7 inch vs. 9 inch, Nook HD vs. HD+ and similar

[Roseweave]

I have a bunch of new considerations so I'm really torn here.

On one level, 7 inch tablets are great because they're a similar size to 6 inch readers but with a little extra on top for watching movies and the like. They're super portable and useful like that. At the same time, 7 inches is a small screen for doing certain types of work. I know from the experience of using an EEE PC that 9 inches is generally enough for a device to focus as a true replacement for a laptop in certain scenarios.

The downside being 9 inch devices are heavier and might not be as suitable for reading on. In fact when I was checking some out in the shop, the size almost seemed daunting, and of the tablets over 8 inches almost seemed artificially enlarged in a way. iPads seemed more right to be because of the 3:4 aspect ratio.

But I feel like the 9 inchers are growing on me now and that I might get a fair amount of use out of them, getting more out of it than just replacing my broken Nook. I'm not a big fan of android and would prefer a portable device that can run legacy windows software but at this stage android is so widely supported it's probably not going to be much of an issue.

If I can use the tablet as an MIDI controller too I might be able to get rid of my Launchpad. Does Android still have Audio Latency issues? How is Touch Latency on the Nooks?

[robko]

I went from a 7" Playbook to an 8" full Windows 8 tablet. I have to say that the extra 1" makes a big difference to me once I made the move. I didn't mind the 7" when that was all I had, but having 8" now I would hate to go back. Like you, the 10" is just a little too big for portability to me. For my uses (mostly out and about) 8" is pretty much the sweet spot.
I can't speak to midi type apps at all, but I moved to a Win 8 tablet for better functionality in Excel. Having full windows 8 that can run virtually all windows PROGRAMS (not just apps) is a major bonus to me (full disclosure: I was never a massive app user on my Android or Apple phones). Might be worth looking at Win 8 (assuming your midi stuff plays friendly with Windows).

[PatNY]

Tough choice. I have both and use both for different things. I first bought the HD and liked it so much I bought the HD+ a few months later.

The 7" is best for reading long-text regular books, and definitely best for portability, if you need it. I need a device I can use easily on a bus or subway and the 7" is perfect there. The 9" is too big for that.

The 9" is best for reading PDFs, magazines, comics, and for browsing the web. Also for videos.

So the 7" HD I use mostly on the go, while the 9" one is used mainly at home.

The operation on the7" is a bit smoother than on the 9" ... it's a hardware thing, I think. But the difference is not too great and both are fine and good enough for most purposes. Both of my devices are running rooted stock with an additional mod to allow sideloading. If you want, though, you can put on a custom ROM and get pure Android. That's the nice thing about these tablets -- the choices for modding are very plentiful.

If you go for the HD, get at least the one with 16gb storage. Some who got just the 8gb have run out of space quickly. External storage is mainly for books, music, videos etc.

--Pat

[Roseweave]

Why can't I just use external space though? especially if I was dual booting.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by Roseweave

I have a bunch of new considerations so I'm really torn here.

On one level, 7 inch tablets are great because they're a similar size to 6 inch readers but with a little extra on top for watching movies and the like. They're super portable and useful like that. At the same time, 7 inches is a small screen for doing certain types of work. I know from the experience of using an EEE PC that 9 inches is generally enough for a device to focus as a true replacement for a laptop in certain scenarios.

The downside being 9 inch devices are heavier and might not be as suitable for reading on. In fact when I was checking some out in the shop, the size almost seemed daunting, and of the tablets over 8 inches almost seemed artificially enlarged in a way. iPads seemed more right to be because of the 3:4 aspect ratio.

But I feel like the 9 inchers are growing on me now and that I might get a fair amount of use out of them, getting more out of it than just replacing my broken Nook. I'm not a big fan of android and would prefer a portable device that can run legacy windows software but at this stage android is so widely supported it's probably not going to be much of an issue.

If I can use the tablet as an MIDI controller too I might be able to get rid of my Launchpad. Does Android still have Audio Latency issues? How is Touch Latency on the Nooks?

I think anxroid is not as good as ipad for serious audio. I read up about guitar effect apps for andfoid. It seems android hardware is just not as good for it as ipad.

I wouldnt get a tablet to read on. If you are in the UK or the USA you can get a nook st and a nook tablet very cheaply. I have a 9 inch tablet. It is too heavy for reading but big enough for comfortable browsing.

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by Roseweave

Why can't I just use external space though? especially if I was dual booting.

As far as I know, current versions of Android don't let you install apps on the external sd card. The default is always internal. There are app utilities that let you move another app's data to the external card, but it often doesn't work or when it does, the results are often less than ideal, slowing down an app or resulting in incomplete uninstalls. Some apps also have their own settings for storing their data on the external card, but they are few in number and often the default path doesn't match up with the Nooks and isn't editable.

Dual booting from the sd card can get around the problem, but I've never done that myself. I have read, though, that running entirely off the card can slow down overall performance.

If you don't plan to install a lot of apps, then 8gb shouldn't be a problem. But keep in mind that many apps today can be huge, especially some of the games, so space can get eaten up pretty fast.

--Pat

[afv011]

Originally Posted by PatNY

As far as I know, current versions of Android don't let you install apps on the external sd card.

That's right. The SD card installation was a stop-gap solution for earlier devices that had separate partitions for app data and user data, where you could run out of app data space. Since Honeycomb we've had one single partition for user data and app data so this SD card thing has gone away, since you can use as much as you want for apps.

The SD card wasn't without problems, like widgets wouldn't work, or apps would obviously break if you removed the SD card, so it's a good thing that it's no longer supported.

[jscarbo]

I get much more use out of my 9" HD+ than I did from my previous 7" Kindle Fire and Nexus 7. However, size, weight and general form factor are very important in larger screen tablets. I haven't had my hands on the new Fire HDX 8.9 but it's a bit narrower and considerably lighter weight than the previous model, 374g vs 567g.

For comparison, the iPad Air weighs 469g and the Nexus 10 comes in at 603g. The B&N Nook 9" HD+ weighs 515g. The 2nd Gen iPad was a hefty 680g. Among the 7" models, The 1st Gen KF weighed 413g and the original Nexus 7 was 340g. The new 7" Fire HDX weighs 303g and the Nexus 7 (2013) is 290. The iPad Mini 2 weighs 331g.

I do most of my reading on my e-ink Kindles (PW and Basic) and they're certainly much lighter and more comfortable to use for extended reading sessions, but I find my HD+ to be surprisingly comfortable and frequently use it for hours at a time for watching videos and reading graphic novels. I did find that adding a folio-style cover made it feel heavier and more cumbersome so I switched to this silicone case: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and it's perfect. I also have a zippered sleeve for added protection when carrying it around but don't use it much.

[Roseweave]

What do you use when you need to stand it up?

[Roseweave]

kinda paralysed by this decision atm

Maybe I'd be better off buying the cheaper 7 inch one and just buying a new tablet when the technology improves - that way I'd always have a more portable backup. But I'm not sure. A 9" Tablet with a bluetooth keyboard would be good enough for me to take out and write with, which I do a lot of, and would be better for reading comics.

How is reading comics on the 7" screen?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by jscarbo

For comparison, the iPad Air weighs 469g and the Nexus 10 comes in at 603g. The B&N Nook 9" HD+ weighs 515g. The 2nd Gen iPad was a hefty 680g. Among the 7" models, The 1st Gen KF weighed 413g and the original Nexus 7 was 340g. The new 7" Fire HDX weighs 303g and the Nexus 7 (2013) is 290. The iPad Mini 2 weighs 331g.

Correction on iPad weight:
iPad 1: 680g
iPad 2: 601g
iPad 3: 652g
iPad 4: 652g

As for reading comics on 7", I've had no issue doing just that on my Nexus 7 (2012) apart from the limited storage capacity. On my 7" tablets, I read in full page, portrait mode. On the 9.7" tablets, I read in double-page spread landscape. If you're considering Android, I highly recommend getting one with a microSD slot. The Asus Memo Pad HD 7 ($130-150, 300g) or the HiSense Sero 7 Pro ($130-150, 340g) are both decent options.

[spellbanisher]

Originally Posted by Roseweave

kinda paralysed by this decision atm

Maybe I'd be better off buying the cheaper 7 inch one and just buying a new tablet when the technology improves - that way I'd always have a more portable backup. But I'm not sure. A 9" Tablet with a bluetooth keyboard would be good enough for me to take out and write with, which I do a lot of, and would be better for reading comics.

How is reading comics on the 7" screen?

On Ebay right now you can get a 32gb manufacturer refurbished Nook hd+ for $129 with free shipping and no tax. I can't think of a better deal for tablets, and at that price the hd+ is actually cheaper than any 7 inch hd tablet.

[Roseweave]

I'm in Ireland though, there would be customs charges and it probably wouldn't arrive in time for christmas(when I'm next down at my parents).

[PatNY]

Roseweave, if portability is critical for you, go for the 7-inch. But if larger format publications are a significant part of your reading, go for the 9-inch.

You may also want to consider that 9" models are not as plentiful as the 7" variety. Both the HD and HD+ are steals right now in the U.S. and on U.S. eBay. A year from now, it's likely I could still find another great bargain on a similar 7" tablet. But it might be much harder, if not impossible, for me to find a similar bargain in 9 inches with a display of this quality. The HD+ has a ppi of 256 which is essentially the same as the 264ppi of the iPad Air. So, because the HD+ seems to be a rarer bargain, I might go with that. It does weight 18ozs, however.

--Pat

[Roseweave]

that is kinda heavy, my 3ds only weighs 8.3 oz and I feel the weight in my handbag. maybe i'll just save the comics for the big screen...