The Color Nook is the best Android Tablet today

[Vision33r]

Samsung Galaxy Tablet (left) and B&N Color Nook (right)

I've tried out several Android tablets, hated them all. None of them had the right balance and properly executed designs.

I found the B&N Color Nook the best Android tablet. The device is locked to the Nook's software as the launcher but once it is rooted, you are granted near full access.

It is currently running Eclair or Android 2.1, but Froyo update should be arriving anytime soon.

Pros:

+ Quality materials, non-slip rubber back face. Front frame has a Metal finish has a solid finish.

+ Excellent non-glossy LG Vividview LCD with IPS technology. Imo, it is sharper than the iPad but not as bright. Color reproduction is excellent, perfect for magazine viewing.

+ Good size and weight, 7" and 16 ounces only! very good size for book reading. I have to admit the 9.7" iPad is not ideal for book reading over long durations. I can hold the Nook with one hand for hours.

+ Battery Life is amazing on this device, undoubtedly the lack of mobile antenna help save battery. On a full charge, I can use the device for 2-3 days without charging.

- Requires rooting to unlock the device from the Nook Software.
- Even after rooting, you cannot run apps from SD Card, Froyo will fix that.
- No Flash, need Froyo.
- No Bluetooth
- WiFi only, need a hotspot if you're outside.

Currently I have ADW Launcher as the Home screen, have the Kindle App, Market, and tons of my fav Android apps running great with just a 800mhz CPU.

This is my favorite reading tablet, while the iPad is still the best at doing just about everything except long text reading.

At $249 it is also cheap, why would anyone pay $500 for the Samsung Tablet with a bad glossy screen. Just carry your smartphone and turn on Wifi hotspot to enjoy using the Color Nook outside.



Non-slip rubberized backside.

[robbyb413]

I wouldn't want to replace the classic Nook with the NookColor as my eReader, but where it falls down as a dedicated eReader vs something like a Nook or Kindle it stands right back up as a super cheap tablet once you hack it and competes with that "tablet as a consumption device" bracket quite well as you've shown.

XDAs got Ubuntu working on it now too, although the install is a bit complicated for your average user to undertake and some people take issue with the choice of window manager. I think that's very cool as that makes it break the line between the "tablet for consumption" bracket (iPad, Android, etc - the "mobile os" tablets) and "tablet for creation" (Windows, full-on Linux - the full desktop OS tablets) at a price point that nobody right now is able to beat.

From an appearance standpoint I think that the NookColor is a great looking piece of hardware too, for whatever that's worth.

[GSTGuy]

So you're saying I can get a nookColor and...

• Still keep it as an ereader
• Check email
• Listen to music
• Surf the web
• Use any other app available on Android market (Final Fantasy Tactics via psx emu?!)

... and be satisfied it's not being done on a 4" phone screen?

Consider me sold.

[Hostile]

For once I'm going to agree wholeheartedly with Vision33r.

Yesterday my co-workers gave me a nook color as a going away present and I auto-nootered this morning, this thing is sooo badass.

You can:

Auto-Nooter - root and install missing android systems/apps including marketplace
Full root - install Froyo (just stable in the past few days)
Install Ubuntu

With the Froyo root you can even run the Froyo image off of an mini sd card if you just want to try it out before you install it.

The screen is gorgeous, vibrant and super sharp, it's a good size and it's only $250!

There are rumors that there might be a bluetooth chip built in, if so it won't be long before you can VoIP with it too.

As for the screen brightness- I don't know how bright the iPad gets but I have to leave my nook on the lowest brightness setting, otherwise it's way too bright.

[abeR]

[Minker17]

running great with just a 800mhz CPU.

You should bump that thing to 950mhz:

http://phandroid.com/2011/01/14/nook...ked-to-950mhz/

[20VT*J4]

So you're saying I can get a nookColor and...

• Still keep it as an ereader
• Check email
• Listen to music
• Surf the web
• Use any other app available on Android market (Final Fantasy Tactics via psx emu?!)

... and be satisfied it's not being done on a 4" phone screen?

Consider me sold.

x2

[Minker17]

There is also a Froyo build out. It doesn't all work, but 90% of it does.

[Art Vandelay]

It is currently running Eclair or Android 2.1, but Froyo update should be arriving anytime soon.

Are you saying that an official Froyo update is expected? Why? They're selling the device as a reader, so what incentive is there to update the entire OS? Froyo is a big performance bump, but surely Eclair can handle the core Nook features just fine...right?

[Vision33r]

Are you saying that an official Froyo update is expected? Why? They're selling the device as a reader, so what incentive is there to update the entire OS? Froyo is a big performance bump, but surely Eclair can handle the core Nook features just fine...right?

Official Froyo update is coming at the end of this month. I'm not gonna waste my time using custom Froyo builds that are not based on OEM build, always issues.

My experience is always wait for custom builds based off official builds.

[matoo]

This just pushed me over the edge, the wife is now getting a nook color for her b-day.

[ElixXxeR]

I can't say I'm up on tablets at all because I never seriously considered one, but at $250, this thing is a genuine bargain. The Galaxy Tab is truly pathetic, made even more irrelevant by a device with far more functionality for 50% of the cost.

[Hostile]

Are you saying that an official Froyo update is expected? Why? They're selling the device as a reader, so what incentive is there to update the entire OS? Froyo is a big performance bump, but surely Eclair can handle the core Nook features just fine...right?

Im wondering if B&N know they have a hit on their hands with the general tablet community.

I've had my book color for a few days now and i can't get enough if it. Hell, im posting from it right now in the can with the dolphin hd browser.

[Art Vandelay]

Im wondering if B&N know they have a hit on their hands with the general tablet community.

If they do, they probably don't like it. I doubt they make any profit with the reader device itself, so they are counting on book sales. People who root probably aren't using the B&N bookstore anymore, or at least, not as much.

[samc]

Albiet that this is a book reader first before a droid tablet, does it have a usb port, and camera?
I know it has the Micro SDHC port which is very good but I think the other two would make it perfect.

[HuDuVuDu]

is there anyway to un-root and restore back to factory?

[Hostile]

Albiet that this is a book reader first before a droid tablet, does it have a usb port, and camera?
I know it has the Micro SDHC port which is very good but I think the other two would make it perfect.

It has a micro usb port for pc/mac data transfer and charging.

[Hostile]

is there anyway to un-root and restore back to factory?

Yup, you can factory reset.

[Vision33r]

If they do, they probably don't like it. I doubt they make any profit with the reader device itself, so they are counting on book sales. People who root probably aren't using the B&N bookstore anymore, or at least, not as much.

It's investors' money not theirs. They've been in the red and borrowing money to stay afloat for over a decade. They just recently won new financing after the Nook Color became their hottest seller.

I love holding the Nook Color next to a Kindle owner, the smell of interest or jealousy is epic.

It's almost as thin and light as the Kindle but has wonderful color and I'm also running the Kindle software and looks great in color.

[reticulan]

Eclair and Froyo are designed for 4" smart phone screens.
Stretching them out to 7" or 10" is not the proper way to build a tablet.
Granted the Color nook is a nice piece of hardware, the overall finished product is slightly lacking.

[Hostile]

Eclair and Froyo are designed for 4" smart phone screens.
Stretching them out to 7" or 10" is not the proper way to build a tablet.
Granted the Color nook is a nice piece of hardware, the overall finished product is slightly lacking.

What? I have yet to come across a problem with the OS being "stretched out".

[GSTGuy]

So I bought one Friday night, and the thing really delivers. As my first foray into the "tablet" world (yeah it's a faux one, but it does everything I'd expect one to do pretty much), I'm really enjoying it. Hacking it couldn't have been simpler, but I still need to read up on installing / reinstalling apps and such (YouTube won't work, and I don't know root commands / didn't buy Root Explorer).

I'm still playing and seeing if I really want to keep it passed the honeymoon phase. My only real complaints are that the speaker is lame, no bluetooth (for VoIP purposes, though I guess I could use a wired headset if that really mattered), reading in the dark at lowest brightness the screen still seems too bright, and there is a good amount of glare for reading during the day. A minor issue for me is that it seems touch buttons in the corners of the screen do not respond right / have to be pressed in a certain way (Android Marketplace search button, engadget drop down menu button come to mind).

Other than that, the screen is amazingly clear, the software is responsive, and the thing just works well considering it wasn't meant to be much beyond a digital book shelf. I'd like a bit longer battery life, but perhaps I've just been playing with it too much.

[Minker17]

I believe is has bluetooth capabilities in there somewhere, but they haven't managed to unlock it yet.

[MoMoney]

I really want one these now. Are there any updates in the near term that would be worth while to wait for? I know 2.2 is coming out soon, but that could be updated later if I was to purchase now. Also, any problems after doing the auto nooter?

Also, how is media on it, can I play movies from the micro sd card?

[Hostile]

I believe is has bluetooth capabilities in there somewhere, but they haven't managed to unlock it yet.

It does - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=897934

[Vision33r]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/28/n...roid-3-0-hone/

Honeycomb on Nook Color. Sweeeet.

[reticulan]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/28/n...roid-3-0-hone/

Honeycomb on Nook Color. Sweeeet.

Honeycomb relies heavily on pc memory (DDR2 RAM). Porting it over to these 2.1 and 2.2 devices makes it very unstable, and your basically wasting your time. There will always be those programmers that do it, just for the sake of doing it. Which is honorable, but a waste of time. Leave it to the pro's.

[SlowMotion]

Honeycomb relies heavily on pc memory (DDR2 RAM). Porting it over to these 2.1 and 2.2 devices makes it very unstable, and your basically wasting your time. There will always be those programmers that do it, just for the sake of doing it. Which is honorable, but a waste of time. Leave it to the pro's.

You keep bringing up all the negative about the hardware/ software how impossible it is to run this or that and XDA keeps proving you wrong
I'm picking up a NC soon

[Vision33r]

What he says has some truth in it because Google wants the Tablet experience to be great they want to discourage people from trying to get Honeycomb on last year's devices.

Honeycomb will run on many existing devices but that doesn't mean it will run Honeycomb optimized apps well.

I'm hoping that Honeycomb and general apps will run well on NC and that's about it.

[silver_slayer]

got my wife one of these for christmas, took me about a week to convince her to let me "autonooter" it and get it rooted. for being android 2.1, this thing sure is quick. although the eclair and Froyo resolutions are for 480x854 max, the screen still looks very crisp and bright, nothing i have used on the device is stretched out or anything. you just get to see more of everything, and isn't that the point of a tablet.

this is probably the best $250 i have spent on any new product. not only do you get a great e-reader, you get a pretty sweet tablet as well.

i personally cannot wait to try honeycomb on this thing, wether the device be optimized for it or not.

[reticulan]

You keep bringing up all the negative about the hardware/ software how impossible it is to run this or that and XDA keeps proving you wrong
I'm picking up a NC soon

Funny, I don't ever remember mentioning that anything was impossible. I suspect that you post sometimes just for the sake of hearing yourself talk. And I can assure you that I have been an active member of XDA long before you even owned a smartphone.

[matoo]

Got one for my wife yesterday after calling around. I had ordered it online, but they pushed back the ship date twice and I canceled. They were saying it may ship by Feb. 28. That is a full month after the first ship date I was given and I wanted her to have it for a trip mid Feb.

I let her play around with it for a bit, but rooted it easily after that. I have it set up so all the stock stuff is there for her, but all the android stuff is easy to get to. Really great product for the money. I love that the developers are going crazy with that thing.

[Minker17]

The Honeycomb port is out for download. Most is working, but sound, for example, is not.

[Vision33r]

This port came from the emulator so it's not exactly a clean port, pretty amazing still. Shows how good the community is around this device while devices like the Galaxy Tab may not even see 2.3 at all and Samsung just admitted that they've only shipped 2million and not sold.

[hootyburra]

do you have a compariosn to the viewsonic g tab