Showing posts with label Barnes and Noble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barnes and Noble. Show all posts

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Tablet Comparison

The Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Nook Color, and iPad in a side-by-side comparison.

Free Books

I really like the form factor of my Android Nook. I've been enjoying it even more recently for using Google Reader, Kindle/Nook/Aldiko/Google Books apps, and the YouVersion Bible. If surfing/the browser was better, it would get the full Brick Seal of Approval.

My buddy at work brought in his brand new Kindle Fire. I think I would like it, too.

I have been reading enough on the Android Nook that I think I might want a true e-ink reader like the Kindle Touch. A recent evening spent at the local ER (good times!) made me realize the value of a device that works for weeks on a single charge.

Which all brings me to this link to free books from Baen for your tablet or e-reader of choice. Here is their philosophy for offering free books.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Tablets R Us

Why buy something besides an iPad? (I'm listing this link first - if you read only one, make it this one.)
"The Kindle Fire is interesting because it’s the first one with a good answer: it’s much cheaper, Amazon offers a digital content ecosystem that rivals Apple’s (fewer apps, more books), and millions of people already use and enjoy Kindle hardware. The e-ink Kindles are to the Kindle Fire what the music-playing iPods were to the iPhone, and what the iPhone was to the iPad — traction in the mass market based on trust and loyalty.
Amazon built an alternative to the iPad, rather than a direct competitor. It’s a different market segment. As Steve Jobs explained back in 2010 at the introduction of the original iPad, there’s unexplored territory between smartphones and laptops."
And:
"The iPad and Kindle Fire are emblematic of their makers. Apple’s primary business is selling devices for a healthy profit, and they back that up with a side business of selling digital content for those devices. Amazon’s primary business is as a retailer, including as a retailer of digital content. They back that up with a side business of low-cost digital devices that are optimized for on-the-fly purchasing of anything and everything Amazon sells. The Kindles are to Amazon what the printed catalog was to Sears a century ago."

The X-Ray feature might tip the scale and give me a reason to pay a premium of an e-book.
"All the new e-ink Kindles have an innovative feature called X-Ray. When you download a book on an e-ink Kindle you automatically receive a second file with information about the characters and settings of the book. The sources include Wikipedia and an Amazon-owned company book-related social service called Shelfari. It’s a welcome means to quickly figure out whether an unfamiliar character had appeared a few chapters earlier."

If I buy a Kindle, I will get the version that is ad supported, because you can change your mind later and pay to opt out of the adds with no penalty.

Amazon to buy Palm? Speaking of old school, maybe somebody should snap up BeOS, too.

Some iPad alternatives

I've finally decided what my next tablet will be: The Sabre Pyramid

iPhone 4S... point and shoot camera killer?

What is the difference between a smartphone and tablet? Very similar to my thoughts on which tablets are competitors? It depends on the use case.

edbott Whatever Happened to the iPad Rivals of 2010? A long, sad list http://t.co/7NCEBnqD via @technologizerMon, Oct 03 08:26:01 from Tweet Button
retweeted by asymco
WIREDInsider The top 10 new features of iOS5: http://t.co/xGVTuecV (via @gizmodo)Wed, Oct 05 10:33:38 from SocialOomph
WIREDInsider Today's infographic: Every iPhone 5 rumor to date: http://t.co/8dGRL2aUTue, Oct 04 16:36:46 from SocialOomph
WIREDInsider Delving deeper into the iPhone 4s camera: http://t.co/Qebhe89g (via @wired)Wed, Oct 05 12:33:45 from SocialOomph

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Amazon - New Kindles Touch and Fire

So I'm all about the tablets right now... I was like a kid at Christmas watching two live blogs (here and here) yesterday as they covered the announcements from Amazon. I'd been reading all the predictions about how great this new tablet was going to be and then in the 48 hours leading up to the announcement, opinions seemed to become much more negative. The tablet was going to be a hack job and would be replaced with something different in Q1 2012. And what did we get... not only the color tablet we expected, but several new models of the Kindle - including a $79 low-end ebook reader and new touch screen models.

My take... I'm not sure I need anything beyond my Android Nook Color, but I think the future is very exciting! I don't think Amazon is trying to attack Apple directly. Others have said that the Kindle is not a book, but a bookstore. The Fire is a bookstore, movie studio, and a TV network - and maybe a data mine (one view - Amazon attacks Apple... and Google!)


Via Technologizer

Kindle - Nook - iPad Comparison (image from This is My Next)


The Kindle Fire competes with...
Hands on with the Kindle Fire
Amazon makes $199 challenge to iPad
Apple is no longer the only tablet maker that matters.
Playing With Fire: Amazon Launches $200 Tablet, Slashes Kindle Prices
Broken Models - Syncing and Backups
The new browser - SILK
What is old is new - SILK and Opera Mini
Slashdot's Rob worries about Privacy and Security



And again... why SILK and the new browser model means Amazon attacks Apple... and Google!

And when will the Kindle be free?

Bonus Link - you aren't getting a TouchPad.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Tablets, Tablets, Tablets


A review of the iPad challengers...

And a new one coming next week... Amazon Tablet announcement on Wednesday

Amazon Kindle Tablet Could Shake Up Tablet Wars: Here's How | PCWorld (Via Slashdot.org) - thoughts about Amazon's possible tablet and strategy - pros and cons.

Looks like I am one of the cool kids with my 7" Nook Color Android tablet...

The Motorola 7" Android Tablet

The 7" HP TouchPad that will never be.

And the power of the iPad and other consumer devices in the enterprise - they have been leaking into our company for years and it is only getting worse, err better, err worse.

Amazon Kindle Fire

parislemon On Wednesday, Amazon Will Unveil The “Kindle Fire” http://t.co/OOvg4KJdMon, Sep 26 16:31:04 from Tweet Button
retweeted by arrington

From the article:
Another thing I wasn’t sure about was the chip inside of the device. I’ve now learned it’s a TI dual-core OMAP chip. This is the same chip used inside many newer Android devices. The PlayBook also uses it. I’m not sure what the clock-speed of the CPU will be, but I’d guess 1.2 GHz. This will make it significantly faster than the rival Nook Color, which uses a single core 800 MHz OMAP.
And...
The Nook Color 2 will also be built on top of Gingerbread, Android 2.3, we hear. That would put it ahead of the Kindle Fire, which is believed to be based on Android 2.1. Again, neither of them look anything like Android, but the APIs available are key when it comes to the Android version. 

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Nook Color Android

So I've been playing with my Nook Color Android tablet. My reference points are an iPad2 (the gold standard for tablets) and my Droid Pro phone (running Android). My first impressions were favorable and that has not changed.

I like the 7" form factor. It is very usable and takes up less space in my bag than does the iPad.

The battery life doesn't seem to be as good as the iPad. I've not done any specific testing, but my gut says I'm charging it more often with roughly equivalent usage. I don't think this is a Nook issue - more of an Android problem. My Droid Pro has mysterious battery sucking apps running that fix themselves.

Unlike the Droid Pro, some applications (Google Reader for one) occasionally blow up and have to be restarted on the Nook Color Android. This doesn't happen very frequently, but I've almost never seen it on the Droid Pro.

Overall, a few hiccups but a great value at half the price of an iPad.


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Nook Color & Nook 2 Android

I really like our iPad. The three of us seem to share it pretty well, but I was already thinking we could really be a two or three tablet family. My uncle is trying out a Nook Color, the Barnes & Noble ebook reader along with a little hack to run the Android OS via a bootable microSD card from Nook 2 Android.

You can pick up a new Nook Color for $250. I got a refurb on Buy.com for $180. You can then order the a Nook 2 Android 8 GB card for $35. So on the cheap side, you can get an Android tablet for $215 plus shipping.

I'm excited about this as I really wanted a tablet and I think this will be a great device. I want it to be my portable documentation repository and library. Dropbox plus some PDFs. YouVersion for multiple versions of the Bible. Add Google Reader for my RSS feeds and I am all set!