Would you look at that... somebody actually gets the appeal of the nook
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/01/lenovo-announces-ideapad-a1-the-199-android-tablet-we-go-hand/
7" 1024x600 screen, $200. Dont see anything on the other specs, but unlike most competitors the screen is there.
Jotokun said:
Would you look at that... somebody actually gets the appeal of the nook
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/01/lenovo-announces-ideapad-a1-the-199-android-tablet-we-go-hand/
7" 1024x600 screen, $200. Dont see anything on the other specs, but unlike most competitors the screen is there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw this earlier too.... sounds *real* familiar overall. It's even running Gingerbread, a la CM7, etc. It will be interesting to see how it does, but it comes off sort of like a slightly tweaked, slightly more mainstream CM7 NC. It's kind of a credit to the NC that this thing is coming out a year+ later for a similar price point and doesn't really blow it away, as far as I can tell.
The story also doesn't talk about the display quality. If it is on par with the NC, then maybe...
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA App
PC World is listing the processor as a single core 1Ghz Cortex A8 and 2GB internal memory. Only info so far on the screen is that it's Capacitive touch with a 1024x600 resolution. Still no info on any kind of hardware acceleration which can make or break it as a media player.
Edit: They do mention a GPS receiver, which is rather interesting.
Looks pretty sweet! $200 is definitely the right price point.
Has advantages over the NC - camera, GPS
You can buy a refurb NC for $170 these days though.
Also article says the 8GB model will not be for sale in the USA. 16GB model will at $249.
Unless the screen and battery are total lemons, I would say the 16GB model blows the NC out of the water going head-to-head at $250 retail. Of course, it would be a little ridiculous to buy a NC at full retail right now, this late in the production cycle and with full-warranty refurbs fast approaching the $150 mark.
The recent Vizio tablet is also a decent contender in the NC's retail range and nearly the same form factor.
I'm digging that widget in the middle of the screen. Anyone know what it is?
caifan said:
I'm digging that widget in the middle of the screen. Anyone know what it is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would guess it's a proprietary UI element, but it may just be a pre-loaded market widget.
Taosaur said:
Unless the screen and battery are total lemons, I would say the 16GB model blows the NC out of the water going head-to-head at $250 retail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um, well, except for the fact that probably 95% of the people who buy a NC buy it because it's an eReader with apps.
khaytsus said:
Um, well, except for the fact that probably 95% of the people who buy a NC buy it because it's an eReader with apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which has little bearing on the question of whether said "eReader with apps" is comparable in value to an almost identical device with several advantages, nor on the question of whether a year-old and decreasingly unique piece of electronics is still worth the initial retail price.
Or are you simply arguing that B&N can continue selling NCs for $250 on the basis of consumer ignorance?
Hmm... if i ever upgrade I might hold out for Sammy's 7.7" super amoled with GPS and 0.7 pound weight and 10 hour batt life. But only at $250!
Taosaur said:
Which has little bearing on the question of whether said "eReader with apps" is comparable in value to an almost identical device with several advantages, nor on the question of whether a year-old and decreasingly unique piece of electronics is still worth the initial retail price.
Or are you simply arguing that B&N can continue selling NCs for $250 on the basis of consumer ignorance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm obviously saying that the vast majority of people who want an eReader aren't getting a tablet, and vise versa.
The price point to beat will be the one that Amazon sets with its new tablet. If a decent tablet from a known company is available below that price point, that can use the kindle app and nook app, then consumers will catch on. The real issue however is that Lenovo has no stake in an app store or media store, so they can't afford to lose money on hardware, while Amazon and B&N can.
caifan said:
I'm digging that widget in the middle of the screen. Anyone know what it is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the Lenovo Launcher, a custom widget that comes on all their tablets.
colorado_al said:
The price point to beat will be the one that Amazon sets with its new tablet. If a decent tablet from a known company is available below that price point, that can use the kindle app and nook app, then consumers will catch on. The real issue however is that Lenovo has no stake in an app store or media store, so they can't afford to lose money on hardware, while Amazon and B&N can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Supposedly Amazon's tablet will be a $250 7" 6GB tablet with wifi, negotiating 3g/4g. There's some rumor that 3g access will be "free" (along with 1 year Amazon Prime free membership) but... man that's a lot of bandwidth to be giving away free for a tablet.
No camera, and also apparently no HC --- "a system prior to 2.2".
Personally I'm not really all that jazzed, kind of disappointed at the mediocre (so far) specs.
The articles should be filtering in for this about now.
angomy said:
Supposedly Amazon's tablet will be a $250 7" 6GB tablet with wifi, negotiating 3g/4g. There's some rumor that 3g access will be "free" (along with 1 year Amazon Prime free membership) but... man that's a lot of bandwidth to be giving away free for a tablet.
No camera, and also apparently no HC --- "a system prior to 2.2".
Personally I'm not really all that jazzed, kind of disappointed at the mediocre (so far) specs.
The articles should be filtering in for this about now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read that this morning too. I'm sure they will sell a lot due to brand recognition, but it sounds like they're late to the party with that one. The NC is essentially the same, but has been out for a year. And it sounds like they are readying a new one.
Too bad. I was hoping for better hardware at a subsidized price. The Lenovo looks much better than the Amazon Tab.
Don't know how credible it is, but this was posted over on mobileread:
Dulin's Books said:
The AmTab will have a AFFS lcd panels provided by Hydis which is a subsidiary of PrimeView/Eink Holdings http://www.hydis.com/eng/04_rnd/rnd_03.asp
AFFS or Advanced Fringe Field Switching Displasy are a Hydis patented tech which produces bright displays with very good color and 180 degree viewing angles with lower power usage then similar size IPS displays
http://www.hydis.com/eng/04_rnd/rnd_03.asp
http://www.hydis.com/eng/04_rnd/rnd_02.asp
http://www.boehydis.de/techno/techno.html?reload_coolmenus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, it sounds like at least a minor screen improvement over the NC, but maybe this also explains the rumors of B&N acquiring "e-paper backing" from eInk for the next-gen NC.
Wow free 3g!
Ill buy this or the amazon tab if theres a 250gb HD like the Archos tabs. I need that space to replace my ipod classic sometime...
captainskyhawk said:
Ill buy this or the amazon tab if theres a 250gb HD like the Archos tabs. I need that space to replace my ipod classic sometime...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a 250GB tablet from any of the top tier manufacturers. The 8/16/32GB flash memory model seems to be pretty much standardized now. Some of the lower-end, fringe companies like Archos might come out with hard-drive based tablets, but the big guys won't.
Amazon certainly won't, because they want you to use their cloud services to store your MP3s, and putting a huge storage capacity in their tablet would be counterproductive for that goal.
The best we can expect in terms of storage is 64GB SDXC support and/or multiple SD slots. The Lenovo actually has one micro and one standard SDHC slots, creating the potential for 16/32GB internal + 32GB uSD + 32GB SD = up to 96GB storage for a total of around $400 (less if you have the cards on hand), which is pretty massive by tablet standards.
As has been said, though, tablets and the mobile OSes they run are better optimized for cloud computing than managing substantial quantities of files locally.
ETA: honestly, if this thing materializes and reports on performance and screen quality are positive, I may consider it as a trade up from my NC.
Related
Unfortunately i have had to exchange my nook two times. I thought the third one would work. But today I returned it and the accessories. Are there any other tablets one would reccomend sans Galaxy Tab. I realize most (if not all) of you don't give a **** about this post. But I just want to see peoples input. I may buy an NC again in the future once a new hardware revision comes out. Goodbye again.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I surely would waste my money on a galaxy tablet I had 1 and its etremely crappy waste of money no matter how you flash it or what you do to it doesn't matter it still junk.
Laggy browser multi touch slow tiling in the browser Go to sleep while watching youtube videos on and on
Definitely not worth 600 dollars
I would buy a viewsonic g tablets and root the hell out of it before I would buy another galaxy
Third one is working for me. Too bad you didn't have any luck.
Have you looked at the Velocity Micro Cruz Tablets? Same price, but don't know any details about the hardware.
Good luck,
kev
jackjumper85 said:
Unfortunately i have had to exchange my nook two times. I thought the third one would work. But today I returned it and the accessories. Are there any other tablets one would reccomend sans Galaxy Tab. I realize most (if not all) of you don't give a **** about this post. But I just want to see peoples input. I may buy an NC again in the future once a new hardware revision comes out. Goodbye again.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What was the problem with each tablet, individually?
I too haven't had any luck. My first Nookcolor wouldn't turn on or reset after I plugged it in to charge. The second one would randomly reboot, reload or freeze. B&N are sending me a third one. My cousin bought her nookcolor on release date and she has never had to reset or soft reset hers.
3g...no thanks
Viewsonic g tablet if you are into custom Roms. Crappy out of the box.
Archos 70 or 101. Tempted to sell my NC for the 101.
Sent from Nook Color.
khaytsus said:
What was the problem with each tablet, individually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First one - usb port was jacked up (like smashed)
Second one - Volume buttons broken
Third one - Defective digitizer
Sent from my rooted HTC EVO 4G.
Were you having the digitizer problems while plugged into the charger? This seems to be a common issue that is actually caused by the charger itself. I know you already returned your third Nook but maybe someone else will see this if they're having a similar problem. I have this same issue with my Nook and will be calling customer service to get a replacement shipped out. In the meantime i haven't had the need to use my device while it's charging due to the long battery life.
For those considering changing to a gtablet or archos i can only say that i owned an archos 101 and returned it due to its horrible screen and build quality. I have also used a gtablet and it was quite heavy and also had a very poor screen. However, there's no denying that it has pretty powerful hardware and performs well when you ditch the stock software for a custom rom.
Sent from my Nook Color using XDA App
My third Nook is on it's way... First two had cracked screen! :|
leeh41 said:
Viewsonic g tablet if you are into custom Roms. Crappy out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard good things about this one too. If I had to buy one right now, this would probably be it. Otherwise, I'd wait for the NotionInk Adam.
leeh41 said:
Viewsonic g tablet if you are into custom Roms. Crappy out of the box.
Archos 70 or 101. Tempted to sell my NC for the 101.
Sent from Nook Color.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm (quick look at Viewsonic web page and Amazon) ... twice the price for 7 or 10 inch, slower and way less onboard memory, what's not to love? Web cam, BT and Froyo are there also there, OK some things.
Homer
ianandamy said:
I surely would waste my money on a galaxy tablet I had 1 and its etremely crappy waste of money no matter how you flash it or what you do to it doesn't matter it still junk.
Laggy browser multi touch slow tiling in the browser Go to sleep while watching youtube videos on and on
Definitely not worth 600 dollars
I would buy a viewsonic g tablets and root the hell out of it before I would buy another galaxy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear ya, surprised the fanbois insecure in their purchase haven't popped up yet to cry foul though.
Anyways, I'd wait. CES is coming and supposedly alot of new tablets will be demoed with actual release dates not too far out... i.e. I'm not even going to recommend a rooted/custom fw'ed gTab. (It is fast(browses almost as well as my MSI GT725 P8600 2.4GHz/ATI 4850 mobility), but you never know something with a better stock fw might be on the way...)
I'm kind of in the OP's position, as my first NC came OOB w/a borked USB port and I had a b!tch of a time getting them to exchange it. No wonder that B&N are in trouble with that kind of QA & CS... Exchange unit is doing OK now, so I plan to keep it unless something happens to this one before 14d are up, in which case I'm going to have to think hard about another exchange or just flat out return. Their crap CS is making me lean to return as it was the very worst CS experience that I've ever had in my life.
[EDIT]
Do NOT buy the Cruz Craplet. It uses a non-standard MIPS CPU in the SoC unlike every single other recent device that uses ARM based SoCs. Also their reader is just an overpriced white Pandigital Novel. The fws are nearly directly exchangeable.
Archos: beware of 256MB of RAM in those, and their current froyo build underclocks their CPU to 800MHz plus they tooketh away features that were in their 2.1 build... (mainly some codecs that they want you to buy now, or so I gather). The RAM is a limiting factor in app usage and potential further OS upgrades, so I'd look for devices with a minimum of 512MB of RAM onboard. (I'd also REALLY like to see easily user replaceable batteries.... but...)
Notion Ink: I'd wait and see on those guys. More like until they release their next tablet(see if they survive) and see if they fix their crappy warranty & shipping & return policies and/or get into B&M so that you can see/try BEFORE you buy...
[/EDIT]
I went from an Archos 101 to a NC and I definitely second the comment about the ram. 256MB just isn't enough for me - lockups and freezes are common when you do anything interesting with it. My dad ended up the Archos for Christmas for checking sports scores and emails and stuff and he loves it so far.
The latest Archos gen8 firmware allows you to bump the speed back up to 1GHz, so that's not an issue. The A101's screen (TN versus IPS) and touch sensor (tested via fruit ninja) are crap next to the NC's. As far as video playback goes, the A101 runs rings around the poor NC. Everything just played. Lack of bluetooth sucks on the NC, but hopefully "they" will fix that for us soon.
My NC has a single dead pixel smack in the middle of the screen, but it's definitely not worth the hassle of a return.
EDIT: I forgot about the terrible wireless on the A101. As of 2.0.71 firmware WPA2 AES finally works, but it's not as stable as wireless on the NC. On the other hand, the A101 neatly beats the NC on battery life.
bugeyed1 said:
Third one is working for me. Too bad you didn't have any luck.
Have you looked at the Velocity Micro Cruz Tablets? Same price, but don't know any details about the hardware.
Good luck,
kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was contemplating getting a cruz tab but from what I read, it has slow mips processor which stops market access. The reviews also said it had build issues. I'm happy with my galaxy tab and my wife is happy with her nc, she still won't let me root her nc lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
i agree wait until CES is done. Lots of Android tabs coming out. It's unfortunate at the problems some are having. I have 2 NC's and no problems. For the money, the NC is hard to beat. I would not get the Galaxy tab as it is overpriced IMHO.
Been followign the CES and pre-CES launch announcements, and I would say hang on til june and get one of the Asus Tablets. They will retail between $399-$499 depending on model (the 7", which includes a capacitve stylus and ap suite to take advantage of it, and the 10" slider models are $499, the 10" tablet that has an optional keyboard dock is $399). The LG tablet is another that is on the horizon that looks very promising.
In fact, CES now has me second guessing whether or not I will get a NC.
leeh41 said:
Viewsonic g tablet if you are into custom Roms. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had one....terrible screen....I returned it. Loving my nook
fwdixon said:
. They will retail between $399-$499 depending on model (the 7", which includes a capacitve stylus and ap suite to take advantage of it, and the 10" slider models are $499, the 10" tablet that has an optional keyboard dock is $399). The LG tablet is another that is on the horizon that looks very promising.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's $150 - $250 more than the NC for an Android tablet.
That and I would never spend that kind of cash on a tablet with a mobile OS. Say what you want, but Android, iOS, WM7 are all still just phone/hand held operating systems.
For the record: first unit had a borked USB port, and the second has 2 defective pixels plus a backlight display defect near the top. No worries! I'm taking the second back to BestBuy and picking up a third on Sunday! I'll keep doing it 'til it's perfect. For $250 it's all that.
Sorry to hear that B&N customer service sucks. Anyway, Walmart is carrying them too now so options are good.
-Matt
Now with CES behind us but with thoughts of all those new tablets still fresh in our heads, anyone still think a rooted Nookcolor will be able to hold it's own against the tide that's coming.
Anyone with a rooted Nookcolor-will you still buy a tablet this year and if so which one, or will the Nookcolor still do.
I think the price point of the Nookcolor is it's greatest strength now.
I agree for $250, the NC can't be beat. Honeycomb on NC
I do plan on getting a new tab, maybe one of 10.1" running Honeycomb but don't know which one yet.
My opinion is...
The Nook is a book reading device first. Its a make shift tablet second.
It is not really fair to compare it to tablets that are designed to be tablets.
With that said, the newest thing is always around the corner. What is NOT around the corner is the hundreds more dollars for me to spend that these new devices cost as compared to the Nook.
Once the Nook gets a stable and functional Froyo, it will put it a very good advantage for at least the next year with app support.
It will take some time for Tegra2 to build up steam and drop in price. Meanwhile you have all of these older devices/tablets/cellphones still running older systems.
Just because 3.0 is coming up does not mean that all support will stop for the older devices. Developers would be foolish to stop supporting the older builds.
So, the answer for me is YES, the Nook is a great buy at this moment in time.
I have to agree with the price point being the NC's largest draw and strength. For $250 you can't get a better piece of hardware. Once we can get honeycomb (and by we I mean you people smarter than myself) on the NC we'll be flying high.
From what I have read, which may be BS, honeycomb will require dual processors to function properly, so I doubt nook color can handle it.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
There's always something "better" available "real soon now". I'd have to check, but none of the CES announcements included either a price for the device or a release date. Heck, the Adam took almost a year from CES to release, and even then it had a very limited release and still hasn't shipped. But you can go over to B&N and pick up a NC right now.
There is no minimum processor requirement for Honeycomb.
http://twitter.com/#!/morrildl/status/22845294886518785
Oh, and if you don't know who Dan Morrill is...
http://www.google.com/profiles/morrildl
I just picked up a Nook Color for $180 from CL...but even at full price I didn't see anything that blew me away from CES. Sure the newer tablets will have better CPUs etc. but I doubt they will have the Screen quality of the NC at this price-point. For me what sold me on the NC is the ability to Root it, make it a very functional tablet (even if so claim its a book reader first, I think it makes an amazing tablet). I am one of the few that do not need a webcam etc. And let's not forget the amazing Screen quality!
CES Shows some really awesome looking devices but the market at the moment is pricing everything retardedly high. For the moment the $250 NC is the best bang for the buck for a simple Tablet. And I do fully expect to see a Honeycomb port in due time.
Untill the market gets saturated with actually good devices around the $300 price point and not the $499 point, (Especially the 3G only devices?! Not everyone wants or needs 3G!).
From my viewpoint:
The OS is sometimes the most expensive part of buying a PC/tablet. I would expect with the fact that Android is open, costs for these devices would be driven down significantly. However, the new crop of Android tablets are up there with Win OS tablets (almost), yet don't have a full featured OS.
I agree with spikey911 that this is an ereader first, Android tablet second. To me, having it run android apps is a benefit, not the primary reason I got it.
I would love a dual core or a Tegra 2 tablet. Would I pay more than $300 for one? Absolutely not. By the time that comes down in price, the next crop of the "greatest" comes out.
The only way I would upgrade to different tablet is if/when the Lenovo LePad/U1 comes down in price. Then I could chuck the NC and my Core 2 duo netbook.
HotShotAzn said:
From my viewpoint:
The OS is sometimes the most expensive part of buying a PC/tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the same thing i thought, but then how to you explain the galaxy tab? 600 bucks for what? Where they price gouging? I picked the nook color because the ability to root and the build quality was outstanding. Closest to that of the iPad. With the new crop of devices coming they are not bringing anything new, dual core yay but other than that what else. For those with nooks is 4-500 dollars worth a larger screen? What can you do on those that you cant do on the nook color? Also nook is still on 2.1 so with froyo there should be a slight speed increase.
Dont think anything from CES was mind blowing and would make me considering giving up my nook.
Outside of Android, Gigabyte just announced a reasonably nice Win7 Tablet with a N550 (duel core) and even a 320G HD supposidly aimed at the sub $300 market. If so with a reasonable capacitive screen it would be one of the first reasonable Win7 Tablets. For a device that has netbook specs it may be the first to finally get it that they need to be priced reasonable for the reasonable specs. Touchscreen replacement for a keyboard should not cost $200 more.
I'm still waiting patiently for the NC with 2G/3G... Anyone know when it will be out?
myv6mustang said:
That's the same thing i thought, but then how to you explain the galaxy tab? 600 bucks for what? Where they price gouging?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that we are seeing the NC at razor thin markup (almost cost) due to the "razor/razor blades" marketing model that ebooks use. B&N expect to make all their money on book sales, not the hardware. Until we have a Tegra2 KindleIV to compare to, I doubt we'll know for sure
I'm not looking for my Nook to replace my laptop. The thing that got me is the performance/price and the big thing: not having a data plan. I don't understand who has the money to buy a $500 device and then pay $25-50/month for 24 months. I can buy a really nice laptop for $1100-1700.
Homer
For me the NC is a tablet first & an ereader second! At least that's the way I use it. IMO it has enough going on hardware wise that the only time that it is an ereader first, is that period of time between opening the box & rooting it! Just because it doesn't have a few hard keys, camera or GPS & USB host doesn't mean it is not a viable tablet. Actually, a rooted NC has more tablet functions than it does ereader functions. I am very happy with the NC without these features, as that kept the price where I could afford it. With it competing in the ereader market, B&N had to price it accordingly. If it had been competing as a tablet, it could have demanded a much higher price. I was not looking for a laptop replacement, just a more portable connected device that doesn't require a data contract.
Cheers,
kev
Best tablet for under $300. Once Froyo is successfully ported and BT able kernel it will be even better. There is no way you will find another 7" tablet with capacitance screen, 1024x600 res, 512MB RAM, 8GB Internal Storage for anywhere near this price. B&N is selling them at a low price to get people to buy their ebooks.
Rooted = WE WIN!
Thanks to XDA!!!
911jason said:
There is no minimum processor requirement for Honeycomb.
http://twitter.com/#!/morrildl/status/22845294886518785
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it was BS.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
duloz said:
Glad it was BS.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not convinced that not having some pretty strong minimum hardware specs is a good thing. Microsoft was pretty smart by setting the bar high on their Win Phone 7 units. I think the Android community would benefit from having some specs that ensure that a tablet or phone will perform fast and smooth. You know that Apple will increase their specs for the next iPad and it will suck if honeycomb runs poorly on previous gen tablets.
Alright so here's the deal....
I've had this Nook Color for a long time but i l've realized it's become more of a toy to tinker with instead of a tablet. I was constantly working on it instead of using it as a tablet. So i gave up and posted it on Ebay and was going to sell it but now i've installed the latest phiremod and... i feel like my nook is finally there. Video is actually worth a damn and it's all smooth. What would you guys do? How does the tab compare now? Still a little smoother but not much or.... all opinions welcome. Sorry for punctuation, typing on nook color.
Edited for... everything.
I think you should keep it. I used it just to experiment when I was runing froyo but now I 'm using the latest CM7 (rc4) and I 'm now really using it as a tablet [browsing,reading,some games and the occasional navigation]. It's the perfect tablet for the money I paid.
The cpu speed is equal or better if you use the overclock kernel, the graphics are equal now, the operating system is better cuz it can run gingerbread where the galaxy is just froyo. All in all for 250 bucks youre way way better off with the nook.. and its getting better everyday with the cm7 nightlies.
Sent via Tehduck Uberdistro Encore RC4 n.33/Tapatalk Pro
get a asus eee pad transformer. better specs and cheaper price. already have a nook but might get one.
luciferii said:
... the graphics are equal now ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
no, they aren't. The galaxy has a newer, more advanced graphic chipset. It's been reported to play almost any video you throw at it, while the nook has significant limitations.
Regs,
Maciej
jrob9583 said:
alright so heres the deal....
ive had this nook color for a long time but i lve realized it had become more of a toy to tinker with instead of a tablet. I was constantly working on it instead of using it aa a tablet. so i gave up and posted it on ebay and was going to sell it but now ive installed the latest phiremod and... i feel like my nook is finalky there. video is worth a damn and its all smooth. what would you guys do? how does the tab compare now? still a little smoother but not much or.... all opinions welcome. sorry for punctuatiin typing on nook color.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say keep it. When CM7 goes final with the Tablet Tweaks and Phiredrop mods it, it's going to be epic. That dude really knows how to put a user interface together.
luciferii said:
The cpu speed is equal or better if you use the overclock kernel, the graphics are equal now, the operating system is better cuz it can run gingerbread where the galaxy is just froyo. All in all for 250 bucks youre way way better off with the nook.. and its getting better everyday with the cm7 nightlies.
Sent via Tehduck Uberdistro Encore RC4 n.33/Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the Galaxy can do 720p videos (no need to reencode, can stream from your main system or whatever.)
I also think the bluetooth has a longer range, and it has cameras? It's good stuff, but it's also more expensive.
evilPERSOn2009 said:
get a asus eee pad transformer. better specs and cheaper price. already have a nook but might get one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which one? The one I see is like $1100?
If you have $1100 to spend, that certainly isn't a bad way to spend it if you want the rugged reliability of the SSD storage.
I also like the $1100 IBM/Lenova Thinkpad convertable. It has better stats and bigger storage, but it uses a normal type of harddrive.
chisleu said:
Which one? The one I see is like $1100?
If you have $1100 to spend, that certainly isn't a bad way to spend it if you want the rugged reliability of the SSD storage.
I also like the $1100 IBM/Lenova Thinkpad convertable. It has better stats and bigger storage, but it uses a normal type of harddrive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He is talking about this. http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/25/asus-...fers-honeycomb-and-a-convertible-form-factor/
Showing up online for $400 for 16GB and $500 for 32GB.
We all have different requirements but to me the only real competition to a rooted Nook Color right now is the Galaxy Tab. Anything bigger than 8" is in laptop/netbook size territory, which just is not as portable.
And the price of a Galaxy Tab is now in NC territory although you have monthly contract charges for 2 years...
The extra cost involved with the contract, or buying one outright, will keep me happily using an NC. When a 7" tablet with significantly better specs and quality becomes available in the same price range- >$250 then I may consider it.
Right now there is nothing.
But if the size doesn't bother you- well, I have no input really because I haven't seen ANY 10" tablet I would buy.
Thanks for all the replies so far guys. Also sorry for the quality of that post last night. I was using NC and was too tired to really want to fix it. Anyways...
I agree that 7" is just the right size. The IPad is great and all but it's so bulky. That's why it's between this and the Galaxy Tab. I'm still not sure. I really do like this a lot and it's actually usable since installing RC4 version of Phiremod. Just want something where everything is smooth and works perfectly. Before, the argument couldn't be made that the nook color was all that smooth but it's worlds better now. Thanks for all your input guys.
Ok, here is my next question then, since we agree on the 7" size:
What os are you using?
Stock rooted?
Froyo?
Honeycomb?
CyanogenMod7?
I have gone through all of the above to one degree or another, HC for the shortest time due to the issues since source is not out.
Once CM7 was available I have not even read a thread about another.
It may still be in the nightly/RC stage, but CM7 is extremely good as it is and is in very active development to complete making things perfect.
One of the issues we all have with the NC- lack of hard buttons- even has a project at the "feature freeze" point of bug fixes before release- Tablet Tweaks.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1002000
Do us both a favor and at least try it before you spend money.
You may decide that you don't need to.
(Note: if you are already running CM7 then ignore my post. )
Having seen what even a stock rooted Android 2.1 Nook Color can do, I wouldn't spend money on another 7" tablet. I might buy a 10" Honeycomb tablet like the XOOM if the prices come down for use at home where the extra screen real-estate outweighs the decreased portability. But the Nook Color would still be the device I take with me when I'm leaving home.
Nburnes said:
He is talking about this. http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/25/asus-...fers-honeycomb-and-a-convertible-form-factor/
Showing up online for $400 for 16GB and $500 for 32GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is double the cost a cheaper price?
RoboRay said:
How is double the cost a cheaper price?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not double, its $150 more. Comparing it to the 32GB model isn't fair.
You gain a bigger screen (debatable if it's worth it- but for me- typing a little on a 7" screen would be an awkward size, 10" makes it better). And much more power... And bluetooth and all that jazz. With the ability to run 3.0 natively.
Worth $150, up to you.
Take the $300 GTablet. No IPS screen. Is $100 for an IPS screen running 3.0 worth $100? I think so.
Is it worth $150 more than the NC? That's more debatable I think, because you already have a IPS screen. The only thing lacking is 3.0 and the power.
Now....... If the keyboard is included in that $400 price: hands-down, $150 for a tablet you can attach a keyboard to is a freaking no-brainer... The Eee Pad Transformer kills the NC.
But if the keyboard is optional, it's up for debate.
Anytime I've seen the Eee Pad Transformer listed accidentally, it always seems to have the keyboard included. But other times, it seems like it might be an optional thing you buy extra. Weather or not the keyboard is part of that $400 is a huge thing, in my opinion.
If it is, not only does it murder the competition in the tablet market, it'll also murder the competition in the netbook market.
I'm waiting for release (rumored to be April 9) and pricing, and to see if the keyboard is included or not. That Eee Pad Transformer could viably be, a laptop replacement. 16 hours of battery life is awesome. The ability to also use it as a tablet is a huge plus as well.
The ONLY thing- I would want it to be able to do: is boot Windows (so I can use full Office and Windows programs). If I could make it do that: this is an awesome device. Why?
1) Light, long lasting netbook with some power
2) Full Windows apps (stream to 360, etc)
3) Tablet PC for light browsing or on the move
One device to rule them all, one device to bind them......
Pfft
I want a Nook Color with a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon (Adreno 220 GPU).
Downright amazing performance; better even than the Tegra 2:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4243/...mance-1-5-ghz-msm8660-adreno-220-benchmarks/2
Paul22000 said:
Pfft
I want a Nook Color with a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon (Adreno 220 GPU).
Downright amazing performance; better even than the Tegra 2:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4243/...mance-1-5-ghz-msm8660-adreno-220-benchmarks/2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course but the problem is... The NC doesn't have that hardware configuration, lol.
I'm guessing, since it just released 4.5 months ago, we won't see a NC until this fall again. I love the fact B&N isn't trying to crush the open source community on it so I've got hope the next one will be the same way. They need to keep the cost cheap- I think they realize (especially with the upcoming update) they've nailed the cost/feature ratio. Hopefully they don't think, "It's a tablet now, let's charge more" on the NC2.
I'll say keep it and buy better tablet down the road.
I'm really interested in the Asus Transformer ($400 for 16GB) but I'll keep my Nook Color.
If you guys want to keep the 7" factor, but gain powerful hardware, wait for this to release stateside.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/acers-7-inch-iconia-tab-a100-priced-at-300-in-uk-launching-ap/
Nburnes said:
If you guys want to keep the 7" factor, but gain powerful hardware, wait for this to release stateside.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/acers-7-inch-iconia-tab-a100-priced-at-300-in-uk-launching-ap/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But for the same price (actually cheaper)... the Asus 10" gives you IPS, twice the RAM, twice the space...
While if you want 7" this will be the best viable option, could you deal with 3" bigger for better hardware, is the question.
Nburnes said:
If you guys want to keep the 7" factor, but gain powerful hardware, wait for this to release stateside.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/acers-7-inch-iconia-tab-a100-priced-at-300-in-uk-launching-ap/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
$483?? When the iPad is $500 (or $300 if you can still find a clearance on the first version)? What kind of deal is that?
Apparently there are no plans for anything to be in the Nook Color's league when it comes to the quality / price / performance metrics. Still waiting...
TexUs said:
It's not double, its $150 more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, then how is $150 more a cheaper price?
So, here we have this nifty tablet device, and those of us running CM7 know what it can do. There's no technical reason why B&N couldn't just do a straight upgrade all the way to Honeycomb as their standard OS, including all of their proprietary apps (like the reader software). They would then have an e-reader that was also the cheapest good tablet out their, with the best display, etc. The things ought to sell like hotcakes on a cold Sunday morning.
I can only think of three reasons for this:
One, there's some corporate person who is married to the idea that B&N is a book seller and not a tablet maker. I've known people like this.
Or
Two, they lack the technical support staffing to support a full-blown tablet -- where there customer support calls could be expected to increase dramatically.
Or
Like a lot of big lumbering corporations they are just slow to catch on. Somebody went out and shopped the hardware for a color e-reader. Turns out that what they bought ran Android and had extra stuff like Bluetooth. People (like us) starting exploiting what the hardware was capable of. B&N was slow to notice and now they're playing catch-up.
Anyone have any real insight (gossip) about this? Other ideas? They sure are slow rolling out the upgrades...
Well, for one thing Honeycomb is barely here now, and they would have probably had to pay something to get cozy early with Google's development team (as we've seen, they were quick to limit Honeycomb access to formal partners).
B&N seems more clueful, rather than less, when it comes to Android, but they also seem a little greedy in wanting to establish their OWN app store and walled garden for the Nook Color. So I'm sure that plays a large part of it. They need a way of ensuring their own revenue stream even as they (slowly) open up the Nook.
But if they could make money selling a full blown $250 tablet (and from what little I've read they can and do) I agree I would much have preferred to see it go that way.
even if BN wanted honeycomb to be on the NC, google probably wouldn't let that happen
at least not yet.
there is a reason google has kept honeycomb closed so far
also, while android is 'free' for all of us, it is very expensive for those manufacturers that choose to support it, by putting a fully functional honeycomb or even gingerbread environment onto the NC they are liable for a lot of costs to support/develop it and for the IP that others will claim which has been substantial for android products thus far. Its not a simple or cheap process and I don't see BN seeing themselves venture that far into the market to make the costs worthwhile.
B&N is not making enough money on the hardware to have it be a viable stand alone sale. They make money from book, magazine & now app sales. They are essentially breaking even on the device and making money on content. There is no economic incentive for them to sell the NC as an open system.
Reason 3, Profit margins suck on the nook color and they are counting on book sales to make up the rest.
Common sense, look at the hardware and what they are charging. I would not be surprised at all to find they are just breaking even on the device itself. If they where to get into the game as a tablet manufacturer the price on the NC would have to be about $100 more for any real profit to be made.
making their own app store and keeping the nook color as closed as they can is not greedy. Its the only business model that makes sense. If they shipped it with full market support it would completely undermine what they are doing and cost them millions in lost book sales.
Yes it's a nice tablet, but it's lacking some tablet functions that will need support like bluetooth (ok it's there but they don't support it), a 3g connection, a camera or two (I think honeycomb requires two cameras as minimum spec but don't quote me I'm just a user). Honestly I had a hard time finding a good use for a tablet and that's why I never bought one, I never liked the 10 inches ones and the 7inches never felt complete (galaxy tab). Recently though I realized that I could use a 7" tablet to read comic books/manga, I was going for a galaxy tab but found the nook more than capable to fulfill my needs at a much cheaper price! I have to say that I think the nook color is a terrific reader, i'm hooked on magazine too now and I didn't even think I was going to care about that function. It does one aspect only of a tablet experience but it does it extremely well, in a very polished and functional way. Ok it doesn't look like android but whatever, when the platform is so functional for what it was intended to be I think android was just a faster way to get there instead of writing an entire linux operating system for reading books. I'm glad there's an android behind it so I can load a cbr or cbz reader and avoiding converting files but if it was based on something else, at the same price (i doubt it, they would have paid more) I wouldn't really care.
I think people can get mislead by the fact that the nook packs an android system, it doesn't mean that it has to do everything that a phone/tablet android will be able to do.
DBBGBA said:
Yes it's a nice tablet, but it's lacking some tablet functions that will need support like bluetooth (ok it's there but they don't support it), a 3g connection, a camera or two (I think honeycomb requires two cameras as minimum spec but don't quote me I'm just a user). Honestly I had a hard time finding a good use for a tablet and that's why I never bought one, I never liked the 10 inches ones and the 7inches never felt complete (galaxy tab). Recently though I realized that I could use a 7" tablet to read comic books/manga, I was going for a galaxy tab but found the nook more than capable to fulfill my needs at a much cheaper price! I have to say that I think the nook color is a terrific reader, i'm hooked on magazine too now and I didn't even think I was going to care about that function. It does one aspect only of a tablet experience but it does it extremely well, in a very polished and functional way. Ok it doesn't look like android but whatever, when the platform is so functional for what it was intended to be I think android was just a faster way to get there instead of writing an entire linux operating system for reading books. I'm glad there's an android behind it so I can load a cbr or cbz reader and avoiding converting files but if it was based on something else, at the same price (i doubt it, they would have paid more) I wouldn't really care.
I think people can get mislead by the fact that the nook packs an android system, it doesn't mean that it has to do everything that a phone/tablet android will be able to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you wanna use Nook as a "real" tablet, you should try CM7... you will have access to everything that you are looking for... including Bluetooth
lets change the definition of this topic and rewrite it a little away from the Barnes and Noble Nook Color.
i think the main point trying to be made here is that genuinely great piece of hardware can be manufactured for under $300.
if B&N is breaking even at $250 then i think a company can put out a tablet with the B&N specs for under $400.
the market is getting caught up in tablets and none of them are under $500. B&N specs for under $400 and i think it would shift the weight a little and get other manufacturers to reconsider ripping people off for a 1ghz machine @ $700+.
it doesn't necessarily need to be Barnes and Noble that does this.
pxldtz said:
lets change the definition of this topic and rewrite it a little away from the Barnes and Noble Nook Color.
i think the main point trying to be made here is that genuinely great piece of hardware can be manufactured for under $300.
if B&N is breaking even at $250 then i think a company can put out a tablet with the B&N specs for under $400.
the market is getting caught up in tablets and none of them are under $500. B&N specs for under $400 and i think it would shift the weight a little and get other manufacturers to reconsider ripping people off for a 1ghz machine @ $700+.
it doesn't necessarily need to be Barnes and Noble that does this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For a 7 inch tablet, the Nook Color is the one. Takes modding, but still the best you can buy at a reasonable price.
For $400 though you can pick up a tegra 2 10" ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 running Honycomb:
http://www.excaliberpc.com/604588/asus-eee-pad-transformer-tf101.html
Available mid May (first stock sold out already)
I think the NC is the best value, but good android tablets are going to be coming down in price in a hurry.
BN is not selling an "Android tablet", they are selling an "e-Reader" with BN software on it (that happens to be run on Android). Bottom line... if the sell it as a Android tablet, then the are compared against iPad, Galaxy Tab, Xoom, etc. They are in a high speed foot race in a highly competitive market and they lose. They would give up their competitive advantage. As soon as you go Honeycomb, you become something else. You are going to be compared to other Honeycomb tablets and they will lose their e-reader niche and get slaughtered.
If they sell it as an e-reader, they are compared against Kindle, iPad (as a reader), etc. For those who are not xda-saavy and just want a reader, the nook color actually has a lot to offer. The Nook reading experience is actually quite good... and now that they integrate apps with book, magazines, newspaper, etc., they have a coherent reading eco-system that many will love. Advantage BN. If you look at the Nook Color through the lens of what they are trying to do, it makes sense to stick with Froyo (at least for the time being).
smuook said:
BN is not selling an "Android tablet", they are selling an "e-Reader" with BN software on it (that happens to be run on Android). Bottom line... if the sell it as a Android tablet, then the are compared against iPad, Galaxy Tab, Xoom, etc. They are in a high speed foot race in a highly competitive market and they lose. They would give up their competitive advantage. As soon as you go Honeycomb, you become something else. You are going to be compared to other Honeycomb tablets and they will lose their e-reader niche and get slaughtered.
If they sell it as an e-reader, they are compared against Kindle, iPad (as a reader), etc. For those who are not xda-saavy and just want a reader, the nook color actually has a lot to offer. The Nook reading experience is actually quite good... and now that they integrate apps with book, magazines, newspaper, etc., they have a coherent reading eco-system that many will love. Advantage BN. If you look at the Nook Color through the lens of what they are trying to do, it makes sense to stick with Froyo (at least for the time being).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good points. The NC was "born" an e-reader. Tech-savvy users have have recognized the "possibilities" built in (intended or not) and morphed it into something it really quite probably was never envisioned to be. Would not be surprised if some mucky-mucks at B&N are kicking themselves as at even $275 or $299 this little "tablet that could" might have moved almost as well (units sold) even with the acceptable albeit limited hardware.
Bottom line our little NC's are probably little "mutants" on the tablet evolutionary tree perhaps fated to grow into CM7 and stall. Don't get me wrong, my NCs are thriving on CM7 (OC 1.1) doing far more than "Daddy BN" perhaps ever thought it could (or would!) so I ain't complainin'! The Devs here are absolute genius seeing what "could be" instead of "what is" and allowed us all (gratefully)to hitch a ride. I've enjoyed the trip as it's taught me a new OS in Android and whetted my appetite more more!
HC would be cool but CM7 works for me!
skeeterpro said:
Very good points. The NC was "born" an e-reader. Tech-savvy users have have recognized the "possibilities" built in (intended or not) and morphed it into something it really quite probably was never envisioned to be. Would not be surprised if some mucky-mucks at B&N are kicking themselves as at even $275 or $299 this little "tablet that could" might have moved almost as well (units sold) even with the acceptable albeit limited hardware.
Bottom line our little NC's are probably little "mutants" on the tablet evolutionary tree perhaps fated to grow into CM7 and stall. Don't get me wrong, my NCs are thriving on CM7 (OC 1.1) doing far more than "Daddy BN" perhaps ever thought it could (or would!) so I ain't complainin'! The Devs here are absolute genius seeing what "could be" instead of "what is" and allowed us all (gratefully)to hitch a ride. I've enjoyed the trip as it's taught me a new OS in Android and whetted my appetite more more!
HC would be cool but CM7 works for me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
these are the points i was trying to make in my post. B&N could compete with the tablet market if they had honeycomb natively on the NC and probably rebranded the NC itself. at the selling price it is right now, it would shift the weight of the market i think. well especially compared to something like the galaxy where the specs are almost identical but the price is $600 with contract i beleive. $250 for a honeycombed tablet is ridiculous but B&N proved that a tablet can be done at that price range.
i think the price has a lot to do with the simple wording....E-Reader (doesn't really pique the interest of the mass market).....Tablet (everyone wants one, lets jack up the price by a few hundred.)
it'd be interesting if not funny to see B&N break into the tablet market without even being a big electronics manufacturer. i'm not saying they will - i'm just saying it'd be funny.
robedney said:
So, here we have this nifty tablet device, and those of us running CM7 know what it can do. There's no technical reason why B&N couldn't just do a straight upgrade all the way to Honeycomb as their standard OS, including all of their proprietary apps (like the reader software). They would then have an e-reader that was also the cheapest good tablet out their, with the best display, etc. The things ought to sell like hotcakes on a cold Sunday morning.
I can only think of three reasons for this:
One, there's some corporate person who is married to the idea that B&N is a book seller and not a tablet maker. I've known people like this.
Or
Two, they lack the technical support staffing to support a full-blown tablet -- where there customer support calls could be expected to increase dramatically.
Or
Like a lot of big lumbering corporations they are just slow to catch on. Somebody went out and shopped the hardware for a color e-reader. Turns out that what they bought ran Android and had extra stuff like Bluetooth. People (like us) starting exploiting what the hardware was capable of. B&N was slow to notice and now they're playing catch-up.
Anyone have any real insight (gossip) about this? Other ideas? They sure are slow rolling out the upgrades...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's mostly support issues, they don't want to answering calls all day about why app xyz doesn't work right or crashes, etc and they don't want any associated negative reviews. This way, they control the user experience a little more tightly and can make things a little more integrated with all apps tested to work, but they obviously left some easy back doors open for the tinkerers.
New Nook?
I just read this article about a possible new Nook Color. I've been waiting for the current Nook Color to go down in prize, if this happens I will probably buy my own and root it. Right now I've been playing with my wife's Nook Color and trying stuff out from the microSD card.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/05/is-a-new-nook-coming-may-24.html
It's a new regular nook. Nuff said?
BN has a big problem - they have been losing print and e-book customers to Amazon. Their core business is going south because customers' buying habits have changed and and traffic to the stores has fallen off dramatically in the last decade.
The Nook and NC are aimed at retaining and regaining customers. The Nook product family is directed at their core customer base. Remember many of BN's most loyal customers are not tech-savvy, early adopters. Thus the simple bookcentric user interface, slow introduction of apps, and marketing ploys - coupons, access to books in store, etc.They aren't interested in getting into the device business - they want to sell content and retain (regain) loyal customers.
BN understands that e-books are definitely here to stay. E-books outsold hardcovers in Q1 and represent a major solution to a bookstores biggest problem - inventory. So, if BN can ride the e-book curve and serve its core customers, that's a big win for them.
Thus, from BN's perspective, the NC is an e-reader not a simple tablet. It beats every other dedicated e-reader by a long margin. It allows BN to sell content that isn't available on Amazon's Kindle (children's books, magazines, graphic-oriented books) because of its technical (primarily color) capabilities and opens the door for them to sell music and video - both of which are significant revenue steams in their stores.
I wouldn't expect them to embrace the tablet race any time soon. While traffic to their stores continues to decline, they have produced a device that essentially lets their customers take the store home with them.
What's fascinating is that they have also left the door open for the tech crowd to make the NC into something much more sophisticated. I don't think this is unintentional. In a way, they have the best of both worlds.
My bet is... a newer, faster, slimmer, cooler device... ;-)
I'm happy with mine though the way it is, only major complaint is that you can't buy content from B&N store while overseas. I travel a lot for work and the other day I tried to purchase a magazine to read, only to get rejected b/c I'm not in the US right now. Annoying... Meanwhile, it's rooted so I just went to the Kindle app and bought a book from Amazon. That's my answer to B&N's stupid policy.
colorado_al said:
B&N is not making enough money on the hardware to have it be a viable stand alone sale. They make money from book, magazine & now app sales. They are essentially breaking even on the device and making money on content. There is no economic incentive for them to sell the NC as an open system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Almost, but not quite, the entire picture. The NC hardware and official B&N accessories are now available everywhere--you'll be able to buy an NC and an Industriell cover at your local convenience store in a week--and the mark-up on the first-party accessories has got to be *massive*. I bought my NC used, but I've already bought an Aalto case ($30) and the B&N antireflective screen cover (~$16). They're raking it in on accessory sales even for those of us like me who have not and probably will not buy a single app or book on the official platform (or even the Nook Android app).
smuook said:
BN is not selling an "Android tablet", they are selling an "e-Reader" with BN software on it (that happens to be run on Android). Bottom line... if the sell it as a Android tablet, then the are compared against iPad, Galaxy Tab, Xoom, etc. They are in a high speed foot race in a highly competitive market and they lose. They would give up their competitive advantage. As soon as you go Honeycomb, you become something else. You are going to be compared to other Honeycomb tablets and they will lose their e-reader niche and get slaughtered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, and by not marketing it as a tablet, but kindly leaving in amazingly useful backdoors, they're all but encouraging the modding community to do what they will with their Nooks while counting on accessory sales to make money even from the tablet crowd.
bobzdar said:
...they obviously left some easy back doors open for the tinkerers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly.
doehlsen said:
What's fascinating is that they have also left the door open for the tech crowd to make the NC into something much more sophisticated. I don't think this is unintentional. In a way, they have the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely right, and a brilliant move on their part, IMO. The only people they're not making money on (assuming NC hardware sales are break-even) are the people who don't use it in its official capacity and who also never purchase a single first-party accessory--I'd imagine they foresaw that would be a small enough percentage of NC owners that they didn't worry about it when hatching their master plan for the NC.
nope its the beauty of open systems, is why this is an almost tablet. They elected to chose a already working free operating system then just implemented the barnes and noble frameworks.
I've looked at one very prominent supply chain estimator (rhymes with iComply) bill of material (BOM) estimates. The Nook Color BOM is estimated to cost $200. The display and touchscreen alone accounts for $100 of that.
In comparison, the BOM estimate for Amazon Kindle Gen 3 (w/3G) is estimated at $155.
Those are some very very thin margins.
Think about this: the iPhone 4 CDMA is estimated to cost less than $200. It sells for $750 here without contract.
I've attached a screenshot of a page from the nexus 7 guide stating that the nexus 7 is the Asus pad me370t. So, what do you guys make of this?
The Verge actually investigated this quite a bit:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3124041/asus-me370t-nexus-7-transformation-google-nvidia
Wow, I am very very shocked and disappointed this. I've been looking forward to the actual MeMO 370T device since it was first seen back in January. For some reason I had really expected Asus to release its own 7 inch tablet.
>I had really expected Asus to release its own 7 inch tablet.
Unlikely, since it would have to beat the Nexus 7 which is said as being sold at cost.
A great deal of fuss was made over Microsoft Surface "killing" Windows HW vendors, and curiously, almost nothing about the Nexus 7 doing the same. The irony is that Surface will have minimal impact, while N7 will almost certainly kill off any 7" Android tab this year.
Not only does N7 hit the magic $200 point, it has good hardware, official support, and 4.1. There is no way any 7" tab can match that. The only possible competitor would be if Apple does the rumored 7" mini iPad at $250-300.
I'm wondering what Amazon's move will be, as per the above I don't see how a 7" KF2 can compete. My projection is that it will cede the 7" space, and upping the KF2 to the 8" or 9" size, say, for $250. The orig KF stays on, but lowered to $150.
7" is good for reading, but poor for video playback. Since video consumption is vastly more popular than e-reading, an 8" or 9" would be a step forward. It would be better for video, and still be suitable for one-hand use.
Ditto for Nook, although if MS' investment in B&N is any indication, we'll probably see a Nook powered by WinRT this year.
I thought I had read reports of Asus releasing their own 7 inch tablet in August that undercut the 8GB N7 by about $20. Still, this isn't really what I was hoping for if it comes to be.
It's almost like the Me370t, but with the mini HDMI port removed (the original had it)
Thanks Google for saving the $0.10 that component would cost
gkpm said:
Thanks Google for saving the $0.10 that component would cost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be more than $0.10. For every patented chip/port/protocol/software you are building into your device you have to pay licence costs per sold device.
I don't know how much exactly but I think the tablet would be cost 10-20$ more.
Well I'm sure the HDMI out being removed had a lot more to do with the Q
m11kkaa said:
That would be more than $0.10. For every patented chip/port/protocol/software you are building into your device you have to pay licence costs per sold device.
I don't know how much exactly but I think the tablet would be cost 10-20$ more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry but that's nonsense, no way it costs that much. For example the Raspberry Pi has a HDMI port and costs only $25.
I can't link to sites yet, but if you look up the HDMI licensing website and see under Fees and Royalties section the licensing cost ranges from $0.04 to $0.15 per end user, depending on quantity (obviously a mass produced device like this will be in the lower bands)
Maybe add another $0.05-$0.10 for the physical connector, if that. We're talking 20 cents max here.
gkpm said:
I'm sorry but that's nonsense, no way it costs that much. For example the Raspberry Pi has a HDMI port and costs only $25.
I can't link to sites yet, but if you look up the HDMI licensing website and see under Fees and Royalties section the licensing cost ranges from $0.04 to $0.15 per end user, depending on quantity (obviously a mass produced device like this will be in the lower bands)
Maybe add another $0.05-$0.10 for the physical connector, if that. We're talking 20 cents max here.
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No need to argue, the device doesn't have it, get over it. I understand it would have been cheap to add this, but if you look at the other device Google released, the Q, you will see why they didn't.
miketoasty said:
No need to argue, the device doesn't have it, get over it. I understand it would have been cheap to add this, but if you look at the other device Google released, the Q, you will see why they didn't.
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Google are not going to sell the Nexus Q here in the UK (and probably a lot more places), so it's not a solution.
gkpm said:
Google are not going to sell the Nexus Q here in the UK (and probably a lot more places), so it's not a solution.
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I'm not saying it's a solution, I'm explaining why they left out the mini HDMI port.
gkpm said:
It's almost like the Me370t, but with the mini HDMI port removed (the original had it)
Thanks Google for saving the $0.10 that component would cost
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Well not exactly almost like the MeMO. I believe it also had an 8MP rear facing camera. Probably had a MicroSD slot, too, but I'm not positive on that. At any rate, I'd gladly throw in an extra $50 or so for the original MeMO 370T. I probably won't be buying the N7.
m11kkaa said:
That would be more than $0.10. For every patented chip/port/protocol/software you are building into your device you have to pay licence costs per sold device.
I don't know how much exactly but I think the tablet would be cost 10-20$ more.
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You pay for a HDMI license which is $10k per annum, which it's fairly likely both Google (via Motorola) and ASUS already have anyway. Each HDMI port has a royalty as well, which is 4 cents. Plus the cost of the connector itself. The HDCP license is half a cent per device.
The rest of the existing components should be able to handle HDMI anyway, Tegra 3 has it as a standard.
Can't help but be negative about this. It's not just the $250 memo, but the $250 memo--.
http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/27733-nexus-7-is-crippled-asus-370t-but-not-much-cheaper
The story, if I put 2+2 correctly, is that google really wanted that $199 pricetag, in effect forcing asus to redesign a bunch of stuff with lower-end components. In the end, they couldn't (or wouldn't) even get back to something as good as the original for $250.
Like what was stated in a comment on the site, just because they planned to release the memo with all those extras for $249 doesn't mean that would be the ultimate price. I paid 280 or whatever for the 16 gb model and I wish it had an sd, hdmi, and stereo but still an amazing deal for 250 (16gb). Plus would it be first with jb? Software more than anything makes these devices.
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e.mote said:
Unlikely, since it would have to beat the Nexus 7 which is said as being sold at cost.
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Google are making no profit (on the 8GB model at US prices) but that doesn't mean it's being sold at cost.
ASUS aren't a charity, I can't see them doing the OEM work if they're not getting something out of it.
So I suspect ASUS could've released the Nexus 7 under their own brand at the same price and still made something off it but when Google approached them and offered to handle all the software updates in return for a 0% slice of the pie, they said ok.
Did anyone else read the article from Digitimes that claimed Asus would release its own 7 inch tablet in August for $159 to $179? If that's true, I wonder what hardware reductions are even possible to make?
Also, if a new Asus tablet was to be released in August, we'd probably be seeing an FCC submission sometime soon, right?
well that is disappointing..seems like google killed another decent asus product, since the original memo 370t was gonna have 8mega pixel cam, 16gb storage micro sd slot and everything nexus tab has for 250..
>ASUS aren't a charity, I can't see them doing the OEM work if they're not getting something out of it.
Monetary compensation is a subset. The human networking alone would be valuable, not to mention the experience gained from working hand-in-hand with Google engineers. One thing that's lacking for all HW vendors is development expertise, and I assume Asus is getting plenty of that. Then, there's the PR value of being a Google partner. So, many perks aside from money.
A large cost of a device is for marketing (distribution, promotion). Aside from a few small retailers, N7 distribution looks to be limited to the Play store for now, and there probably won't be much advertising until close to fall shopping. So, yes, I imagine the N7's $200 price can be pretty close to cost. We'll have a better idea once the iSuppli folks do a BOM analysis.
Compare against upcoming Acer A110: Same $200 (8GB) and Kai innards, but smaller battery (3420 vs 4325 mAh), lower res (1024x600) and lower quality (TN LCD) display. ICS rather than JB, and no Google updates. It's clearly an inferior device to the N7. I doubt Asus can sell a better tablet than Acer at the same cost w/o slicing its margin to the bone.
It's not just the low-end, N7 dominates the mid-range and high-end for 7" as well. There is no current or announced 7"-ish tablet that can compete with N7 on either features or bang/buck. It's the only tablet to have 4.1. The only place it doesn't go is the carrier market.
From the above, I don't see a 10" Nexus happening. That would kill off the rest of the Android vendors.
>So I suspect ASUS could've released the Nexus 7 under their own brand at the same price and still made something off it but when Google approached them and offered to handle all the software updates in return for a 0% slice of the pie, they said ok.
It doesn't matter who's selling the N7 or what its origins are. What matters is whether other vendors can compete against it. I don't think they can, including Amazon. As said, I think Amazon will go with an 8 or 9" for $250, and drop the KF to $150.
A 9" KF2 at $250, or an iPad mini at $300, would be serious competition for N7.
>Did anyone else read the article from Digitimes that claimed Asus would release its own 7 inch tablet in August for $159 to $179?
DigiTimes says a lot of things, a few of which become true, and the rest goes into the circular file. For a workable rule of which DigiTimes rumor becomes fact, try this: Assign a 3% cumulative probability for each successive rumor. So, if DigiTimes has 20 different rumors over time about an particular event, you get a 60% probability of the event becoming true.
The "cheaper Asus 7-inch tablet" rumor is the first one out of the pipe.