Nook HD+ vs Hisense Sero 8 vs ?

[horizon21]

Hello fellow readers and tech enthusiasts!

I'll cut right to the chase. My dad turns 60 in a few months and I want to buy him a tablet to browse the internet, read news and watch youtube videos on it (I need to buy it in early to mid November). I reckon he will mainly use the tablet while lying on his bed, similar to what he does now with his Galaxy Nexus. I am a fairly techy person and I have no trouble flashing ROMs, etc.

My budget is no more than £140 including a case. I am aiming for an 8-9" tablet.

My research suggests I have 3 options :

1. £130 (£75 refurb) Nook HD+. 9" screen 256 ppi; dusty 1.5 GHz dual-core processor; 6000 MAh battery; weighs 513g; no cameras; needs CyanogenMod 11 ROM; also, there is no auto brightness feature

2. £80 Hisense Sero 8. 8" 188 ppi screen; newer 1.4 GHz quad-core processor; 4000 MAh battery; weighs 450g; has 2 cameras; has stock KitKat so no need to fuss with rom flashing; there could be an auto brightness feature, I am not sure

3. Wait another month and see if there is a better deal out there while risking the above 2 running out of stock.

I would appreciate any suggestions with regards to my choices and/or if there is a device I've missed/option I am not aware of.

Thanks in advance!

[Nate the great]

I can't speak for the UK market with absolute certainty, but I wouldn't expect another good sub-£80 8" tablet in the next few months.

Or rather, I don't expect to see anything in the US in that price range which compares well to the Hisense Sero 8.

[horizon21]

Thanks for the quick response, Nate! I've never been interested in tablets before and any insight is appreciated.

[livramax]

I have the HD+ and absolutely love it, its build quality is simply superb.

Beware though that some units reportedly have trouble booting off SD card which is a pre-requisite for flashing custom ROMs -- see http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2288688.

[booklover6]

Given those 2 choices, I'd go with the Hisense, as this is important: "has stock KitKat so no need to fuss with rom flashing"

Nooks work better running stock, in my opinion. Or rooted stock.

[horizon21]

Thanks guys. I've ordered the HD+ and if I cannot get CM11 on it to work well, I will return it and get the Sero 8.

[livramax]

Originally Posted by horizon21

Thanks guys. I've ordered the HD+ and if I cannot get CM11 on it to work well, I will return it and get the Sero 8.

You might want to take a look at http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2679899 for info/pointers on how to flash CM11 on the HD+, also http://www.cyanogenmod.org/blog/cm-1...-release-items for considerations in choosing nightly build vs. M-snapshot build of CM11.

[horizon21]

livramax, you just struck home with the second link! I was really confused as to which CM release to make use of.

That said, should I go for the latest M release or a previous one? If anyone is happy/unhappy with a certain build, please say so

Edit: I was contemplating whether my dad would benefit from a rooted device. I installed XBMC on my laptop last night and I think that would be mandatory now... all that TV! Also whatever software I use, it has to be stable because my dad cannot troubleshoot it. Stable rooted rom appeals more and more to me, provided I can circumvent the device's (apparent) tendency to wipe itself if it detects changes in the /system folder.

Edit2: The Nook arrived yesterday (£129 from Blackwell's). Superb build quality indeed! Crappy stock software, tho. I've got CM11 M10 running on it - good stuff. I tried turning ART on but it just made the tablet sluggish in my case. For now - dalvik all the way. I'll continue testing it for a while to make sure my dad won't encounter any kinks.