Color Nook vs A70...

[EZRyder]

I returned the ColorNook one day after buying it. I just didn't like the idea that I had to re-engineer the device in order to have a tablet that performed to average specifications. My A70 already does 90% of what I want in a tablet so I just couldn't justify the ColorNook. I may have to check out the Tegra2 dual core tablets when they are available.

Average or not, this thing looks and runs better than the A70. The screen really us awesome once you reconfigure the Nook for tablet use. But if you already gave an A70, its not worth the trouble, really. I'm just kinda glad i list mine. The Color Nook rocks.

[RobertD]

I returned the ColorNook one day after buying it. I just didn't like the idea that I had to re-engineer the device in order to have a tablet that performed to average specifications. My A70 already does 90% of what I want in a tablet so I just couldn't justify the ColorNook. I may have to check out the Tegra2 dual core tablets when they are available.

Average or not, this thing looks and runs better than the A70. The screen really us awesome once you reconfigure the Nook for tablet use. But if you already gave an A70, its not worth the trouble, really. I'm just kinda glad i list mine. The Color Nook rocks.

If I didn't already have the A70 I would have gone ahead and worked with the ColoNook as the screen and build quality is much better. Thing is with all these electronics gadgets the best today will be replaced with another device tomorrow which does more and costs less lol. I think around May I will get whatever looks good at that point and give the A70 to my grandson.

[watznarchos]

Hey thanks for the info, next time I'll check with you first.

Yes why would you compare it to an Android device? ***Mod Edit...Allen***

I wasn't comparing os's I was comparing ram and the fact that the ipad runs perfectly
fine with 256mb as opposed to 512mb.***Mod Edit...Allen***

[L0stS0ul]

my ipad gets laggy at times with the latest ios update which still isn't true multitasking which android provides. If my ipad had true multitasking it would lag worse I think.

[EZRyder]

my ipad gets laggy at times with the latest ios update which still isn't true multitasking which android provides. If my ipad had true multitasking it would lag worse I think.

Exactly what I was thinking.

[soulhunt79]

First a question on the nook. Does it support things like uPnP and Samba?

Bluetooth is pretty much a killer for me though right now. Not that I use it all the time, but it is extremely nice to be able to connect a GPS or wireless headphones.

my ipad gets laggy at times with the latest ios update which still isn't true multitasking which android provides. If my ipad had true multitasking it would lag worse I think.

Completely agree.

If there was a way for me to turn off multitasking and get something close to apples I would in a heartbeat. Seriously, why do I need angry birds to be running in the background after I exit it? Is the 5 sec load time really too much for people?

I'm fine with 256MB but over the last week I've noticed a clear performance difference when I installed a task manager and just kill apps each time I go back to the home screen or bring it back from sleeping.

[frogger55]

hi,

as a tablet, when rooted, the CN sounds great...but how is it at its primary task as an ereader using an lcd screen compared to an A7 (edit - also lcd)?

thanks for any thoughts,

rich

[4DThinker]

I have both the Nook Color and the Archos 70it 250.

Nook: 1024 x 600 IPS screen.
70it: 800 x 480 pixels, TFT LCD.
Display resolution is obvious and view angles are better on the nook.

Nook: 15.8 ounces.
70it: 11 or 14 ounces.
Weight difference is noticable when picked up one after the other, even between the 250gb 14oz 70 and the flash based 15.8oz nook.

The .48" nook is thicker than the .43" flash 70, and thinner than the .55" 70-250.

Both have external volume controls and speakers.
The 70it plays FAR MORE media codecs than the nook. Don't buy a nook for your FLAC playback.

Archos 70 has HDMI-out. No TV-out on the nook.
Archos 70 has working and full-featured bluetooth. Not working reliably on the nook yet.
Both have access to the android Market and Google apps.
Both have microSD-HC expansion slots.

802.11 b/g/n on both, but n actually works on the nook.

Both have g-sensors. Both can play the 3D lite games available for the Archos gen8s and 5it.

Build quality is better on the nook. No case squeeks when handling it. Nice easy-grip back panel. I feel less like I'll drop the nook than my 70.

Nook color, 8gb: $249.00
Archos 70it, 8gb: 274.99.

No camera on the nook. 70 has a front-facing one.

I'll suggest the 70 if you're after great media support. The nook color looks like a great internet tablet though. Both require some hacking to take full advantage.

4D

[rdb4133]

So can all of the codecs or a media player be installed on the Nook Color so that it can come close to the A70IT as a media player? Personally I care about Xvid & MKV files mostly.

[4DThinker]

So can all of the codecs or a media player be installed on the Nook Color so that it can come close to the A70IT as a media player? Personally I care about Xvid & MKV files mostly.

I've been wondering the same myself, although MKV files are foreign to me. There are several alternative music and video players available on the market, but they don't reveal if they include the ability to play codecs that aren't already supported on your device. There is strong developer interest in the nook though, and once they get past hacking the hardware completely I expect them to get around to media play. Patience.

[Sonicjet]

Well, The nook has one big thing for it on top of things: Ubuntu.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/216107/n ... buntu.html
They are still working on it but they intend to be running the Unity Interface by February. http://tombuntu.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... /unity.jpg
Then, it can play and do anything, they intend to use a really cool trick to do it.
You see on Archos Linux You are booting into a full copy of Linux, Why do you have to do that to get there? If you don't forget, something else is based on Linux: Android.
Thus you just need to port the XWM to Android, Boom, that has already been done, it just needs to be implemented on the nook.

[4DThinker]

I see the appeal of the nook color to hackers. I fully expect someone to port windows 7 to one, then WebOS, then win7 PhoneUI, then the new RIM tablet UI. I also notice several retailers selling them for more than MSRP on Amazon.com. B&N has them at $249 though, and seems to be able to keep them coming.

On a side note, Amazon is going to open an Android App Store. Seems to me like the next Kindle will be more like this Nook Color, and they'll have their app market on it from the start. They'll profit from books sold AND apps sold and MUSIC sold too. You'll even find the general Amazon Store app on it. It might all be rolled into one Amazon Market app.

4D

[sigma957]

So can all of the codecs or a media player be installed on the Nook Color so that it can come close to the A70IT as a media player? Personally I care about Xvid & MKV files mostly.

Since my A70 250GB had to be RMA'd back to Archos, I picked up a Nook Color to try out in the mean time. I use my tablet mostly as a media player, and here is what I have found out about each device:

The NC will only natively play MP4 files with H263 or H264 baseline profile video and AAC audio. I rip a lot of DVDs to my media PC using H264 main profile with AC3 sound. The A70 plays these just fine, but the NC would not. If I rip to H264 baseline profile with AAC sound, the NC plays them just fine. I also have a number of videos that are H264 baseline profile with MP3 sound. The NC would display the video, but with no audio.

I tried Rockplayer on the NC, since it can play all kinds of formats. The problem, however, is that it must use software decoding and the processor in the NC is not fast enough to keep up. My MKVs with AC3 sound played (sort of), but the video was like a slide show and the audio was choppy.

Bottom line is that for video playback, the NC looks great if you're willing to encode all of your videos to a specific format. While the screen isn't as good, the A70 is much more versatile. I will say, however, that the A70 would lock up regularly, while I have yet to have the NC do so.

[Sonicjet]

You should notice though, that the rooted nook color is not intended for music and video, just as an iPad is not primarily meant for those things, it's for ereading, apps and the web.

[aaronwww]

I went for the Nook Color mainly for the IPS display which I found a bit sharper and also better viewing angles. While it isn't marketed as a full blown tablet the rooting of the device has come a long way and it is so easy. I say it comes down to what you need it for. I didn't really need webcam etc, just a device to play android games, browse the web and of course read books

I wrote up a review here....

http://www.ronviews.com/what-is-the-bes ... ook-color/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ_eR8XaDnI

[4DThinker]

I say it comes down to what you need it for.

I say no one needs these tablets. We got along fine before they existed. I've had to open up a hole in my routine to fit the use of one in, and what a tablet can do I find I have already covered with other devices. Media play? My home theater, PC, MP3 player, netbook, car head unit... all do a fine job of that. Web access? Again my PC has comfortable seat, ergonomic chair and relation to it, big screen I can read at a comfortable distance without glasses. Need to check the web while on-the-go? My cell phone has a decent browser and fits in a pocket. No easy way to have a tablet on me all the time. I can't print anything I want to from an android tablet, so it is just a little aggravating to use one no matter how great its UI might be. I regret checking email on mine because every now and then there is a receipt or document attached that I need a paper copy of, and it means I'll have to return to my PC to get that work done anyway.

So there is nothing about the current crop of tablets that we need. It is all about wants. Consider what you want to do with a tablet before deciding which one to buy. Make sure those wants aren't already met more efficiently by other devices you may already own. I predict several million tablets that arrived as Christmas gifts will be collecting dust by Valentines day. I'll also predict that we haven't seen the ideal tablet UI/OS yet, and it will include general wireless printer support to any app that wants to print.

4D

[aaronwww]

Lol you raise some good points. What I should have said is....."it depends on user PREFERENCE, what they want in the device" :P

[tmc]

Consumers need to look at the tablet market objectively. Sure, these tablets are going to get really good soon, but in the interim:

1. the o/s is a bit flaky (4 simultaneous versions of the o/s currently in mainstream use)
2. hardware seems to determine the rage of o/s compatability (this is a 15 year step back into the pc industry, IMO).
3. prices and the number of makers actually shipping product are a mess; now that consumers are interested, you might want to stay on the sidelines (for the HIGH END/HIGH PRICE TABLETS) until these products get REALLY good later this year or next year.
4. netbooks are a viable interim/step product-- and you CAN run android o/s on them as dual boot/virtual machine if you want to....

** if netbook makers would just include touch/fold-over screens, they could ride the tablet interest wave at nominal cost increase... hint to acer, asus, msi, hp, etc. how much more could a fold-over resistive/capacitive touch screen cost? $60?

[4DThinker]

Weight is key. Easy of holding onto it is key. Archos is smart including a kickstand at least.

I'll give Apple credit of starting the new trend by stealing my suggestion to put their phone OS/UI on a larger screen. There are mentions of an iPad in 2001, but until the Touch/iPhone arrived everyone assumed a tablet by Apple would use their desktop OS. Same mistake every Windows tablet made. I say take an iPhone/Touch. Keep the motherboard small. Enlarge the screen. Use the space behind it for big battery. Now that there is a reference design, at least Google realizes a phone UI could be better optimized for use on a large screen.

I'm having mixed feelings about which screen technology is best. Capacitance demands fingerprints, and that will forever aggravate users. The resistive screens on the 43 and 32 are great and can be used with a fingernail or stylus OR my fat finger pad. They even work with gloves on. I get just a little better Angry Birds control on my 70 and Nook than I do on my 43 though. Might be the size of the screens rather than the technology used that makes the difference. Someone needs to develop "hover" sensing. If a tablet screen could detect distance from and location above the screen of a finger, a clever programmer could make an interface you wouldn't have to actually touch.

[aaronwww]

Yeah I have the same issue with fingerprints on these touchscreens. I always install a screen cover on all my touch devices. My favorite brand is invisibleshield. Made a huge difference on my Nook Color, especially with fingerprints. Can't say I am a huge fan of Stylus, I mean sure there may be certain apps that benefit but it is more convenient for me to just use my fingers.