First Impressions & Comparisons

[Jack Tingle]

In a few months, my wife's cell phone contract will be up. I'll be changing carriers at that time, and my handy, little WM6 smartphone will be a boat-anchor. Hmmm... What about this newfangled Android stuff? Is it any good?

AHA! I can check it out for cheap with a Nook Color! (Note the clever rationaiization for buying a new toy?)

So:
1) It's HEAVY! My jetBook is a bit on the weighty side. The K3 is featherweight by comparison. A 4 A-h battery is not light! I doubt you could start small gasoline engines with it, but maybe...
2) It's PRETTY. I didn't realize how much I missed a big, bright, LCD color screen. It's like the worlds largest PDA! (Ooooh! Shiny!)
3) It has a card slot! Huzzah! I miss that on the Kindle. I use the jetBook's card a lot.
4) Barnes & Noble did not screw around with eReader and mess it up. Works mostly the same as before. Ah, comfort.
5) The capacitive touch screen is different from my PDA/smarphone resistive screens. Personally, I don't like it as well, but YMMV.
6) The app store is a nice method of customization. One reason I bought the Nook is that it has some PDA functionality in apps. We'll see if it's good enough to make me dump smartphones entirely and use it as a giant PDA.
7) It works perfectly with 3rd party ePubs. I'd heard mixed signals about this. Right now, it's 2 for 2 on unencrypted ePubs. I haven't tried stock ADE books. I don't think I have any in hand at the moment---Oops, I found a couple of old ones. Works fine except they show up in 'My Files' rather than the Library.
8) The Crossword app is nice.

The next step will be to try it with Outlook sync. I'm told that will be fun. :[

Ka-plah!

Regards,
Jack Tingle

I wouldn't draw too many Android conclusions based solely on the nookcolor (NC) because the NC uses a terrible hybrid OS that is part Android and part B&N garbage. I think a true Android tablet or phone will be a different and better experience and comparison. In other words, don't give up on Android based on the NC running the stock software.

If you are technically inclined, even just a little bit, you can create a boot disk using a microSD card and run CM7 (a version of Android built for devices like the NC) and also be able to remove the microSD card and still run the stock B&N firmware. That will give you a much better capability of assessing Android. It will also make for a better tablet which is opened up to much of the Android Market rather than a tiny subset of apps. True Android reader apps are much better than that gosh-awful stock reader app on the NC. It is pathetic, but fortunately there are several alternative Android readers to choose from like Coolreader, FBreader, Aldiko, Moon+ Reader, Kindle, Nook (Android app), Sony, et cetera. Some are really good, others not so much. Even the Android version of Nook is much better than the NC stock reader app! All that I listed are better than the stock NC reader except perhaps the Sony app (which really sucks). By having a few reader apps to choose from, you greatly increase the number of eBook formats which you can read.

I agree that the touch screen is not as responsive and polished as other tablets, but the display from it is very good. The screen is exceptional for reading eBooks, not so much for typing and data entry.

[Jack Tingle]

I don't think you understood what I wrote.

Originally Posted by jswinden

I wouldn't draw too many Android conclusions based solely on the nookcolor (NC) because the NC uses a terrible hybrid OS that is part Android and part B&N garbage. I think a true Android tablet or phone will be a different and better experience and comparison. In other words, don't give up on Android based on the NC running the stock software.

If Nook is very unlike Android, and I like Nook, does that mean I won't like Android? Perhaps I should take the Nook back and go with a dumb phone come Feb?

Originally Posted by jswinden

True Android reader apps are much better than that gosh-awful stock reader app on the NC. It is pathetic, but fortunately there are several alternative Android readers to choose from like Coolreader, FBreader, Aldiko, Moon+ Reader, Kindle, Nook (Android app), Sony, et cetera. Some are really good, others not so much. Even the Android version of Nook is much better than the NC stock reader app! All that I listed are better than the stock NC reader except perhaps the Sony app (which really sucks). By having a few reader apps to choose from, you greatly increase the number of eBook formats which you can read.

No thanks. I like the eReader derived reader on the Nook. FBreader is an OK reader, and I've used on various platforms. I own a Kindle 3 so a Kindle reader for the Nook would be counterproductive. If I need format flexibility, I use the jetBook, which still has everyone else beaten.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Jack Tingle

I don't think you understood what I wrote.



If Nook is very unlike Android, and I like Nook, does that mean I won't like Android? Perhaps I should take the Nook back and go with a dumb phone come Feb?



No thanks. I like the eReader derived reader on the Nook. FBreader is an OK reader, and I've used on various platforms. I own a Kindle 3 so a Kindle reader for the Nook would be counterproductive. If I need format flexibility, I use the jetBook, which still has everyone else beaten.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

ahh pay him no mind he's our resident nook troll.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by jswinden

(...) the NC uses a terrible hybrid OS that is part Android and part B&N garbage (...)

(...) True Android reader apps are much better than that gosh-awful stock reader app on the NC. It is pathetic (...)

We should call you "Duracell Bunny", you are relentless! Keep it up!

To the OP, pretty much all the android phones out there have a customized skin on top of the Android OS (the exceptions are the Nexus phones and one of the LGs, if I recall correctly). The NC is not different, though it takes it a bit further. If you want to experience pure (or nearly pure) Android, create an SD card with CM7 and boot from it.

[BooksForABuck]

It's important to me that I have a Nook that's standard (so I can talk customers through problems, among other things) so I hadn't thought about rooting my C-Nook but the idea of putting Android on a SD card is interesting. Are there instructions on doing so anywhere?

Rob Preece
[edit - please visit your User CP to create a signature - Moderator]

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by BooksForABuck

the idea of putting Android on a SD card is interesting. Are there instructions on doing so anywhere?

These instructions are pretty good.
http://quinxy.com/2011/04/01/complet...he-nook-color/

[Jack Tingle]

A few more experiments have found:
1) The best format for lists seems to be .xlsx.
2) Formatted text files seem to work best as HTML3 from Word 2010.
3) BN IMO made a mistake by not including .rtf as a neutral format.
4) I miss arrow keys when editing. Even WM6 h/w rec. had arrows.
5) Photo viewing is dyn-o-mite.
6) Thumb typing is not.
7) File management is pitiful. I understand the 'no delete' thing, but for heaven's sake, how about file size and date added? Especially for photos
8) The slideshow button on the photo viewer doesn't seem to do anything.
9) Battery life is pretty good for a power hog. Wifi on or off doesn't seem to make a lot of difference, probably because as a percentage, it's a small amount on such a big backlit screen.

I picked xlsx format purely because MS Office seems to be going that way.

The omission of rtf as a neutral file format, while including a bunch of doc and docx variants is puzzling. rtf has very few bad features. It primarily omits a lot of file characteristics that can only get you in trouble if it gets crosswise. You can recover rtf files easily if they get corrupted, and they can't transmit nasty things. Both doc and docx worked (though docx was very slow to load), but plain vanilla filtered HTML 3 was best behaved. PDF was typical PDF, although even a tagged file didn't reflow. Shame, shame, shame.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[Jack Tingle]

A comment or two on add-on software:

Springpad: Works OK and does some useful things. How do they plan on making money?
Fliq Note: Works OK, but doesn't seem to do anything useful. If you write a note and can't do anything with it, why wouldn't I just inscribe it on a roadside rock?

My next look will probably be Quickoffice. I suppose I'll have to link with Google Docs for that, this being Android and all.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[RAH]

I am a little puzzled about what you are using to type this stuff (i.e. where you talk about formatted text files, rtf, etc) if you don't already have QuickOffice. I'm thinking I've been missing something on my Nook Color? I have QuickOffice, but how else are you doing this typing and file saving?

As far as Springpad, I "purchased" it (it was free), but after reading a description of how it works on their website I quickly got rid of it. From what I read, it "enhances" your notes and lists with links to websites that have info about what you entered. In other words, they are tracking you and watching what you are entering, it seems to me. Yikes! It seemed like the most invasive app I ever heard of. And this after I just read a few articles about how mobile apps can be very invasive and you don't even know it.

So now you know how they are making money - by putting links (i.e. ads) into your entries. No thanks!

[Jack Tingle]

Originally Posted by RAH

I am a little puzzled about what you are using to type this stuff (i.e. where you talk about formatted text files, rtf, etc) if you don't already have QuickOffice. I'm thinking I've been missing something on my Nook Color? I have QuickOffice, but how else are you doing this typing and file saving?

The NC native file viewers are surprisingly pleasant and versatile. Go to My Files and click on a .xlsx file you've sideloaded and a reasonable static representation of the spreadsheet shows up. Same for other supported formats. The NC website makes a big deal about it. For a book/file reader, that's all that's needed.

Originally Posted by RAH

As far as Springpad, I "purchased" it (it was free), but after reading a description of how it works on their website I quickly got rid of it. From what I read, it "enhances" your notes and lists with links to websites that have info about what you entered. In other words, they are tracking you and watching what you are entering, it seems to me. Yikes! It seemed like the most invasive app I ever heard of. And this after I just read a few articles about how mobile apps can be very invasive and you don't even know it.

So now you know how they are making money - by putting links (i.e. ads) into your entries. No thanks!

I'd be surprised if that's enough to make any profit. I can see them selling it to advertisers that way, but after a few years, I doubt they get much money net. If they're going out of business (likely), or selling my email address to someone (they claim not), I'll probably kill them off. The service does work as advertised though, so bully!

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[taosaur]

This thread reads like people trying to build a radio from a coconut, when what they've mistaken for a coconut was in fact already a fully functioning radio.

If you're content with an e-reader that can manage an app or two, by all means carry on, though I don't know why you would pay $250 for such a thing. If you intend to wring an iota of productivity from the device, however, for the love of ice cream put a real android operating system on it.

Originally Posted by taosaur

This thread reads like people trying to build a radio from a coconut, when what they've mistaken for a coconut was in fact already a fully functioning radio.

If you're content with an e-reader that can manage an app or two, by all means carry on, though I don't know why you would pay $250 for such a thing. If you intend to wring an iota of productivity from the device, however, for the love of ice cream put a real android operating system on it.

Written to all posters of this thread, no one in particular,

I agree, and that is all I was trying to state. However, certain people still want to label me as a troll even when I try to help with OBJECTIVE observations. I'm not a troll, but I'm not a cult member either. If I have an ipad it is because it gets the job done, not because I worship at the alter of Jobs, nor will I worship at the alter of NC or Android as some do! If you folks cannot be objective like taosaur, then I truly feel sorry for you as that seriously limits your intellectual capability. It makes you a cult member, and that is sad. My advice and philosophy is to use what works for you and be happy with it. Don't call other folks trolls simply because they are not a GD replication of yourself. And the fact that I've held onto my NC since december, installed CM7, etc. indicates that although I'm really frustrated with Android I'm still trying to make it work for me. That is a lot more than most of you will do with an iPad or Windows device because you are to GD closeminded to think outside of your cult teachings!

[anamardoll]

If you're really wanting to try out the Android OS and don't want to change the NC stock device, try running CM7 from an SD card.

http://www.anamardoll.com/2011/04/er...e-on-nook.html

The time investment is about 30 minutes; the money investment is about $70 (assuming you get the same SD card I used, which isn't necessary); and it will really give you the Android Flavor experience more than the NC stock device can.

[taosaur]

What's coming at you is coming from you.