Need an Android tablet for reading books and stuff.

[fuzzybabybunny]

There are a bunch of books that I'd like to start reading, but all I've got is the Nexus and the screen is too small. It would be a huge bonus for it to also be able to function as a world phone and have a removable back for swapping battery and adding in memory.

Is the Note the only option really?

I don't want an iPad.

 

[Bateluer]

There are a bunch of books that I'd like to start reading, but all I've got is the Nexus and the screen is too small. It would be a huge bonus for it to also be able to function as a world phone and have a removable back for swapping battery and adding in memory.

Is the Note the only option really?

I don't want an iPad.

That rules out about 99.99% of all tablets on the market today.

So are you looking for an ~8in screen in a tablet then? Reading on a ~10in tablet isn't very enjoyable. Galaxy Note 8, possibly the LTE version coming to AT&T soon maybe able to make calls. Battery is not removable though you do have expandable storage through sd slot. Amazon's Kindle Fire 8.9s, but neither calls nor removable battery.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

That rules out about 99.99% of all tablets on the market today.

So are you looking for an ~8in screen in a tablet then? Reading on a ~10in tablet isn't very enjoyable. Galaxy Note 8, possibly the LTE version coming to AT&T soon maybe able to make calls. Battery is not removable though you do have expandable storage through sd slot. Amazon's Kindle Fire 8.9s, but neither calls nor removable battery.

Why is a 10 inch screen not enjoyable? Too big?

 

[notposting]

Why is a 10 inch screen not enjoyable? Too big?

Do you usually hold up giant books to read?

Just get a Kindle Touch (used off ebay should work) or Paperwhite, or I suppose a Nook variant, and pack it along with your phone.

Kindle Touch is lightweight, will fit in a pack easily, and has insane battery life.

 

[s44]

The only tablet to buy this week

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Ehhhh... Come to think of it, I really need something that can also take a SIM card. The reason being that I live and work on my phone. If my current phone dies, I *must* get another one the very next day. If I get a tablet that also functions as a phone, that can be used as an effective backup until I'm able to locate a better replacement phone with a smaller form factor.

Otherwise I'm looking at a primary phone, a WiFi tablet, and a backup phone that just sits there and doesn't do anything until the primary one dies.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I guess if you want a large phone with removable battery and micro SD slot, a Samsung Note is your only option I can think of.

I prefer the 6 or 7 inch screens for reading. Two reasons. First they light weight, they are more comfortable to hold longer periods. Second reason is with larger screens your eyes need to move around more to take in the larger surface. It's a minor issue, I can read fine on 10 inch screens, but find it a bit more comfortable on the smaller 6 or 7 inch screen.

It fails to meet multiple requirements, but the Nexus 7 is a really comfortable tablet to hold. Google made the portrait bezels thinner so you can grip it with one hand comfortably to read with and the back feels really nice. I have complaints about the Nexus 7 color quality and pathetic speaker, but when it comes to reading it's just amazing.

Oddly the Kindle Fire is great at watching videos with it's great screen and speakers, but kinda sucks at reading books (go figure) because of it's wide bezel, it's squarish edges, and it's heavier than most 7 inch tablets.

I picked of a Nook HD+ 8.9 inch. While I prefer a smaller screen, I actually found the 8.9 inch screen to still pretty comfortable to read on. And this 8.9 inch tablet is surprisingly light for it's size. And B&N did a great job making this feel comfortable in the hands. The 1280 resolution is very nice as well (note it's a bit wider in portrait mode than most Android tablets). So I agree, it's probably a really good choice right now at only $150.

 

[Zaap]

The only tablet to buy this week

This. $180 for the 32GB model is the biggest steal around right now. Only 3 more days. (Although I suspect B&N will keep finding occasions to liquidate these.)

My HD+ is currently my most used device other than my desktop computer.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

The only tablet to buy this week

those prices just reek of desperation and impending death. the screen on them is quite nice (though the chip is slow) but it would be hard to get past the likely possibility that youre buying into an ecosystem that is going to disappear in a few months

do you guys know if most public libraries use nook, kindle or both? i almost bought nook a few nights ago when i saw it was 150, thats pretty tempting for that screen...

 

[Rio Rebel]

When you first created the thread, you seemed to put a very high emphasis on reading. If that's the primary function (or damn near it), the first place to look is the Kindle, coupled with Amazon Prime. They have a large library of electronic books that you can "borrow", but ONLY on a Kindle - not another tablet using a Kindle app.

Then your follow up post about using it as a phone throws that into a tailspin. I don't know what to tell you, other than sit down and make a list (physically or mentally) of what the main functions are that you want, and go from there. There are some great deals out there right now, but you have to know what's important to you. Case and point - we bought a Kindle Fire for my daughter a year and a half ago, and thought it was going to be the end all, be all...and now we realize that two of the most important functions to her are a microphone and camera. So what we thought was a great situation and the right price point turned out to be mostly a disappointment for her.

 

[Aganazer]

I'm surprised you don't like reading on the Nexus. I thought it was fine on my older 4.5 inch HTC Sensation. It was good enough that I never wanted to tote around an extra device for reading.

I'm with Ravynmagi on the suggestion of a Samsung Note or other up coming 6+ inch phone. There are lots of cool ones coming out over the next 6 months.

 

[zerogear]

I don't know of any tablets with removable batteries.

 

[Silenus]

When you first created the thread, you seemed to put a very high emphasis on reading. If that's the primary function (or damn near it), the first place to look is the Kindle, coupled with Amazon Prime. They have a large library of electronic books that you can "borrow", but ONLY on a Kindle - not another tablet using a Kindle app.

Then your follow up post about using it as a phone throws that into a tailspin. I don't know what to tell you, other than sit down and make a list (physically or mentally) of what the main functions are that you want, and go from there. There are some great deals out there right now, but you have to know what's important to you. Case and point - we bought a Kindle Fire for my daughter a year and a half ago, and thought it was going to be the end all, be all...and now we realize that two of the most important functions to her are a microphone and camera. So what we thought was a great situation and the right price point turned out to be mostly a disappointment for her.

This what I was going to say. I have a Nexus 7 myself, and it's great for lots of things, including reading articles, online mags ect, but I would never read BOOKS on it. Your first choice for heavy reading should be something with an eink display, hands down. As a dedicated, long form, reading device they are far better than anything with a backlit LCD or AMOLED. And it eliminates need for removable battery because something like a kindle paperwhite will run for a week or two between charges, and that is with significant reading every day. Also a kindle or similar eink reader will be far lighter than any 7" tablet and much easier to read in odd positions or one handed.

Your alternate phone requirement really throws a monkey wrench in things. Honestly I'd urge you to consider maybe grabbing an older, cheap, used smartphone that you can have simply waiting around to be used as an emergency backup phone, then get an eink reader for your book reading.

 

[Zaap]

those prices just reek of desperation and impending death. the screen on them is quite nice (though the chip is slow) but it would be hard to get past the likely possibility that youre buying into an ecosystem that is going to disappear in a few months

The Nooks now have Play Store access out of box, and run CM10.1 perfectly. B&N could explode tomorrow and no one with a Nook HD+ should give a crap. All their 'updates' ever did was remove function and try to lock things down. Their 'ecosystem' is for chumps.

 

[Ravynmagi]

The Nooks now have Play Store access out of box, and run CM10.1 perfectly. B&N could explode tomorrow and no one with a Nook HD+ should give a crap. All their 'updates' ever did was remove function and try to lock things down. Their 'ecosystem' is for chumps.

CM10.1 running perfectly depends on the hardware it seems. Apparently the Nook HD+ 8.9 is shipping with more than one panel type. And as I discovered the touch sensitivity input is pretty poor in CM10.1 with the panel I have on my Nook HD+.

Verygreen doesn't have a fix for this and it doesn't seem to be a priority at this time.

So I have to continue using the stock OS, because CM10.1 is too frustrating to use with the touch sensitivity problem my HD+ has with it.

 

[Zaap]

CM10.1 running perfectly depends on the hardware it seems. Apparently the Nook HD+ 8.9 is shipping with more than one panel type. And as I discovered the touch sensitivity input is pretty poor in CM10.1 with the panel I have on my Nook HD+.

Verygreen doesn't have a fix for this and it doesn't seem to be a priority at this time.

So I have to continue using the stock OS, because CM10.1 is too frustrating to use with the touch sensitivity problem my HD+ has with it.

Weird. Extreme bad luck of the draw? The 32GB HD+ I bought with this sale worked just as well as my others. And I've set up 3 other HD+'s for other people with no screen issues.

I just scoured xda and can't find a single thread or even mention of this anywhere. The only thing I found that seems related is the bokbokan sd card CM10.1 thread mentions that with the 6/13 update "LG screen now working."

I see no mention of anything like this with native emmc installs, and no users in any of those threads mentioning this issue, nor in threads since the current sales. Is there more info on this somewhere?

 

[CuriousMike]

I've been a long-time ( since December ) owner of a Nook HD+, and I've used it almost exclusively to read.

a) the resolution makes it possible to view a full PDF page without crappy scaling - some text can get small, but not tiny. It's very readable.
b) the 16:10 aspect ratio ( a little wider ) is excellent for reading
c) the screen is very good

I paid MSRP for my 16GB and thought it was an great deal at the time - for the blow out prices, and you want to primarily read, you should consider it.

 

[Bateluer]

The only tablet to buy this week

This is a really good deal, though I think its a little weak on the SoC side. Excellent screen, but its an OMAP 4470. I'll grant that its probably fine for reading books without any trouble though.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Ehhhh... I'm leaning towards the Nook HD+ as well just because of the screen.

Does anyone know if it can be used as an external secondary monitor for a Windows 7 machine? Either via USB or some other interface?

 

[zerogear]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...splay%2520Android%2520for%2520getidisplay.com

Something like that?