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Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 25, 2012
3,589
835
Was thinking of getting my wife a nook hd. She's a big reader, and now she can have both nook and kindle books on there. Any thoughts? Comparisons to the kindle fire hd?
 

MyiBill

macrumors 6502
Feb 8, 2012
395
57
I have one and I also have a fire hd. I liked the nook better even before google play was on it. It seems more responsive and I just like the overall Barnes and noble ecosystem better.
 

Partron22

macrumors 68030
Apr 13, 2011
2,655
808
Yes
Got one for my wife last year. I use Nexus and iPad, but she just needs something for reading, writing, surfing and the occasional movie. The 16 gig model, with a 32 gB SD card more than meets her needs. It's a light, fast little unit that's easy to transfer files to, or from.

Now that Google play store runs on the nook, there's no need to sideload apps thru the Development interface, or root the thing either. You can run the native web brower, Chrome, or Dolphin. Wife prefers Dolphin.

Barnes and Noble's native skin for the Nook can get a little clunky if you keep a lot of files on the device, but the Nova Launcher plays beautifully with Nook. I won't say the Nova skin is perfectly intuitive, but wife is no Andy Hertzfeld, yet she handles the UI very easily without resorting to constantly asking me how things are done.

Nook HD is a really nice device to give someone who doesn't want to get involved in the technical stuff, rather just to do some reading, writing, surfing and movie watching.
 
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Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 25, 2012
3,589
835
It looks nice. It's either that or wait til the new nexus 7 comes out, which I've read will be in July?
 

cnev3

macrumors 6502
Sep 13, 2012
462
56
I'm watching them advertise the Nook HD+ on the QVC channel. Not really interested in the device, but I just like watching QVC.

They are selling it for $159. If I was in the market for a tablet and couldn't spend the money for an iPad mini and was looking for something under $200, i'd pick this.
 

adww12321

macrumors member
Dec 24, 2012
59
9
I'm watching them advertise the Nook HD+ on the QVC channel. Not really interested in the device, but I just like watching QVC.

They are selling it for $159. If I was in the market for a tablet and couldn't spend the money for an iPad mini and was looking for something under $200, i'd pick this.

i have the hd+, now that it can use the Google Play store natively it is somewhat more useful as a full-blown Android device.

But it is slow as molasses (and the high-res screen doesn't help matters...)

The system is nowhere near as smooth as anything Apple offers -- and sometimes the lack of responsiveness can be downright frustrating. (I prefer to use my *first-gen* iPad to compose e-mails, if that tells you anything.)

So, good battery life, good for reading books b/c of the awesome screen. But it would be maddening if it were my only tablet, day-to-day.
 

Alfuh

macrumors regular
Mar 31, 2009
239
0
I've got the HD+ and decided to install Cyanogenmod on it.

It runs pretty well, but the CM can bug out from time to time. It definitely doesn't run nearly as smooth as my iPad 2 but is good for basic functions and video watching.

I had a giftcard to Target so I walked out playing $99 for it, so for that price I'm happy.

Haven't owned any other Android tablets so can't compare performance... But if it helps I am almost sure I will get a different tablet soon...

edit after reading through the XDA forums a but it seems the Apex launcher isn't the best with the Nook and Nova is better. I installed it and its a huge difference and upgrade!
 
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jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
I noticed this way later than I should have, but I wanted to say that those who are looking for a cheap tablet could do far worse than the Nook HD and Nook HD+.

The screens are very impressive, the fact they have Play makes them generally pretty useful, and the fact you can dual-boot them by inserting a properly formatted microSD card (the software is $10 if you don't want to assemble it yourself) means you've got an Android 4.2.2 device for $129/$149 (+ microSD + $10).

I use the HD+ for remote work due to the fact the screen resolution is as good as the monitor I have at work, and I got my 8 year old the HD. Nice tablets for the price, and they won't be around long. You won't find a better 9"/10" option for the price anywhere.
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,729
1,133
Something is wrong somewhere with the pricing of these two tablets. I could not go for the HD considering the pice of the + irregardless that I prefer the size and portability of the HD. May be they are so overstocked with the larger of the two?
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
Something is wrong somewhere with the pricing of these two tablets. I could not go for the HD considering the pice of the + irregardless that I prefer the size and portability of the HD. May be they are so overstocked with the larger of the two?
I suspect that's the case. However, sometimes you just don't want a larger tablet, and even though the HD+ is a lot more for the money (16GB versions of each cost exactly the same), the HD is more usable in a lot more situations; in particular, it is much more usable as an e-reader due to the fact it weighs so much less (it's also easier to hold for longer times while playing games). And really, since it has the microSD slot, unless you tend to load on a ton of apps, you might was well just spend the $129. For that price, it's hard to not get one.
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,725
13,245
UK
I was thinking of getting the HD+ as it's such a good price at the moment. Now I think I'll get the Kindle fire HD 8.9 and get rid of my galaxy tab 2 10.1

The HD and HD+ are really good value tablets at the moment.
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
I was thinking of getting the HD+ as it's such a good price at the moment. Now I think I'll get the Kindle fire HD 8.9 and get rid of my galaxy tab 2 10.1

The HD and HD+ are really good value tablets at the moment.
What about the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" makes it worth an extra US$120 over the HD+ to you? I'm just curious. It has a camera, but no microSD slow, no Google Play, etc..
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,725
13,245
UK
What about the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" makes it worth an extra US$120 over the HD+ to you? I'm just curious. It has a camera, but no microSD slow, no Google Play, etc..

HDMI out. Not fussed about google play. I have an android phone. I also purchase a lot of amazon content, books and streaming service.
 

jsw

Moderator emeritus
Mar 16, 2004
22,910
44
Andover, MA
HDMI out. Not fussed about google play. I have an android phone. I also purchase a lot of amazon content, books and streaming service.
Well... there's the $40 HDMI adapter kit which still leaves you with $80 left in your pocket. It works well, uses standard HDMI cables (one is included), and allows you to charge while viewing, so it's something to consider. That said, Amazon streaming makes a better argument for the Kindle (not the books, since you can get the Kindle app on the nook, but the streaming video).
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,725
13,245
UK
Well... there's the $40 HDMI adapter kit which still leaves you with $80 left in your pocket. It works well, uses standard HDMI cables (one is included), and allows you to charge while viewing, so it's something to consider. That said, Amazon streaming makes a better argument for the Kindle (not the books, since you can get the Kindle app on the nook, but the streaming video).

I didn't know about the adapter! Thanks I will look into that.
 

OceanView

macrumors 65816
Sep 16, 2005
1,094
39
Just bought a HD+ this week.
These are great tablets for the money. I'm surprised more people don't know about these.

Going to Root mine this week and see if it's any faster.
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,729
1,133
Just bought a HD+ this week.
These are great tablets for the money. I'm surprised more people don't know about these.

Going to Root mine this week and see if it's any faster.[/QUO

Thousands go to B&N stores and see them, they know about it but don't seem to particularly care considering the way thay have sold and B&N needing to drop the price like a rock just to move them from their inventory of stock on hand.

I think both are great value for the money but .....
 
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