How is it as an eBook reader? Part I

OK, now for the greedy side: How usable is it as an eBook reader?

Well, you've got my impressions of the software's book handling. But I can deal with that; I know how to get a PDF file onto it and loaded into the Reader.

So. How is it for taking to bed, holding it in your hand over your head, and reading?

Overall, not so good. It has some nice features. The ability to rotate the display around into "tablet mode" is nice, and most of the important buttons are duplicated on the display bezel. There's plenty of places to grab onto the laptop without accidentally pressing a button. The display's low-power B&W mode works great; you just need to turn on a light on your bed's headboard to light up the display. But. The biggest problem is the unbalanced weight. It is pretty heavy to hold in your hands for a long time. Pressing the "display rotate" button a couple of times to invert the display helps, since it lets you hold the laptop upside-down and thus moves the weight from above your hands to below them.

I'll give it some more time tonight and decide for sure, but I think it is just too heavy to use in bed in place of a paperback book. It may work OK if I prop it against my knees and elevate my head with some pillows. But I can tell already that it isn't serious competition for the Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader.

I wonder if maybe it would work better with a lighter battery. Most of the laptop's weight is in the battery. I'll try pulling the battery out and pretending to use the laptop tonight and see how much that helps.