If anyone has both or had both, would you be able to answer a few questions?
I got a brand new ipad 1 for $280 and ended up selling it a few weeks ago because it really didnt meet my expectations for performance. I like Android OS better because of user customization ability and the widgets, which I use all the time. I dont like choosing between a million apps. I was very disappointed with the browser experience of the ipad 1. It was good for viewin 2-3 pages but after that, it would checker-board and also because of the limited ram (256mb) it would constantly refresh. Browsng on the ipad 1, was very minimal browsing, nothing that I can replace a netbook with. I think the Nook has 512mb ram which is the same as the ipad2....Also the ipad1 lacked multitasking (Even simple ones like chatting with someone on gchat and going back to my browser page) and notifications.
1) How does the browsing experience for the Nook compare to the ipad1?
2) With the new mods and tweaks, what about responsiveness?
I plan to use the tablet for watching movies, netflix when it comes out, browsing, gchat and multi-tasking all around with email and stuff. The ipad severely underperformed in that aspect and in the notification aspect. Basically, if it can do everything my stock mytouch4g phone can do (1ghz, 786mb ram), I will be happy.
3) Is the nook a legitimate replacement for an android tablet like the xoom? I mean considering the price + mods and tweaks, to someone who doesnt have one, it LOOKS good on youtube. BUt you never know how itll work out until soemone who used it tells you the truth.
kettlecorn said:
1) How does the browsing experience for the Nook compare to the ipad1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The biggest problem I have run into browsing involves sites automatically redirecting to the mobile versions although the NC is generally better off, at least in my opinion, with full versions. That is easily fixed with a few tweaks however. I have many times had 5-6 tabs open in Opera while listening to Pandora or an audio book in Mort Player and notice no slowdown.
kettlecorn said:
2) With the new mods and tweaks, what about responsiveness?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything short of Dungeon Defenders runs with no apparent slowdown after proper setup, and it is only going to get faster as Dalingrin and others continue working on it. I can whip back and forth between all my pages of apps without seeing any hesitation or stuttering with 5 widgets on my main page and 10+ apps on every page.
kettlecorn said:
3) Is the nook a legitimate replacement for an android tablet like the xoom? I mean considering the price + mods and tweaks, to someone who doesnt have one, it LOOKS good on youtube. BUt you never know how itll work out until soemone who used it tells you the truth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me, it definitely is. I frequently use my Nook for a few main tasks, all of which it handles perfectly in my experience.
1) RDP (I use Remote Desktop Client by Xtralogic)
2) Streaming video (UPNPlay + RockPlayer)
3) Audio books (Mort Player)
4) Web Browsing (Opera)
5) Remote control of media on my PC (MPC-HC Remote/VLC Remote)
6) Playing games (Angry Bird+Seasons+Rio, Stupid Zombies, Fruit Ninja, Words With Friends, Speed 3D FX, NES/SNES/GBA/GameGear/Genesis/PSX emulators)
7) lulz (FML, Cheezeburger, joke apps)
On an important note though, lacking 4G and GPS really annoys me, but I am planning on getting a Bionic whenever they finally release which tethering to should cover me for both of those.
I never had that many problems with the internet on the ipad. But I do not have a lot installed. I use the apps that came with it for most all my stuff. When I try to use other apps to copy files to it that’s when the problems started. after removing the files every thing is good. I have Angry Birds and other games running with no issues. The battery life is the same as the NC running CM7 off sdcard. All in all the nook color is very impressive for the price.
Awesome, thanks for the reply. It looks like with the overclock and some mods itll run just fine. I'm also looking into the archos tablets but I don't think they are as good as the nook in terms of support or getting honeycomb.
In all honesty I am a fan of android, and not a fanboy of apple...that being said...
I enjoy using my girlfriend's iPad, and if they weren't $500+ I would have bought one. After spending alittle over $250 on my nook color, I am VERY pleased with it.
I think my girlfriend is a little jealous too, especially when she sees me playing flash off the internet. I think the screen size is just perfect, and with the progress the developers have made on CM7 so far, it is working great. I think the main benefit of Android over apple is that you have more choices on which software to run on the device.
There are some very lightweight and fast web browsers out for Android, and I think you will find one to suit your needs.
Very pleased with my nook color and I recommend them to many friends.
I have both iPad and a CM7 nook. This is my take:
- iPad is huge! It does not fit any pocket. In fact is so big, that you have to carry a bag if you want to take it along (and if you take a bag, you might as well take a notebook). This is a magor plus for the nook. 7" seems to be just fine for me.
- iPad has a very low resolution screen. The screen density on the iPad is much lower then any phone's. This is relay frustrating for me. The nook has much better screen density.
- 4:3 vs. 16:10. I prefer the widescreen. 4:3 is probably better for magazines, but when it comes to video a lot of the 4:3 screen is wasted.
- when it comes to performance - the nook is much faster (using CM7 with the OC kernel), unfortunately battery life on the nook is not that great.
So, I guess it's more of a choice of form factor. For me, 10" 4:3 screen is not a good choice at all. I can't comfortably hold it in one hand. The plus is that the iPad has a bit of a WOW-factor over here (in Bulgaria).
I actually own both. Here's my take:
iPad:
- More responsive screen (huge perk for me)
- Appstore is so superior to Market. It's not even a contest.
- Bigger screen = more enjoyable browsing from the couch.
Nook Color (Phiremod 5.3 @ 1.1ghz):
- More portable
- More enjoyable reading ebooks (which is my primary use for it atm)
- more "fun" with the moding community and openness of Android
- Much easier to sideload apps and books. Huge plus.
All in all, I have an iPhone 4 and the iPad is a glorified iPhone. So I bought the iPad for the fiance and she absolutely loves the simplicity of it as she can relate to it because she has an iPhone as well.
I bought the Nook initially and learning Android was not as intuitive as learning iOS was for her. So the nook simply frustrates her.
Each has it's purpose. It's really all about what you're going to do with each device.
EDIT: Also, I paid $200 for my Nook (new) and $300 for her iPad (new). At these price points, if I could have just ONE device, I'd choose the iPad (jailbroken) over the Nook Color (CM7). If it were between the NC and the iPad2 @ $500, NC, no question. But that's just me.
Got both.
Ipad has netflix. NC will never get netflix, ever. Netflix requires qualcom chip DRM.
That is a big plus for ipad/phone, a single killer app.
Flash support if you ROM the nook.
I feel flash beats netflix, or at least ballances the scale.
Form factor of NC is ideal, 7 inch will win the tablet form factor wars for obvious reasons.
Ipad is wifi only, so not much diff there.
Ipad apps, seems like most I ever used (read: free) were upscaled iphone apps. Pixel doubling fail. Suppose android has same issue to a much lesser extent, and somwhoe it never bothers. Could be a bias, but really the ios apps seem to have more profound issue with native tablet apps or making apps scale to larger screen.
Multitasking. Ipad came out around the time of mutitasking ios apps, but seems to not share the feature with iphone.
I love the nook color over ipad. Ipad is dead in the eyes of apple.
Deliver by Epic 4G xda app
snives said:
The biggest problem I have run into browsing involves sites automatically redirecting to the mobile versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can easily change your userAgent with dolphin... sorry if its been mentioned in the thread, I didnt look
kettlecorn said:
If anyone has both or had both, would you be able to answer a few questions?
I got a brand new ipad 1 for $280 and ended up selling it a few weeks ago because it really didnt meet my expectations for performance. I like Android OS better because of user customization ability and the widgets, which I use all the time. I dont like choosing between a million apps. I was very disappointed with the browser experience of the ipad 1. It was good for viewin 2-3 pages but after that, it would checker-board and also because of the limited ram (256mb) it would constantly refresh. Browsng on the ipad 1, was very minimal browsing, nothing that I can replace a netbook with. I think the Nook has 512mb ram which is the same as the ipad2....Also the ipad1 lacked multitasking (Even simple ones like chatting with someone on gchat and going back to my browser page) and notifications.
1) How does the browsing experience for the Nook compare to the ipad1?
2) With the new mods and tweaks, what about responsiveness?
I plan to use the tablet for watching movies, netflix when it comes out, browsing, gchat and multi-tasking all around with email and stuff. The ipad severely underperformed in that aspect and in the notification aspect. Basically, if it can do everything my stock mytouch4g phone can do (1ghz, 786mb ram), I will be happy.
3) Is the nook a legitimate replacement for an android tablet like the xoom? I mean considering the price + mods and tweaks, to someone who doesnt have one, it LOOKS good on youtube. BUt you never know how itll work out until soemone who used it tells you the truth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience with the ipad 1 mimics yours, though I will say for one or two page browsing the ipad is superior. However, I can open 7 or 8 tabs at once in DolphinHD (whatever the maximum number it lets you open) on the NC without any slowdown when scrolling through pages which makes it vastly superior for me as I always have at least 3 or 4 tabs open when browsing. If you want to do anything like drawing or note taking, the screen is more sensitive on the ipad to allow that, though you can also do it on the NC, just not as well.
In terms of tablet useability, it is as usable if not more so than my Fascinate. You can easily multitask and it performs well. Mail, gchat etc. all run at the same time without issue. Movie watching is high quality if you convert the movies or use VLC convert and stream to encode on the fly to the proper format. I prefer the form factor as it's more portable and you can use it one-handed which is not really possible with the ipad. It absolutely can be used as an everyday tablet.
Probably no sense in repeating everything everyone has said so I'll say that I pick the NC up more often than the iPad because having Flash is important to me and the size is so much nicer, especially when reading. The iPad is just overly huge.
parasense said:
Got both.
Ipad has netflix. NC will never get netflix, ever. Netflix requires qualcom chip DRM.
That is a big plus for ipad/phone, a single killer app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll make a lier out of you yet
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=995759
It was working for some time, but they caught on to us. It's close to coming out, though...
What about the NC screen brightness, contrast, viewing angles, color reproduction, flickering?
I've used an Ipad 1 in a bright store and it suffers a lot from glare, even at highest brightness setting.
Couldn't find a Nook Color in my country to try it out.
I have both an ipad 1 and the nc. In the past I have had a Cruz tablet, gtab, and Augen tablet. There are three things I have to have in a tablet: speed, portability, and a good screen. Out of all those tablets only one meets all those criteria and its the nc.
The screen is superb. Its has great viewing angles, and it's bright and crisp. The speed once rooted and overclocked is good, there are faster tablets but not at this price point. Finally, this is truly a portable device. You can't just toss an ipad or grab in your pocket. Plus have you ever tried to hold those larger tablets in one hand for any period of time?
I would say for now if you want a nice, zippy, portable tablet this is the clear cut winner.
parasense said:
Ipad has netflix. NC will never get netflix, ever. Netflix requires qualcom chip DRM.
That is a big plus for ipad/phone, a single killer app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... ever? To quote Marge Gunderson, "Not so sure about your detective work there, Lou"
"Ever" is a mighty strong statement.
playon lets you access netflix via your home PC - so while technically I don't have direct access, i can access netflix from anywhere using my nook color using playon
Jgrimoldy said:
Hmmm... ever? To quote Marge Gunderson, "Not so sure about your detective work there, Lou"
"Ever" is a mighty strong statement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Related
I'm looking for a cheap tablet between $200-$300. Mainly for web browsing. Something lighter then my netbook. I'll play the occasional game and youtube too. Btw how is the web browsing?
Thanks
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
Also keep in mind, I don't have a problem rooting it as I'm familiar with the process.
buffnutz1 said:
I'm looking for a cheap tablet between $200-$300. Mainly for web browsing. Something lighter then my netbook. I'll play the occasional game and youtube too. Btw how is the web browsing?
Thanks
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would certainly recommend the nookcolor, its has the best hardware you'll find for its price and features are great... (i may a have been paid to say that)
Anyway, once rooted the web-browsings great, i recommend using dolphin browser or opera mini.
Youtube works great, high quality vids stream well.
Great for games, i have yet to experience lag in any game except raging thunder two...
Sent from my NookColor using xda app
I would recommend the Nook. Like you, I was looking for something to replace my netbook, and the 3.5" screen in my iPod Touch just wasn't cutting it. The browsing is great, especially once you root it. Youtube is great, although I have the newer .apk installed, so I can't speak for the previous version. I also have the gingerbread keyboard installed which is head and shoulders above the B&N stock keyboard, and is even much better than the DroidX keyboard that is installed with AutoNooter. (EDIT: Nevermind, I just saw that Gingerbread Keyboard is now bundled with AutoNoother) It's so good, especially in landscape mode, that I don't mind knocking out longer emails and editing word docs. I love the Nook. There is no other tablet in the $250 price range that can even compete. Go for it!!
You guys are awesome. Thanks
urbanengine1 said:
Great for games, i have yet to experience lag in any game except raging thunder two...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing you haven't tried Dungeon Defenders
ya dungeon defenders lags real bad when enemies get on the screen
How would you compare web browsing to a netbook on that? Also, what are your guys' cons?
buffnutz1 said:
I'm looking for a cheap tablet between $200-$300. Mainly for web browsing. Something lighter then my netbook. I'll play the occasional game and youtube too. Btw how is the web browsing?
Thanks
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Auto-nootered NookColor delivers what you have listed here as your requirements:
a) It's $249, there were reports that some shops may even sell you a "re-furbished", out-of-box unit for as less as $180. Just try to see there's no dead/stuck pixels, and you're golden.
b) Web browsing in terms of rendering is fast, soon (with the advent of Android 2.2 -- or better A2.3, and the native JIT support) it will be 30....50% faster, and on a level with Samsung Galaxy Tab (which beats iPad's browsing any day, if you need some marks).
Scrolling of long-long Web pages is smooth -- to an extent there's still free RAM is left (in other words, nobody reported about the quality or even existence of cache in Android 2.x). As of today, use xScope 6.x, some AdBlock, don't use Flash Lite (try to use flash_for_2.1 app of Flash 10.1 though)
c) It's around 1 pound, add a capacitive stylus, microfiber cloth, capacitive stylus, some cardboard stand (or one made out of "official" envelope, or pocket) and a charger, it's still half kilo.
d) I'm not a gamer, but I'm under an impression when and if 2D/3D hardware accelerated driver will be available (at A2.2.1 level, probably) and more or less debugged and streamlined one (at A2.3...2.4 level) Nookie will be playing everything, scaling everything. No gyro/multi-(5?)axis accelerometer though. But nobody will stop you if you will decide to put Kinect on it, lol.
e) "HQ" YouTube app (I quoted my find in my blog fineoils.blogspot.com) plays fine and fluidly, hardware decoded and hardware assisted renderings of full 1080p HD clips and movies at HD section of YouTube (within that YouTube app, though, as the A2.1 and its every video player doesn't know a fig about Nookie's or TI OMAP3621 video/flash hardware acceleration, obviously). It's a shame that only about dozen of NC users adopted HQ YouTube -- and not our major devs.
Other video/Flash lite video playing is stuttering, tearing junk, any streaming video will lose A/V sync in less than 10 min, so it's unwatchable, Ustream is unwatchable, Vimeo won't even let you login, Justin.tv is unwatchable, Veetle doesn't have Android app yet, drat!
There's a list of other Nookie quirks in my blog you may want to study prior to your decision on Nookie purchase. Comment there or here, ask away
aludal said:
Auto-nootered NookColor delivers what you have listed here as your requirements:
a) It's $249, there were reports that some shops may even sell you a "re-furbished", out-of-box unit for as less as $180. Just try to see there's no dead/stuck pixels, and you're golden.
b) Web browsing in terms of rendering is fast, soon (with the advent of Android 2.2 -- or better A2.3, and the native JIT support) it will be 30....50% faster, and on a level with Samsung Galaxy Tab (which beats iPad's browsing any day, if you need some marks).
Scrolling of long-long Web pages is smooth -- to an extent there's still free RAM is left (in other words, nobody reported about the quality or even existence of cache in Android 2.x). As of today, use xScope 6.x, some AdBlock, don't use Flash Lite (try to use flash_for_2.1 app of Flash 10.1 though)
c) It's around 1 pound, add a capacitive stylus, microfiber cloth, capacitive stylus, some cardboard stand (or one made out of "official" envelope, or pocket) and a charger, it's still half kilo.
d) I'm not a gamer, but I'm under an impression when and if 2D/3D hardware accelerated driver will be available (at A2.2.1 level, probably) and more or less debugged and streamlined one (at A2.3...2.4 level) Nookie will be playing everything, scaling everything. No gyro/multi-(5?)axis accelerometer though. But nobody will stop you if you will decide to put Kinect on it, lol.
e) "HQ" YouTube app (I quoted my find in my blog fineoils.blogspot.com) plays fine and fluidly, hardware decoded and hardware assisted renderings of full 1080p HD clips and movies at HD section of YouTube (within that YouTube app, though, as the A2.1 and its every video player doesn't know a fig about Nookie's or TI OMAP3621 video/flash hardware acceleration, obviously). It's a shame that only about dozen of NC users adopted HQ YouTube -- and not our major devs.
Other video/Flash lite video playing is stuttering, tearing junk, any streaming video will lose A/V sync in less than 10 min, so it's unwatchable, Ustream is unwatchable, Vimeo won't even let you login, Justin.tv is unwatchable, Veetle doesn't have Android app yet, drat!
There's a list of other Nookie quirks in my blog you may want to study prior to your decision on Nookie purchase. Comment there or here, ask away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is your blog?
buffnutz1 said:
Where is your blog?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL..
I think its listed in every post he has made..Sometimes twice
blog fineoils.blogspot.com
Weird my nook run dungeon defenders on max like a champ. That's what showed how powerful it is. Even my Evo lags a lot on that game.
superman_legendary said:
Weird my nook run dungeon defenders on max like a champ. That's what showed how powerful it is. Even my Evo lags a lot on that game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even with a ton of monsters on the screen?
Mine is fine when in build phase and there's 0 monsters. But once the attack starts (and not on Easy mode), it's literally a slideshow.
Is yours still smooth when tons of monsters on screen?
My G/F's mother works for B&N so I'm going to see if she can get a good discount on a new or refurbished unit but before I do I wanted to ask a few questions. I was thinking of getting the SGT 10.1 inch or the Moto Xoom in Wifi only flavors.
I basically want to know how the Nook color performs for games such as Angry Birds, Ninja Jump without OC'ing. I basically will use this tablet for Evernote, Pandora, Browsing, Facebook, XDA, Organizing Pictures, etc.
What do you guys think the life cycle of this device will be? If a newer update for HC comes out do you think that the current hardware may support possible feature adds (example: video editor that google built for HC).
I asked the rep in the store about the internal memory and he said it had 5GB internal and supports up to 32GB. I googled the specs and it says the Nook has 8GB. Which one is it?
Thanks.
NC has 8GB internal but only 5GB are free OOB. non-OC plays games great.
If you can get a discount on a refurb, what do you think you'll be paying? Maybe $150ish? Maybe a bit more? Let's put things in perspective and keep in mind that, though the NC is overdesigned and overpowered as a reader, it's not being sold as an alternative to the Galaxy or (most definitely) the Xoom.
Performance-wise, it holds up well against the Galaxy. The screen is better. It boots a heck of a lot faster. It's likely not going to fare as well against the Xoom. But it's a fraction of the price.
For the price and for the joy of tinkering and pushing the limits, the NC is, far and away, the best value you can get *now* -- it's even better if you can get a substantial discount. Just know that it will be outperformed by several other tablets in the coming months. I doubt there will be anything competitive, at this price level, any time soon.
Make the jump now. Come on in, the water's fine.
Yeah I'm not too worried about it competing against dual core and camera equipped tablets. I have an Evo 4G so I don't need to have those features. I just want to know the possibility to get HC running efficiently.
I think a refurbished unit should run me below $200 so it isn't too bad. Just wanted to know what you guys think of the dev community on this Nook being that so many others are coming out.
I was in a similar boat and dove right into the Nook. It's only been a few days and I'm happy I did it.
Xoom is $550 more since you don't want a contract. I debated on going with a larger tablet such as the iPad or a 10.1 inch android. Ultimately, I found that they were too large and heavy for real, everyday use. I like being able to use the Nook with one hand.
FYI, I'm using mine to take handwritten notes (using a stylus), reading pdfs, websurfing and the occasional game.
I'm in a similar boat and had 2 quick questions:
1) Hows video playback with your typical 700mb avi file with apps like vplayer or rockplayer? Has froyo or cm7 improved things?
2) What app were people using to take notes with a stylus and how well does it work?
Cheers
1) I haven't avi files - I've been using m4v files with 1300 video bitrate and 128 bit audio on Act 1. It's been a great success so far.
2) I've been using HandMemoWritter. It's free and other programs have problems losing data when you change orientation (genial writing and apMemo). HMW is a bit basic, but it works well.
Thanks Wile E Coyote.
I think I may pull the trigger on this. I have to check out the dev section for HC to see how far they have progressed.
The good thing is that the GPU is the same one they use in the Droid X.
Briefly tried vPlayer and Rockplayer and wasn't satisfied with performance. Stock video player plays H.264 encoded MP4's well as long as they conform to the resolution specs of the device (854 pixel width). I've setup a default profile for my Nook Color in Handbrake and my bluray rips to 854 pixel width H.264 videos are amazing on the nook.
I don't have much experience with android devices yet, have had the nook for 3 weeks now, but IMO for video playback nothing beats VLC on a jailbroken iOS device for the shear ability to drag and drop things onto the device and play them back with nearly complete disregard for the format they're in.
3 weeks ago I was still hoping for news on iPad 2, and wishing for a Motorola Xoom. Xoom pricing was leaked and I jumped ship for a Nook Color instead. No regrets, as at this price point I could easily give this thing away to my wife or son and get a better tablet down the road without worrying about the price I paid for it.
It's fun to drop bootable images to micro SD cards and try out different operating systems too. Once all the kinks are worked out for Froyo or HC i'll surely change the primary boot system on mine. Developers working on nook color mods are fantastic, huge props to them!
iPad2 is supposed to be announced on March 3, according to All Things Digital.
I feel so dirty.
Honestly I don't see the iPad 2 as being anything special. They'll most likely add a FFC and Rear camera and more ram.
The price is going to go up if they add a retina display.
the nook color rooted and such will be the casual mans tablet. For mobile use as a notepad its great. Lightweight easy to hold and use. Also for it being the size it is you can hold in two hands and type with out over-reaching(i am a big guy so YMMV but my long fingers...)
for gaming it works pretty well. I did get my copy of nova over on it and it works pretty well. but some games will not work not sure if its the screen size but some just fc
The video playback is pretty good for me. I run Slingplayer and PlayOn for Netflix/Hulu stuff and it is good enough. The CM7 build as it is today doesn't have hardware video support yet, so the Nookie Froyo (currently at 0.6.8) is a better option for video support. The stock nook 1.0.1 or 1.1 rooted also works pretty smoothly with video. So in short, Nooted or Nookie Froyo are the best daily driver options today, although I'm sure CM7 will be the next great thing when it gets to a more robust version.
Not to mention honeycomb
Sent from one of those missing Droids
gqstatus0685 said:
My G/F's mother works for B&N so I'm going to see if she can get a good discount on a new or refurbished unit but before I do I wanted to ask a few questions. I was thinking of getting the SGT 10.1 inch or the Moto Xoom in Wifi only flavors.
I basically want to know how the Nook color performs for games such as Angry Birds, Ninja Jump without OC'ing. I basically will use this tablet for Evernote, Pandora, Browsing, Facebook, XDA, Organizing Pictures, etc.
What do you guys think the life cycle of this device will be? If a newer update for HC comes out do you think that the current hardware may support possible feature adds (example: video editor that google built for HC).
I asked the rep in the store about the internal memory and he said it had 5GB internal and supports up to 32GB. I googled the specs and it says the Nook has 8GB. Which one is it?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well right at this very moment if you want a semi stable hack to make your nook a HC tablet i suggest you get a nook but if you want something thats 100% stable and something that will work out of the box with no hackery involved i suggest you get a moto xoom
i own a nook color and i have no regrets about buying it, and i feel it has been the best thing i bought this year but it does require some work to make it a tablet(not much but its extra work none the less)
Watched an avi of "Saving Private Ryan" on the NC and ran beautifully. Earphone to listen but all in all it ran well.
skeeterpro said:
Watched an avi of "Saving Private Ryan" on the NC and ran beautifully. Earphone to listen but all in all it ran well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I ask what size and resolution the movie was formatted in, what app you were using and which ROM you're on?
Just that there are contrasting reports regarding video playback.
This is the only thing stopping me from getting one at the moment, as the Archos 101 is awesome in terms of movie playback (including live live streaming over your Wifi network from my PC).
Would love to hear people's feedback.
Got a transformer last week. Great device... but a bit heavy. I'll be keeping the Nook as well. it's just soo much more comfortable for one-handed usage.
Here's my thoughts. if the Nook could support better video performance (video was choppy on my CM7, especially HD video which was virtually unplayable without transcoding to specific settings..), then it'd be a serious contender.. As it is, I'm keeping my Nook for reading and bed-side usage for books/rss feeds.. transformer for living room usage (browser is awesome on that device).
There's definitely a place for a nice lightweight 7" tablet.. I just wish our nook had better driver support for video.. plus bluetooth is pretty handy for consuming video/audio using bluetooth headsets.. but the nook's range is obviously limiting.
-m
I really think Amazon will be dropping a kindle color soon. And with all their services for HD video, music, and apps. That might be the budget/size tablet to get.
Or maybe the vizio tab depending on size of coarse
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
This is the very beginning of the Android tablet market. I doubt the NC will be the best or last, but it is a relatively inexpensive starting place while we see what comes out.
Like the OP, I expect to add a larger, more desk-oriented tablet in the near future for travel purposes when I don't need a full laptop, but the NC is a great mobile device.
diomark said:
There's definitely a place for a nice lightweight 7" tablet.. I just wish our nook had better driver support for video.. plus bluetooth is pretty handy for consuming video/audio using bluetooth headsets.. but the nook's range is obviously limiting.
-m
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might have been happier with the Archos 70 Internet Tablet. Amazing video and audio support right out of the box. Not as hackable as the NC, but even on its own without hacking its not too bad. Very light as well and you can get it with a 250GB HD in it. Bluetooth support, capacitive screen, etc.
Google Nexus 7
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Android phones first hit the scene in 2008 with the G1. Compared to the venerable Windows Mobile and Blackberry platforms, and the new iPhone, Android was primitive to say the least. Slowly, and steadily, Android has grown to a full-fledged operating system. In February, 2011, not even a year and a half ago, the first true Android tablet was released. It was the Motorola Xoom and was the first device to see the Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" operating system. Probably the best we can say about the original Xoom was that... it did the minimum that was expected of it. It had good specs- a dual core CPU, a gig of RAM, and a 720p screen. But, it was twitchy, laggy, and personally, I found it annoying. It was also thick, heavy, and amazingly, cost MORE than the Apple iPad. It was a recipe for disaster.
Let's fast forward to 2012. Honeycomb is gone. It was replaced with a streamlined OS called Ice Cream Sandwich. Suddenly, older tablets started screaming the way we all wanted. But, that's still not 2012. Today, we have Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean". Using the Ice Cream Sandwich underpinnings, everything has been further refined and optimized. Google had "Project Butter" specifically deal with making the OS as smooth and lag-free as possible. And they succeeded. Introduced first on the Google Nexus 7, our first look at Jelly Bean is impressive. It's as smooth as was promised and finally can go toe-to-toe with iOS... and come out ahead in many areas.
Google has had their own branded phones for years with varying degrees of success, and now they have their own tablet, the Nexus 7. Anything else you hear about this tablet falls secondary to this fact: This tablet was meant to beat the Amazon Kindle Fire. The Fire was the first true commercial success for any Android tablet. The problem was, it's barely recognizable as one. Most Google apps are gone or buried, there's no access to the Google Play app market, and the whole device is geared to get you to spend money at Amazon. Google makes no money on a platform like that, so enter the Nexus 7.
The Nexus 7 is thinner, lighter, and has a better screen. The Fire has no camera, has a weaker processor, and what's essentially a modified phone operating system. The Nexus beats it in about every measurable category.
Specifications:
DIMENSIONS
98.5 x 120 x 10.45 mm
340g
SCREEN
IPS LCD
1280x800 resolution
Multitouch
Corning scratch-resistant Glass
PROCESSOR
Quad Core Tegra 3- 4 cores @ 1.3Ghz, 1 low consumption core @ 500Mhz
NVidia GeForce 12-core GPU
MEMORY
1gb RAM
16gb internal (13.5gb useable)
CAMERA
1.2mp front-facing camera
PORTS
Headset
Micro USB
Battery
4325mAh
MISCELLANEOUS
Bluetooth 4.0
Stereo Speakers
GPS
WiFi 802.11 b, g, n, a
Accelerometer
The Nexus 7 is comfortable to hold and is light enough for extended reading in bed. The edges are rounded and the back has a rubber-like coating that makes for an easy grip. Remember- this is an Android e-reader first and all else secondary. The LCD screen is bright and has a good pixel density. Since e-reading is a primary function, I'll talk about that first. Like most Android devices, you get Play Books from Google. But, you can also get the Kindle and Nook apps as well, so you're not limited to one format. There's even other programs out there like Aldiko that are good for reading generic .pdf books, too. Turning the brightness down to about 75% gives a comfortable reading experience and the text is crisp in all the readers I've tried.
OK, here's some downsides. It's designed to compete with the Fire and doesn't really try to go that far beyond it. You have a choice of 8gb or 16gb. That's not much storage in todays world. I suppose they're really trying to push cloud storage, but you're not always near a wifi hotspot. Worse, there's no micro-SDXC slot to expand your storage. Also lacking is the HDMI port that Android users have come to expect. It's really great to plug your phone or tablet into a TV at a hotel and watch your own media. Not happening on the Nexus 7. For some inexplicable reason, Google forces the tablet into portrait display mode at all times unless some app calls for a landscape view. Yes, even video and picture viewing. The camera? Front facing, and no app to take a picture. It's usable by most video calling programs- Google, Skype, etc, but you can't snap a picture. Not a big deal, but it is odd. Lastly, when really putting the Tegra 3 throug it's paces, the back does get very warm. Not hot, but warm enough for you to tell it's getting a workout.
But the plusses... there are a lot. The device, manufactured for Google by Asus, feels very solid. No creaks or snaps, no flexing, it just feels solid. Integrated into the design is a smart cover feature- a magnet sensor that will shut off the screen when a "smart case" (that contains a small magnet at a strategic location) closes and turns it back on when the case opens. The video player is awkward in Portrait, so I don't use it. MX Player is fantastic and offers hardware and software acceleration. It plays all formats thrown at it. Anyway, video is crisp and without lag or stutter. Battery life is great. You'll average about 9+ hours and that should take you through a full days use and then some. The speakers are loud enough to hear without straining and the sound is decent for what it is. It sounds great through headphones. Gone is the old reliable Android Browser. Chrome is now the preferred web app. It's fast and integrates with your desktop settings, saved bookmarks, etc. Then, there's the wifi... I have NEVER seen reception this powerful on any device. I can go anywhere inside and stay connected... that's expected. What's more, I'm seeing strong signals I've never seen before. It's a little piece of terrific. And when tethered to my phone, gets the same great 4g speeds.
Jelly Bean- It's very much a matured OS. Beyond the silky-smoothness, there's some great new features... some came with Ice Cream Sandwich, some with Jelly Bean. Face unlock has been refined. Originally, you could trick it by putting a picture in front of the camera. Now, there's the option for it to withold unlocking until it tells that you blinked! Google's Voice Search has advanced a great deal. Google's had voice input and search since 2009, and it's never been bad, but with all the press and ad revenue Apple's Siri has received, Google knew they had to step up their game. Google's voice search now answers in a very human, non-computerized voice. And the answers are literally twice as fast as Siri's. When it doesn't have an exact answer, like when there's a range of answers, it doesn't ask you if you want to search... it just gives you the results. Navigator has been updated with the same natural voice, too. And speaking of that, Google Maps now allows you to cache a pretty large area for offline mapping. Being it's a wifi-only device, this is extra handy.
There's all sorts of throw-ins when you buy a Nexus 7. The biggest is $25 credit at the Google Play app market. In case you needed inspiration to gouge out your eyes and ears, they threw in a complimentary/punitive copy of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I guess if you're traveling with kids and they act up, you could force them to watch it instead of something good. They also threw in 20 complete songs in a variety of styles. Some recognizeable, some new and kinda neat, and some quickly eraseable rap songs.
Benchmarks are great. The powerhouse CPU/GPU combination takes everything you throw at it in stride.
So, what am I going to do with this thing? I have no idea. It's fun, it's a great size, but it's not for someone who wants a complete tablet experience. The lack of storage alone sees to that. At best, it will be a secondary device, but unlike a full-on tablet, you're going to rely on a smart phone more when you carry the Nexus 7 around. I'll take it to work and see how it is for wiring diagrams and flowcharts, so stay tuned. I'm either going to give it to my folks or make it an extended loan. Mom's somewhat Android-savvy, having had 2 Android slider smart phones. Dad's completely technophobic, so I want to see how he likes things like the NFL and ESPN apps. Regardless, they're going on a cruise along with a flight to Europe and back, so this will certainly help matters.
So, it's a nice tablet in a great package. Not unlike the Apple ecosystem, if you're OK with the limitations of the environment, you'll have a great experience. If you want a fully expandable complete tablet experience, you might want to look at a Samsung Galaxy mini tablet instead. The Nexus 7 is priced at $199.99 for the 8gb version and $249.99 for the 16gb model. It's available at https://play.google.com/ and at retailers like GameStop, Sams Club, Staples, Office Max, and others. Availability is very limited now, but within a couple weeks everyone should be stocked up.
:good: Archer likes this!
Great review! I'm excited to get my hands on mine this week. I bought it primarily for reading as my retina iPad is a little too big for comfortable reading. I also got it for the development community that will certainly filling in the small holes that Google and ASUS surely left due to either cost or other reasons. Still, after a year with the Xoom and TPrime I have to say this is the first Android tablet I've actually been excited about. I grabbed the 8GB version as I won't be playing much games (I will use the iPad for that, plus I just don't play many games and I have my trusty 360 and new Vita for those purposes). It will be more of a simple web browser, twitter, small amounts of Google+, and more importantly, like I mentioned above, an eReader. I'm sure I will miss the storage space, but then again I didn't even use 6GBs on my Xoom or Prime especially since all my 40GB of music lives in the Google Music cloud. This will be my go to device for bringing to work and I can leave my very expensive and kind of irraplaceable retina iPad safely at home.
Thanks for the review!
Is that Babou???
Good review, thanks for being honest and not completely sided on it like some reviews have been.
"For some inexplicable reason, Google forces the tablet into portrait display mode at all times unless some app calls for a landscape view. Yes, even video and picture viewing."
Not true at all. If you're having problems rotating it, disable screen rotation lock from the notification menu. Just about everything will rotate at that point (not the stock launcher).
firehazard said:
"For some inexplicable reason, Google forces the tablet into portrait display mode at all times unless some app calls for a landscape view. Yes, even video and picture viewing."
Not true at all. If you're having problems rotating it, disable screen rotation lock from the notification menu. Just about everything will rotate at that point (not the stock launcher).
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Haaaa... that's terrific. Thanks.
:good: Wee baby Seamus likes this!
could you please run androbench and post the results here? want to know if this device suffers from IO problems like all other Asus tablets!
Good job with your review, I found it balanced and informative. It would be nice if you made a followup about general UI performance at some point. I know it's supposed to be rather speedy, but I have found mixed verdicts on the forums. It would also be nice if someone made a review from a dev's standpoint (maybe I will ), but overall excellent work!
---------- Post added at 04:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------
Tempie007 said:
could you please run androbench and post the results here? want to know if this device suffers from IO problems like all other Asus tablets!
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Click to collapse
Based on the quadrant benchmark, it seems to suffer from some amount of I/O deficiency, which I have learned the hard way can be quite a headache. Nothing a custom rom wouldn't fix, but still worrying.
No one else bothered by the really low I/o score
nvm didn't refresh the thread lol
hanthesolo said:
Good job with your review, I found it balanced and informative. It would be nice if you made a followup about general UI performance at some point. I know it's supposed to be rather speedy, but I have found mixed verdicts on the forums. It would also be nice if someone made a review from a dev's standpoint (maybe I will ), but overall excellent work!
---------- Post added at 04:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------
Based on the quadrant benchmark, it seems to suffer from some amount of I/O deficiency, which I have learned the hard way can be quite a headache. Nothing a custom rom wouldn't fix, but still worrying.
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Click to collapse
If the I/O is slow then there's only so much a rom can do. It's a hardware problem.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda app-developers app
Yeah, of course I know that! I have had a lot if experience speeding up low-io devices, so I meant that it wouldn't be too hard for someone to patch things up to increase usability in a custom rom, assuming the I/O is not TOO shoddy.
Thanks for the positive feedback! I'll run some more tests, and give some impressions after a couple days use. After the first overnight leaving the battery at 25%, the battery meter seems to have calibrated and battery life has been great. For the first time in my Android experience, you can load a media-rich page (like the last one) and flick-scroll top to bottom and back with no lag, pause while loading times, or anything. It's very home PC-esque.
More to come.
And to all the other Archer fans here... DUH, and/or HELLO!!!
OK, well... no more to come, for awhile at least. I gave the N7 to my parents. It was a leap of faith that they'd be up for the concept of an Android tablet, especially since they're in their 70s... but Mom has a basic Android slider phone, has a Nook reader along with a PC and a really crappy netbook. So, after spending a couple hours with them, setting up their accounts, giving them a tour of the device, and walking them trough the different Google features... they're excited. Dad, who's terrified of computers, was even playing Angry Birds. They loved the new Jelly Bean voice search. So, I'll give some updates on how a pair of seniors are dealing with some cutting edge technology.
Me, I'm looking forward to what Google has next... I'd love a 10" full-featured tab with expandable memory, 1080p screen, and all the great tech the N7 has.
Nice review!
Another nice (and glowing) review is http://gdgt.com/asus/nexus/7/reviews/r22/
The Kindle Fire OS is as much a tablet version as JB for the Nexus 7. Both are essentially phone OS.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
ijeff said:
The Kindle Fire OS is as much a tablet version as JB for the Nexus 7. Both are essentially phone OS.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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I couldn't disagree more Much of the evolution of Jelly Bean came from Honeycomb, which was without question, a tablet OS. The Kindle Fire IS a phone OS. It's based upon Gingerbread. That was NEVER intended for tablets. Now, Android devices have a single upgrade path, and it's ICS/JB... but I simply can't see where you could refer to JB as a phone OS.
Tempie007 said:
could you please run androbench and post the results here? want to know if this device suffers from IO problems like all other Asus tablets!
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Click to collapse
Well, now that I have a Nexus 7 again... here you go:
Some follow-up notes after using the Nexus 7 (well, the 2nd Nexus 7) for a week.
1) The GPS locks pretty quickly, and although ridiculously huge, works great with Navigator and having internet tethered from my phone.
2) No glitches or defects in my current one or the one I gave my parents. Feeling pretty lucky all around with these gadgets.
3) The tablet fits quite well in the pocket of most cargo slacks.
4) Google's voice search is a blast to show to iPeople when they get all uppity over their beloved Siri. Snicker.
5) Early concerns over the lack of Flash are mostly eased. Many of the sites I use at work that formerly required Flash seem adapted to HTML5. And, they all work well with Chrome. I guess we can say Chrome is now a grown-up browser.
6) Grab the free game Dark Meadow: The Pact from the Play Store market. It really shows off the abilities of the Tegra 3. You're Welcome.
7) This tablet is taking more and more time away from my old (well, in technology terms anyway...) Acer A500 tablet. I never thought I would get so much use out of a 7" tablet. It's a pleasant surprise. I really appreciate how thin and light it is.
have you guys seen the new samsung chromebook?
its got that Exynos 5 5250 A15 chip, an above 720 screen, SSD, no moving parts so no need for a fan (wont suffocate sitting on your bed), 2GB ram, bluetooth, USB 3.0, HDMI, 6.5 hour battery life @4080MAh battery, only 11.6 inches, 2.5 pounds, and .8in thick. things stylish too. its like a netbook on crack.. its only 249, i cant see any reason you wouldnt buy it.. oh wait.. it only runs chrome OS..
well i dont think you can put windows on this thing. maybe linux, but id rather talk about actually keeping the chrome OS.
i have a few questions, if anyone who actually owns one could fill me in.
can you use torrents on a chromebook?
can you locally store pictures/movies/music on here?
if so, is there an offline video player? can it play all kinds of video formats?
if i plug in a flashdrive, can i move files around? is there a file manager in this thing?
can chrome os play minecraft?
can anyone who owns one tell me a little more about these little guys? thanks fellas
soraxd said:
have you guys seen the new samsung chromebook?
its got that Exynos 5 5250 A15 chip, an above 720 screen, SSD, no moving parts so no need for a fan (wont suffocate sitting on your bed), 2GB ram, bluetooth, USB 3.0, HDMI, 6.5 hour battery life @4080MAh battery, only 11.6 inches, 2.5 pounds, and .8in thick. things stylish too. its like a netbook on crack.. its only 249, i cant see any reason you wouldnt buy it.. oh wait.. it only runs chrome OS..
well i dont think you can put windows on this thing. maybe linux, but id rather talk about actually keeping the chrome OS.
i have a few questions, if anyone who actually owns one could fill me in.
can you use torrents on a chromebook?
can you locally store pictures/movies/music on here?
if so, is there an offline video player? can it play all kinds of video formats?
if i plug in a flashdrive, can i move files around? is there a file manager in this thing?
can chrome os play minecraft?
can anyone who owns one tell me a little more about these little guys? thanks fellas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own a cr-48.
You can locally store pictures and music (idk about movies, never tried). It does have some (limited) offline capabilities, like offline gmail, calendar, drive (read only IIRC). There is a file manager.
As for the rest of your questions...I have no idea, I have a real PC for all that crap.
Snowflake approved this message....
Two Linux distributions: openSUSE and Ubuntu have been already ported to the new Chromebook. You can't run Windows because it doesn't support ARM chips. Well Windows 8 RT supports but you need to be Microsoft's hardware partner for that.
Sent from my MB526 using xda premium
soraxd said:
have you guys seen the new samsung chromebook?
its got that Exynos 5 5250 A15 chip, an above 720 screen, SSD, no moving parts so no need for a fan (wont suffocate sitting on your bed), 2GB ram, bluetooth, USB 3.0, HDMI, 6.5 hour battery life @4080MAh battery, only 11.6 inches, 2.5 pounds, and .8in thick. things stylish too. its like a netbook on crack.. its only 249, i cant see any reason you wouldnt buy it.. oh wait.. it only runs chrome OS..
well i dont think you can put windows on this thing. maybe linux, but id rather talk about actually keeping the chrome OS.
i have a few questions, if anyone who actually owns one could fill me in.
can you use torrents on a chromebook?
can you locally store pictures/movies/music on here?
if so, is there an offline video player? can it play all kinds of video formats?
if i plug in a flashdrive, can i move files around? is there a file manager in this thing?
can chrome os play minecraft?
can anyone who owns one tell me a little more about these little guys? thanks fellas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just purchased a Chromebook last night, have used it for probably 10 hours since and here's my rundown of it.
It is wonderfully fast, but what more can you expect from a linux system running an operating system based solely around the internet browser Chrome along with some perfectly functional "web apps". Now, by web apps I literally mean if you open an app on your taskbar at the bottom, it opens Chrome and goes to a website and performs as such. Think of it as a super fast epic computing system that works exactly as one would expect when Google presents an operating system.
IMO after 10 hours of use
Pros - Lightning fast, beautifully functional GUI; incredible and intuitive trackpad, takes 30 seconds to learn the strokes of it. there are no left and right buttons and it is a large pad (one finger click or tap selects, two finger click is a right click, click and hold with your forefinger and drag with your middle for selection and graphic movement, two finger drag to scroll down, up, left, or right. Its pretty awesome). Keyboard with separated keys so the lack of size is still spacious and not cluttered, because it isn't a windows keyboard there are no F1-F12 keys, windows keys, caps-lock, scroll-lock, delete, insert, pg up, pg dwn, so in short there is tons of saved space. MASSIVE selection of apps in general, like woah huge, and that's just the free ones. Once you link your google account to the pc you have over 160 gigs of storage on your google drive, as well as a 16 gb SSD that makes the performance kind of ridiculous, it boots in mere seconds, comes back from sleeping in the time it takes the monitor to come to life *which isn't long* and opens web pages faster than my PC. The wireless is a dual band (2.5 ghz and 5.0 ghz) b\g\n after a speed test it registered the peak speed of my connection through my Netgear N Dual band router. (30 meg down and 3.2 meg up, I have a screen shot, but I am a newb here so I cannot post it *which I understand not complaining just explaining* <3 ) The design is clean sleek, and odd. All the ports are in the back, which threw me back to old 2 inch think laptops, but it keeps the design very clean and easy to keep clean. lots of clean if you didn't notice the pattern. HDMI port, usb 3.0, usb 2.0. No fans, unless their silent, but I cannot hear ANYTHING its very quiet and manages to stay cool with no other visible ports other than the speakers. That's the odd part. It's really, wonderful. Oh, and I almost forgot (sorry I know this is going on forever I just wanted to make sure to be detailed) Chrome has a wonderful multi-device streamlined epic google machine. The Chrome that I use on my chromebook is the exact same browser that I'm using on my PC, other laptop, and HTC Evo3D. By that I mean same history *which isn't much because I'm usually incognito* same bookmarks, same apps.
The Perk about this is that it is a 100% fully functional and mobile device. It is ideal for businesses and students because it contains everything one needs to be productive and have fun in a VERY mobile device. It's the best new toy I've had for a while =)
Cons - Small, feels fragile. Some webpages have to be zoomed through the menu because the pages seem to be shrunk in some cases. Some apps available through the Chrome Web Store are not supported on the device yet, and without knowing until you install it, its a minor inconvenience. The customization is limited, its pretty much a what you see is what you get device. You can change the desktop background and the theme of Chrome but that's about it. There is no, like none at all, working and functional Spotify app for this, which is evil to me.
Overall 8 of 10, money well spent for sure.
Graphics - everything is low intensity for the most part so 8 of 10 cause its still crisp and beautiful, videos also look wonderful
Functionality - 10 out of 10. Period. Because Google.
Gaming - 2 of 10, that is not what this was built for, unless you like games on smartphone or flash than go for it.
Video - So far I've been able to play .mkv .avi and .mpeg4 videos fine. as for any other format I do not know. But with those three covered thats pretty much all of the digital movie formats. (I do not condone or endorse torrenting, and as far as I know it's not an option because you cannot INSTALL software, they are web based apps.)
Basically, as if I wasn't enough of one already Google has officially made me their fanboy, True story...
Yea, hope that helps. I know its lengthy but to me 249, is still 249. and therefore, well informed is better than going off of the very limited results on an actual review of this thing, I went and used it for about 20 minutes at best buy before I was too giddy to not own it. So yeah, my recommendation is get it, but only if you're not expecting a PC, cause that's NOT what this is.
:good::good::good::good:
Edit : Battery is epic. 8 hours of battery life if you don't need your screen bright as the sun. 6 and a half on full brightness. (the eight hour estimate is based on the fact that I have had it unplugged and powered on for the better part of 5 hours and the estimated time on the battery right now is 3 hours 43 minutes. So yeah, epic.
Please use the existing computer thread for this type of discussion, thanks. Thread closed.