I've yet to try a 7" inch tablet but I imagine it's still enjoyable providing the screen quality is good. Hardware is also important for a smooth and enjoyable experience without long loading times or lag between pages and comic books that require frequently switching between landscape and portrait mode will lead to frustration on smaller screens and slower devices. Neither of these were issues on the PadFone 2 thankfully, but the device did get very warm and the weight of the thing proved to be a strain on my scrawny nerd-arms after about an hour of reading in bed. Also, the backlighting might strain the eyes after extended periods of time. I have yet to read so much that I have noticed any such undue strain or tiredness of the eyes, but considering how reading on any screen is basically like staring at a lightbulb it's pretty safe to assume that it's more straining than reading printed comics. 

The goods - Where, how and how much?

Another consideration that tends to be an issue with digital goods is the price. The closed nature of services like Amazon, Steam and in this case comiXology can easily lead to unattractive pricing - in some cases vendors even charge more for digital copies which seems utterly absurd and counterproductive to me. So far I've found prices to be quite reasonable from most apps I've loaded on the PadFone, with comiXology standing out as the one with the more generous deals, occasionally even offering prices lower than print. One such example was Locke & Key volume 1 by Joe Hill (it's fantastic by the way, so pick it up!) which I bagged for as little as 5.99$ if memory serves which is almost 10$ cheaper than the current offering from Amazon.com. I also gave Dark Horse a shot but found their pricing to be comparable to the price of printed comics which left convenience as my sole argument for buying through their app. When it comes to what's in the stores both vendors have plenty to offer, even going as far as offering issues and books that are currently out of print which is another good argument for digital comics - they need never really go out of print, at least in theory. Both also offer unlimited downloads of purchases, so no need to worry about comics disappearing on you.

So what's the verdict here? The answer for me at least is that reading comics on my tablet is yet another good use of an already versatile device, but hardly an argument for buying one, and no matter how convenient it is, it can't beat that feeling of a brand new comic book in your hands. On the other hand, if you  value accessibility and conveniance over collecting and you either have a tablet or need another argument to buy one, digital comics might just be what the doctor ordered.
Me? I'm not going either way just yet. If I get it cheaper in digital format, and with that I mean at least a couple of dollars for a paperback, I'll buy it and read it on my tablet, but if the price is roughly the same I prefer to go to the comics shop for printed comics (and enjoy that nerdy atmosphere of those places) that I can put on my shelf, even if it means I have to pay an extra buck or two. I guess I'm just a sucker for that post-comic purchase excitement!

ASUS PadFone 2 - Review and recommendation

My first impression of the phone was that it's very light for its size, mostly due to fact that it's almost entirely made of plastic with a textured back and a frame and buttons made from brushed metal. Build quality is generally good - apart from a wiggling powerbutton and backlight bleeding through around the touch buttons - and there is no flex or creaking of the body. As a matter of fact, once you get used to its lightness it feels very solid indeed.

The tablet (or dock depending on your definition) is built from the same materials but feels weightier thanks to the great slab of glass on the front. The body is not as rounded and smooth as the phones' and it has some rough edges where plastic meets glass. There is no flex in the body but it does creak a bit on one side when held in the landscape position.

The highlight of the PadFone 2 (besides the obvious eye-catching docking design) and what really makes the it stand out is the screen: a crisp and bright 4,7 inch IPS+ display with good contrast and nice colors protected by Gorilla glass. The internals of the phone are also quite impressive with a snappy (pun very much intended) Snapdragon 4 processor, 2 gigabytes of RAM and Adreno 320 graphics. In leymans terms this makes menus, video and games run smooth with little or no lag although it does get very hot under heavy workloads, especially when docked with the tablet.

The tablet display is good but not nearly as bright or crisp as the display on the phone. I guess they had to cut some corners after all, but it's still a good quality screen with a resolution of 1280 by 800. On the back is a single speaker that produces tolerable sound and smack in the middle is a sizeable groove in the tablet body with a modified micro USB connector where the phone slides in when docked. When docked the phone sits snug and secure - so snug in fact that any type of protective case will have to be removed before docking.

The forward facing camera is excellent - much better than I expected from a phone camera - sporting 13 megapixels and producing nice, crisp images right out of the box. It's capable of recording video at 1080p with good image quality and decent sound. The inward facing one is a standard 1,3 megapixels and performs about average. Strangely though, the camera can only use up to 5.5 megapixels for photos and 720p for video when the phone is docked, but that's hardly a deal-breaker since wielding a ten inch tablet when taking photos is hardly ideal anyway. For a sample of the video-quality of the camera, see below:

When it comes to power my unscientific tests (mostly just playing Candy Crush until the battery runs out) indicate that battery life is pretty good, lasting up to 48 hours on a single charge under normal use (surf, texting and the occasional gaming). This, however, is where the unique abilities of the PadFone 2 phone/tablet combination comes into play. When docked the phone can be set to draw power from the battery in the tablet, thus expanding battery life greatly. If used lightly while docked the phone will charge to 80% in about 2 hours while still leaving more than 40% charge in the tablet.

The PadFone runs Android Jelly Bean 4.1.1 with all that this entails. ASUS has kept the interface pretty close to regular Android Jelly Bean and the amount of bloatware is minimal - a few ASUS-apps like MyNet and ASUS cloud storage are even quite useful. Third party software is - of course - available from Google Play and there's plenty of good apps there these days even though tablet-only apps are still regrettably few. Speaking of software: the main strength of this device is definitely the docking function and how the device handles switching between screens. Since you can use all the phones apps and functions in tablet mode which means you won't have to juggle multiple devices on the go. When you get a text you don't have to balance the tablet while digging through your pockets for your phone - it's all there on the tablets screen. When docked the phone will switch to displaying on the tablet screen with a small delay while the device prepares the home screen. Users have the option to select which apps are kept alive and which ones will close when docking or undocking.

  I have found no major problems in the software and experienced virtually no software crashes. One of the few quirks I have found is that apps running when the phone is docked won't show on the app-switching menu after and will have to be reopened from a shortcut. Not sure if this is really a bug though but aside from this minor annoyance I have unfortunately encountered a few proper system crashes - almost exclusively in connection with using the camera - which will either suddenly reboot the phone or render the phone completely unresponsive with the screen off for up to a few minutes. This has happened around three times in one week but seems to have caused no significant problems like corrupt or lost files. Hopefully this is a software problem that will be fixed soon and not another antenna-gate like the one that afflicted HTC's One X.

Accessory-wise, the phone comes with a sleeve that doubles as a stand which is a nice bonus. There's also the usual headphones, polishing cloth and a wallcharger. Unfortunately ASUS has opted for a non-standard connector instead of the more common micro USB which is unfortunate since the cable is rather short. They've thrown in an adapter though, and the port will accept and charge through a micro USB cable but it doesn't fit as well and might even damage the port if one isn't careful.

On the whole the PadFone 2 is an excellent device with a lot of versatility to it. The idea of docking the phone in the tablet is undoubtedly its main selling point and I'm inclined to agree as this sollution saves you the hassle of carrying multiple devices and SIM-cards while at the same time prolonging the battery life of your phone. The innovation isn't so much in the hardware as how it's designed to be used. I give it a four out of five for flexibility and portability as well as the raw power of the hardware. It falls short of a five due to a few glitches in the OS, mediocre quality of the tablet and the poor choice of a proprietary charging cable.

So who is it for? If you're in the market for either a tablet or a phone, you might find better value for your money elsewhere. While the phone on its own would be more than a match for any high end smartphone currently on the market it's still a bit pricey (I can't speak for the US but in europe the phone costs almost as much the complete package).

If, on the other hand, you're looking for both a phone and a tablet and got the money to spare, then this is perhaps the best bang for the buck currently on the market.