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

[gadgetrants]

One thing that bugs me tho...is that the 8 inch tablet is slower than a motorola droid. I have a motorola droid...it's not the fastest thing, and only is a 550mhz cpu. Why would that tablet be slower?

Remember, assuming you're running Froyo, there's a few things to consider:

(1) Froyo has the JIT (just-in-time) java compiler, which means app code is loaded into ram and executed more quickly. That brings a big performance boost over Eclair.

(2) The Droid is underclocked at 550 KHz. Again, with Froyo that restriction was lifted somewhat, allowing it to sometimes (I believe) run at it's native 800 MHz.

Regarding the second point, I rooted back with 2.1 (very, very, very easy--though I was still nervous the first time!) and pretty much use root access to modulate clockspeed. I normally underclock, but also overclock to 1,000 MHz under limited circumstances (e.g., game play). I also have a few other minor apps (like USB tethering) that work because the phone is rooted.

In case you're thinking about rooting the Droid, let me reassure you that it's pretty easy to do. Here were my steps:

(1) Install SPRecovery, which replaces the built-in Motorola recovery mode.
(2) Use SPRecovery to make a complete backup of the phone.
(3) Completely wipe (other than SPRecovery) the phone.
(4) Install the modified version of Android, which has root access built in.
(5) Install a modified kernel, which dictates the possible clock speeds (for over/under clocking).

And voila, you're done. It's that easy. There are really good online guides I can point you to if you're interested. The best part is that if you are OK with steps 1 and 2, it's easy to take your phone back to where you started.

-Matt

 

[gadgetrants]

The way I see it is, it already starts out with better specs, better quality, better hardware than anything else that price. It has better support from a trusted, American company. Say it doesn't do everything you want? Root it, and you're ahead of the rest at that price. Don't want to root? That's fine, b&n will keep updating with more apps and software fine-tuning.

Good points. I also want to add an observation that hit me last night, as I was looking at cases for the Nook Color at Barnes and Noble: BestBuy is selling it for the same price (or better if you can get a 10% or 15% coupon), and they have an end-of-January return policy for electronics bought now. So you get 50-ish days of hands-on time.

I did more or less the same thing with the Pandigital Novel (thankfully BedBathandBeyond has a generous return policy) and ultimately, just couldn't live with the hardware. I had no qualms taking it back--and then I impulsively bought the Asus T91MT hybrid PC/tablet when it went on sale at woot. Jeez, gurgle you and I need to start a support group for people with too many gadgets.

Anyway, for my wife I can already guess the two issues that might break the deal on the Nook for her: (1) weight and (2) battery-life...her current Sony ereader probably weighs half as much, and gets charged every 2+ weeks. Obviously I'm gonna put on my best game face and say "BUT LOOK HONEY, it can do so much more than your SONY!!!" Seriously, browsing the National Geographic on the Nook at the store was really nice. And it looks like it does PDFs better than my T91MT (which runs Win7).

-Matt

 

[vijaykhai]

Hi ALL,
I have been following this thread with some interest. As I am only 74 yrs. young and NOT a techie but just an ardent user since mid AUG of a Wits A81E - FW 1122, ROOTED using Z4Root, Flash 10.1.105.6; I must confess that I am surprised to see all the doubts and hesitations about the availale tablets. After all the trials and heartaches, I must say I am more than happy with the Wits A81E - if given the chance I would go with A81G; which meets my needs foe email, news, video news, BBC, ebooks, youtube.
Just my 2 cents.
Vijay

 

[bamarammin87]

Thanks guys!

 

[gadgetrants]

Found an accessible guide to rooting the Nook Color:

How to root Nook Color, side load apps, review and gallery « Review Horizon

Looks pretty easy, and it enables the main thing I want: side-loading of Android apps. Since my Droid is a ready source for downloaded apps, I'm tempted to try!

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

Nook Color vs. Galaxy Tab? - xda-developers

Good read over at xda. Many of my questions answered including my question I had about bluetooth. I think I'm sold on the NC at this point. Will have to dig a little deeper in my pocket but it seems well worth it.

 

[gadgetrants]

Nook Color vs. Galaxy Tab? - xda-developers

Good read over at xda. Many of my questions answered including my question I had about bluetooth. I think I'm sold on the NC at this point. Will have to dig a little deeper in my pocket but it seems well worth it.

Nice link, thanks! This quote from the XDA I think sums it up pretty well:

xda-developers - View Single Post - Nook Color vs. Galaxy Tab?

I think we need to be a bit honest with ourselves here. Let us cut to the chase, the Galaxy Tab is a better device than the NC. It is more capable out of the box because of the hardware it carries, and as good as the Nook Color is, lack of hardware features can never be made up by the best ROM in the world.

This does not mean the Nook Color is a bad device. It is a great device, in its price range.

To me, the Nook is not a competitor to the Galaxy Tab. The Tab is a BMW. The Nook Color is a sturdy Ford, both good - but two different devices that do not compete with each other.

A buyer interested in a Galaxy Tab will not consider a Nook Color (as a Android tablet) just like a Nook Color buyer will not consider a Galaxy Tab. The price differential is just too big.

There is much to like about both devices, but comparing them, IMO, is apples to oranges - and a mismatch from the get-go.

The only thing I'd add is I wouldn't call the Nook Color a Ford. Maybe a Toyota (Camry).

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

I would have to disagree but every device I own is rooted and modified to the better. The potential for the nook color is endless and see it as a good competitor to the Galaxy Tab. But perhaps, I'm see the specs of the two differently than you.

 

[rico2001]

Nook Color
OS - Android 2.1
Screen - 7" Multi-touch Capacitive TFT LCD with 1024 x 600 resolution (169 dpi), anti-glare
Processor - 800mHz Cortex A8 processor
Ram - 512 MB
Internal storage - 8GB, microSD card slot supporting up to 32GB
4,010mAh battery, 8 hrs
WiFi
Bluetooth (none at the moment, likely enabled with custom rom)
3.5 mm stereo headphone jack
Size - 205mm x 128mm x 12mm
Weight - 447g


Samsung Galaxy Tab
OS - Android 2.2
Screen - 7" Multi-touch Capacitive TFT LCD with 1024 x 600 resolution (169 dpi)
Processor - 1GHz Cortex A8 processor
Ram - 512 MB
Internal storage - 16GB or 32GB, microSD card slot supporting up to 32GB
Front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera and rear, 3 megapixel camera with flash
4,000mAh battery, 6 hrs with wifi on, 3G off
WiFi
Bluetooth
3G with GPS A-chip
3.5 mm stereo headphone jack
Size - 190mm x 120mm x 12mm
Weight - 380g

 

[gadgetrants]

Yeah I think the quote I copied is a bit overblown. But I'm certainly in no position to make a comprehensive comparison between the two. Really, I've logged about 30 minutes total on the Samsung, and an hour on the Nook. So I only have first impressions. One impression--which is admittedly very superficial--is based on the respective native UI's. The Samsung *is* a tablet, and feels exactly like one. ATM, the Nook doesn't feel like a tablet. At least not an Android tablet. But remember it's the Nook that's sitting under my XMAS tree. I would be a huge fan if it gets a dev community that allows it to run Froyo like the Droid. If that were to happen, I'd happily call it an apples-to-apples comparison.

BTW, did you make those specs up? I had NO IDEA they were that close! If that's right, I'm buying 3 more Nooks tomorrow.

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

No, those specs are true as far as I know; took me a little while to look gather them all from different reviews of both. The NC was harder since most reviewer consider it and concentrate on the Nook's e-reading abilities and less on it's hardware. To be honest, I didn't know they were that close either. Right off the bat the just things I assumed about the Sam Tab was: it had a amoled screen like the galaxy phones and it was using a different processor then the nook. Now I see it doesn't have a super duper screen and it's the same cpu as the Nook. I'm starting to think if I put in a little more research, I may find they are actually made by in the same plant.

It looks like if you are willing to due without gps and willing to root the nook, you will have very close to a samsung galaxy tab.

And now with the guys at xda on the case, a custom super fast 2.2 rom for the NC, is certainly on the way. Hopefully they will also mess with the kernel so the processor can be clocked to 1Ghz like the Sam. Tab.

I really didn't want to spend over $200 on a tab since I really don't need one, but the NC seems way too good to pass on. Like you Matt, I think I'm going to pull the trigger on one tomorrow.

 

[gadgetrants]

I told my wife, "Hey, maybe you should open your XMAS present early. If you don't like it I can return it for something else," and she just made that scoffing sound. "HAH, I know you wouldn't have bought it if it didn't have a good return policy. I'll wait until the 25th."

Really, I can't make it that long. Is it unethical to buy another one for myself, with the full intention of returning it in a few weeks?

(I once noticed a plasma TV I returned to Sam's Club was on the discount aisle a few days later, marked down several hundred dollars...what a temptation...)

-Matt

 

[rico2001]

GPU Specs:

gigadigit at xda

Nook Color GPU: POWERVR SGX530
Galaxy Tab GPU: POWERVR SGX 540


Here is a GPU comparison for some of the leading smartphones:

* Motorola Droid: TI OMAP3430 with PowerVR SGX530 = 7-14 million(?) triangles/sec
* Nexus One: Qualcomm QSD8x50 with Adreno 200 = 22 million triangles/sec
* iPhone 3G S: 600 MHz Cortex-A8 with PowerVR SGX535 = 28 7 million triangles/sec
* Samsung Galaxy S: S5PC110 with PowerVR SGX540 = 90 million triangles/sec


Check out the HTML5 developer scorecard:
http://www.sencha.com/blog/2010/12/0...per-scorecard/

Galaxy Tab beats iPad 4.2 in all the performance testing.

Source

testulous at xda

Some quick notes about the NC compared to my Galaxy S i9000m and my bro's iPad:
1. the default browser on NC is awful. No multitouch + superslow. I'm about to install Skyfire on it to compare with the Galaxy S (nearly same hardware as Tab). Apparently the speed issues go away with better software?
2. NC's screen is gorgeous. NC has an antiglare Super-IPS screen with a wide viewing angle. That angle is for real, this screen is as good as a non-AMOLED can get.
Compared to the iPad, I think the screen is better because it reflects less ambient light and is just as responsive and has a higher DPI.
3. Videos play smoothly, but NC won't play MKV files (at all) or MP4 videos with Bframes. I think it's a software limitation, will install a video player to test this theory. I have a pretty nice Handbrake profile that works flawlessly so no it's not an issue. Samsung Galaxy S plays pretty much everything I've thrown at it. Haven't tested the iPad with video and I don't even care to anymore.
4. Tab + iPad = proprietary cable. NC = MicroUSB (same as Galaxy S).

Ultimately I chose the NC over an iPad because the iPad is a chunky hunk of heavy, slippery tablet. NC > Tab because of the ridiculous price and because NC is svelte. It feels amazing in the hands, very solid and sleek but not slippery.

Source

 

[bamarammin87]

Nook Color
OS - Android 2.1
Screen - 7" Multi-touch Capacitive TFT LCD with 1024 x 600 resolution (169 dpi), anti-glare
Processor - 800mHz Cortex A8 processor
Ram - 512 MB
Internal storage - 8GB, microSD card slot supporting up to 32GB
4,010mAh battery, 8 hrs
WiFi
Bluetooth (none at the moment, likely enabled with custom rom)
3.5 mm stereo headphone jack
Size - 205mm x 128mm x 12mm
Weight - 447g


Samsung Galaxy Tab
OS - Android 2.2
Screen - 7" Multi-touch Capacitive TFT LCD with 1024 x 600 resolution (169 dpi)
Processor - 1GHz Cortex A8 processor
Ram - 512 MB
Internal storage - 16GB or 32GB, microSD card slot supporting up to 32GB
Front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera and rear, 3 megapixel camera with flash
4,000mAh battery, 6 hrs with wifi on, 3G off
WiFi
Bluetooth
3G with GPS A-chip
3.5 mm stereo headphone jack
Size - 190mm x 120mm x 12mm
Weight - 380g

Holy cow that's close!

And nook gets 2.2 soon. I have a droid to cover the camera/3g/gps...I think I'm for sure on the nook.

 

[rico2001]

New fact: Both the Nook Color and Sam. Tab come with Gorilla Glass displays that don't need screen protectors, such as on our phones: HTC Incredible, my HTC Evo, Moto Droids, Sam Galaxys.