Computers & Tablets

[amboles]

I'm looking to buy a KIndle Fire and I didn't know if buying books on it was different than buying books on the Nook. Also what was the main difference between the Kindle Fire and Nook Color Tablet.

[Entropy]

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amboles wrote:

I'm looking to buy a KIndle Fire and I didn't know if buying books on it was different than buying books on the Nook. Also what was the main difference between the Kindle Fire and Nook Color Tablet.

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"Nook Color Tablet"?

There are two different products - Nook Color and Nook Tablet.  The Fire is much more powerful than the original Nook Color.  The Nook Tablet is more powerful than the Fire in theory, however Barnes and Noble crippled the Nook Tablet - while on paper it has 16GB storage, you are only allowed to use 1GB of it for your own content.  The rest of the storage is reserved for "B&N Content" - apps and ebooks, which aren't exactly major storage users.

I would recommend the Fire simply due to the 1GB user storage restrictions.

What B&N has done is the equivalent of a PC manufacturer selling you a PC with 4GB RAM and a 250GB hard drive - and then telling you that you're only allowed to use 4GB of that hard drive (coincidentally the same size as the RAM) for your own purposes.

[Carol53000]

I have a Kindle Fire and I like it. I use it to play games, read books and listen to music. Amazon has very many apps so I assume something will interest you. I you want lots of apps to pick from, I've heard that Amazon has more than Barnes and Noble. I have nothing bad to say about the Nook Tablet since I've never used one.

[madmark4]

Except the Kindle does the same thing.  Of the 8gb onboard, you have access to 6gb.  It also has no expansion option, which the Nook Tablet does (via micro SD card), so storage space shouldn't be a problem.

Also, the Kindle Fire has half the available RAM.

[Entropy]

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madmark4 wrote:

Except the Kindle does the same thing.  Of the 8gb onboard, you have access to 6gb.  It also has no expansion option, which the Nook Tablet does (via micro SD card), so storage space shouldn't be a problem.

Also, the Kindle Fire has half the available RAM.

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No, that's not the same thing.  Having some items inaccessible due to needing space for the system image is not even remotely the same thing as marking 12GB of storage unusable to the user despite it being 100% empty.

[madmark4]

Actually it is exactly the same thing, since the 2gb locked on the Fire isn't all used to store the system image, and the space on the Nook Tablet isn't inaccessible.  Of the 16gb of memory on it, 11gb is free for content, but only 1gb is free for purchases not from B&N.  Since it goes to B&N's app store, B&N's bookstore, movie store, etc, you have effectively 13gb free.  You only have a 1gb limitation on things bought outside.

So, you have 6gb free on the Kindle, or for about 8$, you can have 9gb free on the Nook, by installing an extra SD card, which you can't do on your Fire.

Since you will likely be buying most of your content on either device from the folks who provided it, the Nook Tablet still has 12gb free for you to use, the Fire has 6, and the Nook is expandable.

None of that changes the fact that the Fire has half the available ram, either.  

[madmark4]

Replying to myself to fix a mistype:

I said you effectively have 13gb free, it should have been 12gb.

[Entropy]

Um, as of December (maybe this has changed), B&N had the following content available:

1)  Apps

2)  eBooks

Nowhere close to enough to justify reserving 12-13GB for only B&N content.  1GB is barely enough for storing MP3s, let alone movies.

The 6GB free on the Kindle Fire is at least enough to store 2-3 full length movies at the Fire's resolution.  (It's enough for maybe 4-5 if they're sourced from DVDs instead of HD content).  The 1GB free on the Nook Tablet is barely enough to store a single full length movie at DVD resolution.

In addition to that, if you decide you don't like the factory experience, the Kindle Fire does not have a locked bootloader, which is why CyanogenMod porting is pretty far along for that device.  The Nook Tablet has a fully locked bootloader - you don't even own your device that you paid for.

[madmark4]

That might be true, except Amazon's last update removed the ability to do the one click root, and removed root access if you had it.  It now requires a bit of hoop jumping... exactly the same hoop jumping required to root a Nook tablet.

Did I mention you can easily add memory to the Nook, up to 32gb, which lets you store a way lot more movies than say, 6gb?  You can get an 8gb card for 6$, giving you 9gb, which is more than 6gb, I'm pretty sure.  Oh, and you could even get  a couple, take them with you, and load a whole bunch of movies, yes?

As for 'not owning the device you paid for', as far as I know, B&N has never removed purchased content from a tablet or reader, something Amazon has done several times in the past, including the super-ironic "1984" incident.  They also conveniently hide competing apps from their marketplace, just to make sure no one accidentally installs the Nook app.

These are both 'locked down' devices, by design.  They sell the tablets at or below cost, to make their money back on the content.  Nothing here is surprising.  Amazon touted the thing as an 'iPad killer', when they know very well it isn't designed to do that.  Its a content consumption device, just like the Nook Tablet, and both do things to push their own content.

[treesaregreen77]

How about the Kobo? I've heard good things 

Kobo Vox eReader - Ice Blue

Model: K080-KBO-U | SKU: 3644132

This Kobo Vox K080-KBO-U eReader features a 7" multitouch screen with antiglare technology to ensure easy viewing and navigation. The 8GB internal memory provides ample space for up to 2.2 million titles.

  Read reviews (0)

Sale: $199.99