[Q] The Color still worth it?

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Werentuckl

Member
Jul 20, 2008
24
2
So I have been an xda member since long before the android craze took root, or even before the icrap products were aired, back in the days when the good old winmo or symbian was the only platform of choice for enthusiasts and geeks like us. Those days are sadly the past now, and most of the good folks who were driving the growth of the winmo platforms have now migrated to android, or even ios.

I'm finally taking the jump too and have decided to tinker around with android, thus my dusting off of this account and bringing it back to life from lurker status. :) I've already purchased a xoom and an iconia a500 recently and am now looking to purchase a third tablet. :) I know, that sounds a little crazy, buying three tablets on the trot, but they're all going to go around among either family or family after I'm done playing with them. Since I've run my cash well dry by now, as you might as well have guessed, this is going to be my last tech purchase for a while, and probably might also be the tablet that gets left over to me in the end after the others are set up and sent to their new homes as presents as this will be the cheapest yet.

There, I've laid out the whole story. Now for the nagging question, is the nook color still worth the money? I had set my mind on the purchase and was getting down to the exploring options part when I noticed craigslist showing kindle fires going consistently for as much or as the nook colors or even less than that. And that has got me torn. I really badly wanted to buy another nook device, this will be me second after the nook simple touch, which I have yet to receive. However, I am also a performance and a bang for buck junkie, and I am also likely to end up staying with for the long haul. So I want something robust enough ot last me a couple of years from now atleast. Now with the fire sometimes going even cheaper than the nook, is the color still a good buy, and should I take the plunge on this, or that?

I really havent found a recent comparison between the two, especially if they're competing for my dollars at the same price point, to help me decide which one ot go with. The lack of a micro sd is the real killer in fire, the lack of dual core and a modern, higher performing soc in the nook color. I'll be buying either as a potential primary device and will be tinkering with both, meaning rooting, and installing custom roms, so I couldnt care less for what amazon tries forcing down my throat. And I will definitely be buying second hand, probably off craigslist, to save what little I can of my last bits of remaining money and hopefully buy a radeon 7850.

So there, thats my dillema, all put out in fornt of you folks. The question has been bothering me for days, and no amount of searching has managed to help me, and thus I have ended up here, resorting to the good old xda and its pool of immense resources. :)

Also, should I post this same question on the kindle fire threads too, to get the other side of the picture? Any help would be appreciated. :)

--Werentuckl
 

J515OP

Senior Member
Mar 9, 2012
84
27
Northern CA
Nook Color is definitely still worth it* You can get them used or refurb and the prices come down to around $100.

*It really depends on what you want it for though. It would be more appropriate to compare a Nook Tablet to a Kindle Fire. But the Color is really the ultimate tinker's device. Great developer community and practically unbrickable. With CM7 and CM9 you get great performance numbers for the hardware and tons of bang for the buck.

Nook Tablet is also a good device but it is going to cost more which brings other possible tablets into consideration. Even though B&N wasn't as nice making the NT as open as the NC it is still a great device and the developer support is growing. It is nearly as good for tinkering as the NC at this point.

If you want a device for email, light gaming, web surfing, videos and tinkering as well as a great reading device the Nook Color is about the best bang for the buck you can get.

JP
 

Nick N

Senior Member
Sep 10, 2009
952
243
Columbus, Ohio
I agree. Still a lot of bang for the buck, especially in the $100 range. My coworker always brings me ads from here and there advertising Android 2.0 tablets for $88, this one beats them every time for just a few dollars more.

I used to run Android 1.5 off the SD card using haret on Windows 6.0 (HTC Touch). I miss those days.

After Modding 6 or 7 Nook Colors for family, friends, and coworkers today I decided to pick one up from Cowboom for $100. My daughter has a HTC Flyer and Wife has an iPad 1. I really have no use for one, but I like to tinker from an alpha/beta tester standpoint, and I figure I could at least get my money back when I get bored with it.
 

Werentuckl

Member
Jul 20, 2008
24
2
All good points actually, and the reminder about android on winmo reminds me of my cousin, he still runs gingerbread of his hd 2. Good stuff. :)

However, what actually has me torn is seeing both the fire and the nook color going for the same prices. They're both hitting close to hundred on pre-owned units off craigslist. So I can't really decide which would be the better choice for the same price. :(

And the nook color was my first choice, the merits of rootability and the vibrant community had me won over. And then I saw the fire going for the same price for twice the processor, and now I don't know which way to lean. :(
 
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iolinux333

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2008
466
63
my nook essentially hard bricked without warning, just out of warranty. beyond that it was just too slow IMO for me - laggy video was my main issue. my RAZR is so nice for playing video i no longer can stand slow processor Android devices. my next tablet is probably the Samsung galaxy tab 2 for $250, dual core, GPS, camera, compass, microphone... all the stuff that is missing in the NC. i think you should save your money and put it towards something less limited
 

djd338

Senior Member
Jan 28, 2011
346
90
The reply above is right on. Personally, I would not buy another Nook in todays market. I have a Nook Tablet too (both were gifts). The Nook was great when I was learning to flash roms, etc because it is literally unbrickable.

What I really HATE is B&N and TI putting all the effort to lock the OS down. If it were not for the great devs here the Nook sales would have stalled long ago.

I for one will never buy another product which has such an anally locked boot loader and OS. The Nexus Tablet is right around the corner.
 

MISRy

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2011
288
131
Kay See Emmoh
You should have asked here about the issue you were having with laggy video. I watch .avi's every day at lunch, Grimm, Walking Dead, etc., keep Hitchhikers Guide on it as a matter of principal and keep a few Pinky and the Brain's as baby sitting tools. I use MoBo player and software decode everything. Smooth as glass. The "Server Room Drive-In" is famous.
 

topikamew

Member
Mar 3, 2011
17
1
Ok, here's my 2 cents. As I only own NC, I'll comment only on it.

The nook color is a good device- for old technology. Ok, so the DEV team for NC is fantastic, porting ICS over, which has completely revamped how I see/use the NC now. It's awesome, plays videos, works smoothly. Everything is running clean from Eyeball's nightly.

However, as from your situation, you're looking to keep this device for a while. While the software side (able to crack BN, root, and run android) is fun to tinker with and has good support, the hardware is just not going to be good enough for these days' technology. There are a lot of apps that just needs more power than what the NC has.

So, if you're just buying to tinker and browse the internet on the go, NC is fine. But if u wanna do anything heavy, wait a few more months until some of the newer gen android tablets are priced lower in the market.

Btw, the fire without SD? deal breaker.
 

Werentuckl

Member
Jul 20, 2008
24
2
Okay, so I've been following this thread, and frankly, it hasnt made my choice any easier. :( I've gotten two posts against the nc, every post against the fire thanks to its lack of an sd slot, and plenty of others cautioning me against the nc because its dated. :'(

Now what do I do? And guys, even though I will be keeping this device for good, lets not forget that I'm under money constraints, I go any higher and I wont be able to buy my gpu. Plus, waiting is also not an option, I have until the end of this month to complete all my purchases, since I'm getting all this through a family member coming back from the states. :(

--Werentuckl
 

MISRy

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2011
288
131
Kay See Emmoh
... Now what do I do? ...

I fail to see a problem. You say you are a tinkerer. The unbrickable nature of the NC, (yes someone said they bricked it a while back but they also said they couldn't play videos either, do the math), makes it a no-brainer. Couple that with the fact that you can get them for between $100 and $150 all day long and you are golden.
 

nookd

New member
Jan 15, 2012
4
1
I am actually satisfied with my nook color use it more than my ipad 2, feel that the ipad is big for all day use

Sent from my NookColor using XDA Premium App
 

FloydF

Senior Member
Sep 1, 2011
68
5
Given the lack of information on the Google tablet, I would go with either the Nook Color or Nook Tablet. Given limited cash, obviously the nook color. I have a nook color and nook Simple Touch. I love the nook color, sure it doesn't have everything I want, but nothing does. If you are worried about it being dated, you will never buy anything. Everything is dated by the time it gets to market. The biggest problem I have is everything seems to be designed for something else. All the roms seem to be made more for phones than tablets, even my windows 7 notebook came from HP with ta
blet services installed and running on a notebook that doesn't have the hardware to use the services. I am more
worried about the Microsoft/BN deal. Perhaps it will mean more support for windows products in Android, more likely like the Kindle Fire, the next nook will not have a SD slot and will be designed to push people to Microsoft's online services. Perhaps even a nook running windows...
Microsoft always has found creative ways to kill great products... But from what I see, the Nook is by far the best for the money.
 

Werentuckl

Member
Jul 20, 2008
24
2
I'd agree with Floyd, the google tablet wont be launching until after I am unable to purchase anymore.

So, I'm leaning just a little more towards the nook now than I was before, and I have found a couple of other options to throw in the mix for considering as well. I just found the iconia a100 going for 190, a little under 200 after taxes, at the acer ebay store. And though the fact that the thing has little to no dev support or any roms for that matter, and has abysmal battery life, the thing is still very feature rich. Should I be even be looking towards it or not? Sans custom rom loading goodness and crap battery, its very good bang for buck, no?

Damn, this is so frustrating! This is why spending the last bits of your money is always so difficult. I had no such problems buying either of the last two tablets or the wacoms. :'(

And MisRy, everything is more expensive in ny, thats where the problem initialyl started from, the nc and the fire playing in the same price brackets. :( Though, any ideas about any decent deals or devices solidly under 200, new, or refurbed, or even craigslisted for nyc, would be welcome. :)

--Werentuckl
 

MISRy

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2011
288
131
Kay See Emmoh
...
And MisRy, everything is more expensive in ny, thats where the problem initialyl started from, the nc and the fire playing in the same price brackets. :( Though, any ideas about any decent deals or devices solidly under 200, new, or refurbed, or even craigslisted for nyc, would be welcome. :)...


Nook Color refurbished, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/cert-pre-owned-nook-color-barnes-noble/1100666155 $135 shipped. My boss got his wife's in 4 business days via UPS.

Brand new from Sears with in store pickup for $150, http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_05725930000P?aff=Y&cj=true&sid=I0084400010000100600

Sent from the Center of My Mind
 
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kmccmack

New member
Jan 27, 2011
2
0
I would say yes, depending on the price. Got mine in Feb '11 and I've worked the crap out of it. I still don't see any other 7 inch tablet in the sub $200 range as flexable as the nook. The color with CM7 RC2 hits the sweet spot for me. Of course: YMMV.

Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk 2
 

owlchemist

Senior Member
Feb 23, 2012
58
5
Kind of in this dilemma as well. Has anyone had trouble running programs from the play market(3d games, comic apps, drawing apps)? I picked up a NC for 125 a week ago and triple booted without a hitch. It just seemed kind of slow to me, but then again I didn't do too much tweaking. I already returned it but might get it again. Awaiting the Nexus tablet, but would like something to hold me over til then. Any recommendations?
 

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    The Fire doesn't have an SD card slot. Total deal breaker.
    1
    reeg, out of the box the Nooks will be plenty useable for email, web and reading. They are limited to B&N app store apps though. To make it a true tablet you do need to do a little work. It shouldn't take more that a few minutes to turn it into a real tablet though.

    At that point you have a lot of options for making a very simply home screen so that there is no hassle for her. You can have the whole thing setup with apps, a simple home screen and "I love mom" wall paper in less than an hour.

    One big drawback about the Nook is no front facing camera if you wanted to use it for video chatting.
    1
    And now to muddy the waters a little....

    Nook Tablet $150 (new) via CNET's Cheapskate.

    Too many choices....