Hey guys! Which tablet for 220 dollars max? if nothing, I'm buying nookcolor.

[gadgetrants]

OK, now you're just piling on! This is turning into a pretty interesting thread.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Yes I'm totally fascinated with the NC, at this point.

Heading to bed, more research and possibly a buy tomorrow.

Owner comments:

Definatly worth the chips...i bought one have it rooted and all my apps on it. If it had the market it would be tops. Build quality is just as high as ipad which are both better than galaxy. It plays movies, web surfs, and is a very very very able e-reader. With google's new ebook business you can download the same books for both...oh yeah...after you root you can install kindle on it and get their books as well. So you can get books from kindle barnes and noble and google. Kindle cant compete with it. Its also not too heavy for extended reading sessions.

I do recommend you cut the brightness down while reading cause the light from the screen is outrageous.

Just to put my observations out there. I just bought 3 of these for about the same price as a loaded ipad and could not be happier (other than having to use adb to root/sideload apps). I am in full bore tweak mode with mine and the kids will get theirs on xmas. We will probably get one for gramps too since we all swap books constantly but we live 6 hours away and now can share. I am interested to see where B&N goes with updates and how much of the os they begin to let show through on the stock NC.

 

[bamarammin87]

None of y'all succeeded in talking me out of the nook color. Lol.

 

[gadgetrants]

None of y'all succeeded in talking me out of the nook color. Lol.

Definitely not (talking anybody out of it). In fact, I'm having that woozy, caveman "I MUST HAVE NOW" feeling all of a sudden. Especially after watching the Rooted+FDroid video above! Probably going to print out the BestBuy 10% coupon and put it in my pocket, just in case I happen to take a wrong turn on the way home today...

-Matt

 

[gadgetrants]

Just found some useful tips, including (VERY IMPORTANT) a virtual back button:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1248646#post1248646

Previous Screen/Return :

Along the bottom of the screen there is a black border. In that bottom black border you'll see from right to left the time; battery icon, then the menu arrow; then the reading now icon which looks like an opened book.

along that border swipe your finger from right to left, with a nice simple graze. Anyone who owns the orignal nook, the motion is identical to the page swiping motion.

You finger should be in motion before it grazes the screen, otherwise it may trigger the quick setting dialog box.

this will bring you back back the previous screen you were at. This works very nice.

For built-in screenshot function, see also: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1249910#post1249910

Damn...looks like the mobileread people are two steps ahead of us!!!

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

At 169ppi and 1024 x 600 resolution, the "VividView" display is razor sharp and easy on the eyes. It uses the same IPS technology as the iPad, but with significantly higher pixel density for improved sharpness.

B&N uses an anti-glare coating that reduces glare somewhat, though you'll still notice it if reading outdoors or with your back to sunny windows. It does have less glare than the Galaxy Tab and iPad.

The Nook Color won't get lost in a sea of plastic tablets and ereaders. B&N employed Yves Behar's fuseproject design firm to make the Nook into a captivating piece of coffee table tech. In fact, it does look like a piece of designer electronics, and though there's plenty of plastic in the casing, you'd never know it from the look. The back is soft touch matte black plastic while the front bezel has a gunmetal finish that looks like metal but is plastic. The angled lower left corner and surround feel like metal. Barnes & Noble tells us that the lower corner (the one that can function as a charm holder) is supposed to invoke a turned page and that the Nook Color is comprised of plastic over a metal chassis. The angled corner is also a design element that conceals the microSD card slot (compatible with cards up to 32 gigs).

10% Off any One Regular-priced Item from select Categories for Bestbuy reward zone members In-store Printable Best Buy Coupon [Exp. 12/13]
Not sure if the NC qualifies.

At B&N they have an offer of when you buy $100 gift card you get $10 cash back after Dec. 26. Buy 3 gift cards to cover the NC. Not sure if there is a limit on how many gift cards you can buy.

 

[rico2001]

 

[gadgetrants]

Allow me to rant...hey, it's in my name!

(1) Why do people shoot SUCH CRAPPY VIDEOS!!!!?!??!?!?! I can't watch another poorly-framed, out-of-focus crappy youtube video!

(2) NO MORE ANGRY BIRD VIDEOS!!!!! Enough!...I CAN SEE that the Nook works. Find another game, I beg you! Even Tetris. I don't care.

I've all but decided I'm going to pick up a second Nook today to root and explore (If I do, I'll start a new thread with comments). Probably means I'm selling my Asus T91MT...

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

I know right, angry birds lol

Scouting report:
Just got back home from a visit to BB. Went in and saw the Sam Tab, and played with the Huawei Ideos 7". The HI7 ($299) was a little laggy; the 256mb of ram is surely the reason why. The screen is not capacitive and you can't operate it without holding it with two hands. The NC was nowhere to be found near these other tabs. Then it dawned on me, it's not considered a "TAB" but a ebook reader. lol

So I wondered around and near the front of the store on a small end cap type display was the lonely Nook and Nook Color. Turned it on, the display came on immediately. Absolutely beautiful screen, bright and vivid. The contrast is great and the image quality is very sharp. The capacitive touch screen is nice and responsive. With little effort and touch, one finger can control all aspects and areas of the screen. Went through the menus which there are not many, with the small Nook UI. Jumped on the web, which the wifi was already enabled. Very fast, smooth, snappy response to opening apps. The NC feels nearly as fast as my HTC Evo. The stock browser is good, scrolls very smoothly. The only knock on the browser is it's missing the mulit-touch zoom. It has the standard double tap zoom in/zoom out method, which is not bad if you had to live with it. The zoom is also completely smooth and quick.

Well the bad news, at least for me, is my 10% off coupon does not apply to the NC. So sadly to say I didn't end up picking one up from BB while I was there. I feel if I have to pay full retail, I'd rather but the NC from B&N. They don't have a restocking fee unlike BB, which is 15% and B&N are more likely to have more units in stock if I do need to make an exchange.

So tonight more research on the NC specs and features and perhaps tomorrow I'll head down the B&N.

 

[gadgetrants]

Here are some more interesting data...a series of benchmark tests and scores on youtube:



The one score that stands out to me is the 1010 on Quadrant. For comparison purposes, my rooted Droid scores just a bit better when I overclock it to 1.0GHz (and use the "performance" mode in SetCPU). If a stock Nook can do 1010 RUNNING Android 2.1, imagine what it will do once it runs 2.2.

-Matt

 

[gadgetrants]

Very fast, smooth, snappy response to opening apps. The NC feels nearly as fast as my HTC Evo. The stock browser is good, scrolls very smoothly. The only knock on the browser is it's missing the mulit-touch zoom. It has the standard double tap zoom in/zoom out method, which is not bad if you had to live with it. The zoom is also completely smooth and quick.

Well the bad news, at least for me, is my 10% off coupon does not apply to the NC. So sadly to say I didn't end up picking one up from BB while I was there. I feel if I have to pay full retail, I'd rather but the NC from B&N. They don't have a restocking fee unlike BB, which is 15% and B&N are more likely to have more units in stock if I do need to make an exchange.

Having investigated rooting the Nook, I'd suggest doing it and side-loading another browser. Which do you use on the Evo? I'm partial to Dolphin HD these days. I'd also install Google Maps, Slacker, GMail, Google Voice, etc., and maybe even Angry Birds!

I HATE to jinx myself, but I asked several times about returning the Nook at my BestBuy and there was no mention of a restocking fee. I also got the 10% off...but I bought it first, and then went back with the coupon. So if I ended up returning it, I'm pretty sure I could wear my game face and flat out refuse to pay the 15%. But I'm thinking about picking up a second tomorrow, so I'll test the waters.

Regarding B&N, if you don't mind the suggestion: take the BestBuy coupon and ask them to "match" it, and see if they'll extend their return period into middle/late January. Tell them it's until Jan 30 at BestBuy!

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

^ Nice vid, outstanding result!

It is really quick and snappy; pushes that 1024 x 600 display with no problem.

I get 1028 with my Evo @ 800 mhz so the Cortex A8 is on par with a snapdragon processor.

 

[gadgetrants]

^ Nice vid, outstanding result!

It is really quick and snappy; pushes that 1024 x 600 display with no problem.

I get 1028 with my Evo @ 800 mhz so the Cortex A8 is on par with a snapdragon processor.

Oh, OF COURSE. Why didn't I ask what your phone does on Quadrant? Thanks for thinking of that. But you're running Froyo, right? I vaguely remember that JIT increased benchmark scores quite a bit:

Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide

Froyo is the first version of Android to make use of Google's in-house JIT (Just In Time) compiler. Android runs on a Java platform, utilizing the Dalvik Virtual Machine; in earlier versions it had to translate all functions into virtual instructions. A JIT compiler allows for a hybrid of virtual instructions and native machine code, meaning that the portions of code that are compatible can bypass the translation step. All of this technical mumbo-jumbo basically means Froyo delivers insane performance boosts that sometimes approach 2x gains.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Having investigated rooting the Nook, I'd suggest doing it and side-loading another browser. Which do you use on the Evo? I'm partial to Dolphin HD these days. I'd also install Google Maps, Slacker, GMail, Google Voice, etc., and maybe even Angry Birds!

I HATE to jinx myself, but I asked several times about returning the Nook at my BestBuy and there was no mention of a restocking fee. I also got the 10% off...but I bought it first, and then went back with the coupon. So if I ended up returning it, I'm pretty sure I could wear my game face and flat out refuse to pay the 15%. But I'm thinking about picking up a second tomorrow, so I'll test the waters.

Regarding B&N, if you don't mind the suggestion: take the BestBuy coupon and ask them to "match" it, and see if they'll extend their return period into middle/late January. Tell them it's until Jan 30 at BestBuy!

-Matt

I have stock, Opera and Skyfire installed but to be honest, I prefer the stock browser over all I've tried. It suits me better and is faster. Well as for the NC, once I root it, I plan on making it a clone of my evo, like it's big brother. I have about 105 apps and plan to load all I can to the NC. I often change roms on my evo so I'm always changing things up. I look forward to the smart guys at xda enabling the bluetooth so I can get a gps reciever. My ultimate plan for the NC is to use it in car with an app called "Torque" to see multiple engine gauges off the car's computer.





Sorry a little off topic.

 

[gadgetrants]

That rocks. How do you access the car's computer? Bluetooth adapter??? That's insane.

I sincerely hope it was the OP (and not) you I gave advice to earlier about rooting!

-Matt