[Compared] Huawei S7 / Rooted NOOKColor

Joshua

Member
Nov 28, 2010
47
16
My wife like surfing the web and reading books from Overdrive on my S7 so I decided to get her, her own device. She didnt need all the features of the Huawei that I enjoy, like the ability to use as a phone, GPS, or bluetooth capabilities. She did however want something reasonable fast, that was a good reader and web device. After trying the Velocity Cruz Reader, 9" Pandigital Novel, and being dissapointed, we settled on the Nook. She was happy with the stock interface, but wanted to be able to play games like Angry Birds and Slice It, so I rooted it. After using it for a few days I present my head to head comparo.


The S7 is a great peice of hardware. It works great out of the box with almost no usability quirks. Its almost appliance like. It has all the features of a highend smartphone such as a fast Snapdragon processor, 512MB Ram, Dual Cams, GPS, but with the great usability of a 7" tablet form factor. Some people consider the S7's resitive screen a negative, but its never been a burden for me, as i find the Nooks screen to be overly sensitive at times. I consider the S7 a very underated device. Its a great all around device, with great build quality and admirable performance.

The rooted NOOKcolor, ill call it the NC for short, is a great device with a few caveats. Unrooted its like having the engine of a corvette in the body of a mini-van. It has the hardware to be a monster but Barnes and Nobles went with a super conservative interface. It has an incredible screen that even outpaces devices such as the Galaxy TAB and Ipad. The capacitive touch is super sensitive. The processor is fast and the unit has 512mb ram. The main limitations of the Nook are the lack of a MIC for any voice related apps, no GPS for location based apps, and no Cam or Bluetooth.

The S7 is being underserved by a lack of accessories, though a contact at best-buy has told me there are SKUs in their system for home, vehicle chargers, and a Huawei specific case. The S7 requires no using command prompts, rooting, hacking, risk of messing up to be a great usable device.

The NC has extensive customer support and accessories. For rooting it has several websites full of developers working to iron out the rooting related kinks. Still unless you are comfortable using a DOS like command prompt system id stay away from the nook for now. There are also many quirks that still need to being ironed out, but NookDev and XDA Developers groups of experts are working on it. They are even working on adding bluetooth capabilities using its builtin chipset.

Overall they are both capable devices, but I still favor the S7 for now. I enjoy having the extra features available, and having a device that just works without limitations from being hacked. The NC has an incredible screen, which is really the cornerstone of it. In time I may shift my favortism.





 

pbrauer

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 24, 2010
3,649
561
Joshua - thanks very much for the great write up and comparison. And since you seem to "manage" the Nook, be sure to add it to your sig file too! ;-)
 

brachiopod

Member
Nov 22, 2010
114
6
Here is an interesting article, an official 2.2 froyo update from B&N for the Nook. They have realized the interest in it and are smart to make hay while the Sun shines. If it had a GPS I'd get one. If it had a front camera and a GPS I'd definitely get one.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/guid...ill-get-froyo-update-become-a-real-tablet.ars

And, reading the release more carefully, they now say no Google Market, so not as interesting unless someone figures out how to sideload it.
 
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docfreed

Member
Dec 4, 2010
44
5
I had both and returned the S7! Although it had the best resistive screen I've seen yet, the Nook Color screen is still more responsive and higher resolution. Subjectively, I thought the NC had better build quality - for example, the 3.5mm earphone jack on my brand new S7 was very wobbly and didn't make good contact - stereo cut in/out. And don't believe any PR - the NC does have Google Market - I have downloaded many apps. Of course, you have to root the NC (but also the S7) but I found rooting to be easily done (and perfectly reversible). Given the price differences, and the availability of support fora, accessories, and a large developer community, I stayed with the.
Although this forum is great, and the folks very responsive, it seems like a lone voice in the wilderness and I wanted to see more progress in mods/hacking

just my $0.02

docfreed
 

Joshua

Member
Nov 28, 2010
47
16
OK after having both units for over a month now I still am leaning towards liking the S7 better. The Nook's screen still amazes me, but it the unit overall is too glitchy for me to depend on as a go to device. Until those bugs are worked out, or should I say, if they are ever worked out I may take a second look. The S7 is more functional for my needs with its Phone, GPS, and bluetooth abilities. Even the camera while not that great is still nice to have in a pinch or for apps that depend on it like barcode readers, ect. The S7 is definitely my goto device nowadays.
 
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smartin

Member
Jan 31, 2011
42
5
Even the camera while not that great is still nice to have in a pinch or for apps that depend on it like barcode readers, ect.
I tried once @ home and once in a store, but I can't get "Barcode Scanner" app to read a barcode. The image is VERY blurry. What app do you use & are there any tricks to getting barcode image into focus?
Steve
 
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