Related
http://gizmodo.com/5686161/samsung-galaxy-tab-review-a-pocketable-train-wreck
Apologies if this is a repost -- searched, and didn't find this reference.
Scathing review by Gizmodo. Judging by their review (and much of it is simply fact-based, not spin -- for example the issues with Swype), I'd never go near this thing.
Basically, it sounds like the Galaxy S phone ROM put on the Tab. I.e., everything designed for the phone screen size simply on a larger screen, with a few exceptions.
What a disaster of an idea. Many things that work with the finger interface on a 3.7" screen become impossible to "thumb-swipe", or become annoying to finger-swype with any finger when it is simply larger. Swype seems to be a poster-child for this.
I agree that this idea of Samsung's to "tween" a tablet between a phone and the iPad was an idiotic idea. Gizmodo makes the point that a Tablet is all about size, not compactness. That's the point. You want something compact, you get a smartphone on steroids, like the Epic. You buy a tablet to supplement a phone, not replace it. It replaces books, notepads, folios, etc. -- not your phone.
Samsung, are you listening? Here's the ultimate tablet, better than the iPad: Same size or even a little bigger than the iPad screen, higher resolution. Linux/Android OS, redesigned (as well as apps) from the ground up for the larger screen experience, not simply scaled up because they're on a larger screen.
And here's the key, something that's been a complete mystery to me about cell phones, the only explanation I can think of is cost: An LCD screen using the same technology Garmin uses for their Vista Cx handheld GPS.
This technology is the absolute best, most versatile, most readable color screen technology that I have ever encountered, anywhere. It is like a kindle -- except in color -- in direct sunlight... the brighter the incident light on the screen, the sharper and brighter the display. In darker environments, the adjustable backlight produces just as awesome results.
I don't know how this LCD display is constructed, but it accomplishes well the task of reflecting back through the display incident light, as well as allowing backlighting to achieve the same effect.
It's amazing. White is bright and very white in sunlight.
Probably quite expensive. Is it justified for a phone? While we'd probably all have a technogasm to have such a phone, I can see that it probably isn't justified from a cost perspective and whatever market analysis they've done.
A tablet is a very different proposition. It needs to be used in the same environments as a Kindle and that where a self-lit laptop would be. The perfect display tech is what I describe above. Even Apple is moronic not to incur the extra cost for this, maybe in a high-end model, and charge the extra $100 or so for it. Then market the hell out of the feature.
I believe they'd make a killing.
So, back to the thread topic, I can stomach an iPad, given all the objectionable aspects to it (iOS being enough). However, looks like it'll be a year or two wait before someone really does an Android tab even close to right, and it won't be Samsung, their software arm being such an incompetent bunch of Keystone Cops (like we didn't know that already).
And, I have no hope of my display technology wet dream. But I needed to get it off my chest.
I am debating on whether to buy a NST to read manga on but before I do buy it I wanted to know if mangas look good on it. There are a few ways to view them like converting the manga with Calibre or using Mango (PocketManga). I was wondering if the text is legible or do you need to bring the tablet right near your eye to see anything? Please let me know how what manga experience you have on the NST if any at all.
I have several manga with each page in jpg format, and using a free tool I found I was easily able to convert each manga into a single epub file that can be used with the nook WITHOUT even rooting, using the stock reader.
There is no zooming in the stock reader, but I've found I don't really need it at all. Text is perfectly legible and I don't need to hold it up to my face and squint. Then again I do have excellent vision.
http://mangatoepub.codeplex.com/
link68759 said:
I have several manga with each page in jpg format, and using a free tool I found I was easily able to convert each manga into a single epub file that can be used with the nook WITHOUT even rooting, using the stock reader.
There is no zooming in the stock reader, but I've found I don't really need it at all. Text is perfectly legible and I don't need to hold it up to my face and squint. Then again I do have excellent vision.
http://mangatoepub.codeplex.com/
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Thanks, that is reassuring, I will probably buy it now.
I have PocketManga, the downloading for offline reading and all works like it should. Reading the manga requires you to scroll up and down the page because it doesn't fit the screen which is annoying. And it doesn't look THAT great, but passable.
With the NoRefreshToggle app the scrolling goes better, but then it looks very bad because it has no grayscale then, just "black" and white.
The text is very readable, even if it's small. And you need at least a little night lamp with a 7W compact fluorescent lamp or 30W regular.
Perfect viewer is also very good, you generally don't need to scroll with it
AStove said:
I have PocketManga, the downloading for offline reading and all works like it should. Reading the manga requires you to scroll up and down the page because it doesn't fit the screen which is annoying. And it doesn't look THAT great, but passable.
With the NoRefreshToggle app the scrolling goes better, but then it looks very bad because it has no grayscale then, just "black" and white.
The text is very readable, even if it's small. And you need at least a little night lamp with a 7W compact fluorescent lamp or 30W regular.
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Doesn't PocketManga let you fit to height?
UnidH4x0r said:
Doesn't PocketManga let you fit to height?
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Doesn't look like it. If anyone knows how, do tell.
AStove said:
With the NoRefreshToggle app the scrolling goes better, but then it looks very bad because it has no grayscale then, just "black" and white.
The text is very readable, even if it's small. And you need at least a little night lamp with a 7W compact fluorescent lamp or 30W regular.
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Hmm norefresh takes away greyscale? That is a deal breaker. I'm sure if we looked around we could easily find an app, or configure an app to scroll with the hardware buttons. The nook's screen is big enough though that you don't really need to fit width; fitting by height is fine anyway.
Oh, and I have the nook simple touch glowlight. If you're going to get a nook, get that one; it's pretty insane that they didn't have a backlight to begin with. Probably a marketing ploy. I mean, I haven't seen a screen without a backlight since the gameboy advanced...
The glowworm does not have a backlight, and neither do any of the e-ink Kindles nor any other e-ink device that's currently being sold, as far as I know.
The glowworm has a bank of lights under the top bezel that shine down, and those are well implemented.
The only prior self-illuminated e-ink screen was in a Sony from a couple of years ago, and people hated it - the illumination was very uneven and the battery drain was apparently fierce.
You actually can't have a backlight on an eink screen, since the screen is opaque. This is part of why Amazon recently bought a company that manufactures ribbon lighting, so the next generation of eink kindles will also have onboard illumination.
The Mirasol technology displays are interesting - they are somewhat like e-ink in that they are highly readable in full light, but they are backlit for indoor reading. The battery life on that technology is better than on LCD screens but not as good as on e-ink, and the first reader using one commercially was released in Korea last year to generally mixed reviews. (These are color displays, but the colors are nowhere near as rich as on an LCD and refresh rate is also not yet up to par.)
roustabout said:
The glowworm does not have a backlight, and neither do any of the e-ink Kindles nor any other e-ink device that's currently being sold, as far as I know.
The glowworm has a bank of lights under the top bezel that shine down, and those are well implemented.
The only prior self-illuminated e-ink screen was in a Sony from a couple of years ago, and people hated it - the illumination was very uneven and the battery drain was apparently fierce.
You actually can't have a backlight on an eink screen, since the screen is opaque. This is part of why Amazon recently bought a company that manufactures ribbon lighting, so the next generation of eink kindles will also have onboard illumination.
The Mirasol technology displays are interesting - they are somewhat like e-ink in that they are highly readable in full light, but they are backlit for indoor reading. The battery life on that technology is better than on LCD screens but not as good as on e-ink, and the first reader using one commercially was released in Korea last year to generally mixed reviews. (These are color displays, but the colors are nowhere near as rich as on an LCD and refresh rate is also not yet up to par.)
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Well that explains why the technology wasn't implemented sooner; nonetheless, I was never really interested enough in an eink display to actually make the purchase until I saw the nook simple touch glowlight.
I've always thought eink was an interesting concept, but I could never justify investing in an electronic device with a screen that could not be seen in the dark (or even just in poor light); but I will say that the 1-2 month battery life was probably my biggest interest in purchasing this.
Does anyone know how to access kissmanga. I can't access it anymore.
carolineparker said:
Does anyone know how to access kissmanga. I can't access it anymore.
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There are two sites with nearly identical names... The one you seem to mean is .org and is unreachable with Opera Mobile. The other one, which has an "s" at the end of the name and is a .com can be reached using Opera Mobile.
Both sites can be reached with Opera Mini although I didn't try to access any material.
As for the first site and Opera Mobile, it uses a Cloudflare certificate for authentication and there is no Cloudflare certificate in our cacerts.bks. The second certificate it uses we do have. But...the last time I tried to add in a Cloudflare certificate it made no difference for the site someone was asking about. It may simply be that the page (which is crowded with stuff) is just too much for Opera Mobile to handle. If you want to try adding in the Cloudflare certificate, see https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-how-to-managing-cacerts-bks.4197451/
I have a SGT 7.7, it has a 7.7 inch SuperAmoled display and is running ICS. When I read on it I always read white on black. For epubs I currently use Aldiko and for pdfs I use RepligoReader. I recently started to read a lot again and was thinking of getting a dedicated reading device.
Main reason being the e-ink screen to ensure I don't get eye cancer too soon. Second being the battery life, so I dont waste the battery on my 7.7 just staring at text for hours. Third I don't like (physical) books, because they are heavy, get dirty, bend and stuff.
I'm from Germany, I can get the Glow for about 150€ on eBay and the NST for like 120 AUD (I'm stil in Australia till next Wednesday ).
Does the B&N store work in Germany?, if it doesn't where can I buy books from?
I own a SGT 7.0 myself, and still use my NST. Mine is not a glow. Those have some apparent issues with light "hotspots" developing, so I'm waiting until those are resolved. The NST has several advantages:
1. The eInk screen is very easy on the eyes, and is quite usable outdoors, even in sunlight. If you do not have good lighting, it won't work without some light, or you opt for the Glow version. It is far easier to read outdoors than a color glossy screen, even in the shade. Contrast is excellent.
2. The NST is very light, and easy to handle for an extended period without the hand cramping up. My SGT 7.0 is significantly lighter and smaller than the NOOK Color or Tablet, so this isn't so big a deal. I'm not sure how the 7.7 compares.
3. The NST is cheap, or at least cheap enough that I'm not scared to take it with me to the beach, or outdoors. Obviously, it's not waterproof, and I do put it in a case outdoors, but it's not the end of the world if it is killed, whereas my SGT is much more important to me.
4. Battery life on the NST is phenomenal. I don't get anywhere near the "2 months" that B&N advertises, but I'm easily good for a week to 10 days of regular use. It also charges quickly from any USB power source, so there are no big wall adapter concerns. YMMV, of course.
5. Once rooted, the NST does many of the key things my SGT and my laptop do. I can check email, calendar, todo list, travel plans and even some light web browsing on it with few problems. It's not as nice to use as a bigger color device, but it works well enough that I can take it along as my sole device where a bigger device would be awkward.
From everything I'm reading at the B&N forums, you can only purchase books from B&N if you have a credit card with a US billing address. This seems to change from time to time, but a lot of Canadian buyers are upset. However, this needn't matter to you. Root the thing, and you can use the reader of your choice and just shop for ebooks where they're cheapest. I much prefer Mantano Reader myself, since it handles both epub and PDF formats well. B&N's library is famous for losing shelving (organization) data.
I find the NST a useful complement to my SGT. I wouldn't call it an essential, but it is definitely nice to have.
I own a tablet (HP Touchpad CM9) and a large-screen smartphone (Galaxy S3).
I prefer reading on my rooted Nook Glowlight.
It's thin. It's light. I can read it in sunlight. I can read it in the dark. It lasts a LONG time on a charge. It acts as a low-end Android Tablet in a pinch (for web searches, etc).
The glowlight LED "flashlighting" effects at the top of the screen are minimal. The light zones are neatly negated when using a reader like Cool Reader that places the reader status bar on the upper portion of the screen.
I only have 2 complaints:
1. Sometimes the lighting changes slightly in intensity when you have it at the lower-end of its brightness settings and you do something like turn a page.
2. Until you get used to it, holding it can be a problem. Your thumb may hit the screen. (Solution? Turn off touch-zones in whatever reader program you use.)
If you root your Nook and use Calibre to de-DRM and convert your books, you can read anything you buy anywhere.
Back in Germany, about to order a Nook. Looking at the prices on eBay I can get the NST for 79€ and the Glowlight for 139€. Getting a LED clip on light for 8 bucks should also do the job, right. It would save me 50 bucks to get NST + LED-light instead of the Glowlight.
{Diemex} said:
Back in Germany, about to order a Nook. Looking at the prices on eBay I can get the NST for 79€ and the Glowlight for 139€. Getting a LED clip on light for 8 bucks should also do the job, right. It would save me 50 bucks to get NST + LED-light instead of the Glowlight.
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Over on the B&N forum, there have been a number of reports of early NSTG screens developing "bright spots", not all of which are due to scratches or dents. Apparently, there's some concern about the manufacturing process causing some separation between the "screen protector" and the screen itself. Others have reported significant screen contrast issues, or banding.
Personally, I'm waiting for B&N to perfect the process of building the NSTG before buying one. I'd also like to be able to fully utilize Nook Touch Tools capabilities on it. For this reason, I'm sticking with a NST (non-glow) for now. The Glow is awesome and lighter, but I don't want to worry about return issues, even living near a B&N store. I honestly don't find myself reading in the dark that often, and when I do, my Samsung tablet is better anyhow.
I read the NST only has only 250mb availible for sideloaded books, can one unlock the remaining 750mb somehow?
Does anyone know the Sony PRS T1? It runs Android aswell and can be rooted too. Its only 15€ more, at least in my case.
This is a similar dilema that I went through recently. I have a Galaxy Tab 8.9 with the same screen as the 7.7.
I have read nothing but ebooks going back to about 2005, first on windows mobile then moving to Android in 2010. I chose the 8.9 because I thought it would be better than a 10" screen for book reading. I was not disappointed, it still works great.
I was planning a beach vacation for this summer, and was worried about outdoor reading on the 8.9. I bought a matte finish screen protector to help with outdoor glare, and while it was an improvement, it was not a cure. Looking into ereaders, I knew I did not want the Kindle, because I get my book from alternate sources, not Amazon. Came across the NST GL, found you could sideload books, and it has the back lighting. I have read the reports about the hotspotting, but there is no contest to the flexibility of a backlit e-ink screen. Since the first e-ink readers, I always stood up for LCDs, because of available active back lighting and continuously variable brightness. I could always find a comfortable and pleasant contrast level, in bright or dark areas.
The NST GL is on another level. The wonderful contrast, good (not perfect) back lighting and light weight make it a winner. All of the add-on lights for Kindles are a poor substitute for true back lighting. I am not sure a regular e-ink screen would have worked for me, but I am converted. I will keep the 8.9 as I use it for many other things, but when I really want to read, the NST GL is all but perfect.
B
Hello,
Somehow I managed to break the front glass on my recently bought Nexus and had to seek for a replacement. (touchscreen ceased to function too)
I found a service that supplied the spare part along with doing the replacing and after initial relief of having a phone I fell in love with fixed
came annoyance by a weird grid-ish check-like markings clearly visible on the screen from some angles like on the drawing attached.
What are those, part of digitalizer perhaps? Is it supposed to be like that or was I given a faulty part? I am able to spot those on my original screen, but only now that I know they exist - they are way less visible than on the new screen/front panel.
It's hard to get those on camera, but more or less I managed. (see the attacked)
btw. Nice job of discouraging new users XDA, fighting with the photos to make it available for uploading after I was forbidden to post imageshack links was a most enjoyable endeavour.
This is clearly visible on my original display, as well....and I've also heard several others say the same. It's totally normal, afaik
Completely normal, see these threads for more info: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2029220
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2073087
Sent by carrier pigeon
The threads you mentioned speak about diffrent thing, as I said - Its not direct sunlight that this appears in, its not the silverish glittering points that I am perfectly aware of (since I had that on my older phones). This grid doesnt need that much lighting to be seen. Hell, I see it even now when the screen is turned off and its semi dark with incandecent light. Like I said, this wasnt an issue with my first original screen, but with this new one its visible to a really annoying extent.
EDIT: Actually in one of the threads I found a guy with the same issues (not the thread founder tho). In the end even though everyone was saying it's normal and being a smart-ass jerks (no offence, but that's how they acted) he got it replaced as a faulty device (confirmed by google) and had the problem no more. To say this once and for all, I now it is normal when you are able to spot it in right lighting and right angle, but it shouldn't be visible with the screen on and with a perpendicular view as it is for me.
I personally know 2 other people with a Nexus 4, and you can see the digitizer on all three of them, exactly as shown in your photos. It's very easy to see when the screen if off, but I cannot see them when the screen is on.
avrillapete said:
I personally know 2 other people with a Nexus 4, and you can see the digitizer on all three of them, exactly as shown in your photos. It's very easy to see when the screen if off, but I cannot see them when the screen is on.
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That's the problem with my particular piece, I CAN see it with my screen on perfectly, even with perpendicular view. I can see it on my old broken screen too, but it is WAY less visible and - as you stated - it wasn't showing with the screen on.
I am sure if you saw it in RL you'd see why I am slightly disappointed, I will probably ask the service to replace it for different spare part.
The sad thing about ergonomics done well is that nobody notices! Whereas, if you screw something up so that a product is unusable, everyone notices. So I thought I'd sing the praises of the bezel design of the Nook HD+, which just struck me the other day.
See, I had read some (non-mainstream) review of the HD+ where the reviewer was griping because he didn't like the looks of the raised bezel around the screen on the Nook HD+. He thought the glass should extend across the face, like it does on my Galaxy Tab 2.
But have you noticed that, when you're holding the HD+ in your hand, that you aren't sending false touches to the screen? I've read that Apple had to put some software in the iPad to mitigate this. Others in the Android world (like, with the Galaxy Tab 3, simply gripe that they can't hold their Tablets in portrait mode without constantly causing a page flip due to a false touch.
But that raised bezel on the HD+ is subtle. It keeps your fingers away from the screen just enough so that there are no false touches!
Doesn't require any software. Doesn't require any leaning (how to hold the tablet.) Brilliant!
Yeah I like it too.
The only thing is it does not allow slide in gesture. Though that doesn't seem to be something that's used in android (it is used plenty in ios)
Unfortunately, b&n is so poorly run and their market share so small they're not going to get much props or respect for what they get right.
well done b&n, indeed.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using xda app-developers app
Now imagine if you will, this device with a genuine Tablet UI. Near Nirvana until Google decided to do us all a favor.
Yes the bezel does help in holding the tablet...though I am scared of gripping it too hard!
Excellent industrial design overall...at the current selling price, I would rate it better than any other tablet (based on price/performance or price/features ratio)...more so after installing CM11
.....A light sensor and a front camera would have killed the competition (at negligible cost to manufacture)
barth2 said:
Unfortunately, b&n is so poorly run and their market share so small they're not going to get much props or respect for what they get right.
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Their loss, our gain. I bought my HD+ (CPO) for $120 a few weeks ago from Fry's Elec. Before that, I was hankering for an HP Slate 8 Pro, with it's 4:3 aspect ratio screen. But HP wants almost 3 times as much for their 8 Pro, and it has a fatal flaw!
I wish I had bought a HD+ for $99 on Black Friday, but the xda developers (and the CM developers) weren't as far along with ROM development as they are now. There was the brick bug problem with TRIM and it didn't seem like it would work. But now that all that's behind us, if prices dip again, I might buy a second one. I don't know that anyone is ever going to make a 3:2 screen again, even tho it's close to the "golden ratio" and arguably the best AR for tablets. (Okay, the guy says Apple got it right with 1.6. But for moving maps in airplanes, 1.5 is better. )
barth2 said:
The only thing is it does not allow slide in gesture. Though that doesn't seem to be something that's used in android (it is used plenty in ios)
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I'm confused. In Google Play, I can come from the left outside, off the bezel, and "slide in" to open the left slide out menu. Is that a "slide in" gesture? Or is a "slide in" gesture something else? I've never used iOS, so I don't know.
PMikeP said:
I'm confused. In Google Play, I can come from the left outside, off the bezel, and "slide in" to open the left slide out menu. Is that a "slide in" gesture? Or is a "slide in" gesture something else? I've never used iOS, so I don't know.
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You're right. A flat bezel does make the slide in gesture a bit easier. But I think nook makes the right trade-off.
I also think the curved edge makes the nook more comfortable to hold. In the tech review game, however, it's all about looking cool and how many mm thick you can get down to, so nook loses again.
I only wish that B&N had also gone off the beaten path w.r.t. aspect ratio and picked 4:3 instead of 16:10. I think 4:3 is a lot better for web, email, reading, and even games (on small screen). That's 80-90% of what I do with a tablet. The only thing wide screen is good for is watching tv/movies. But that's what I have my big screen tv for.
barth2 said:
You're right. A flat bezel does make the slide in gesture a bit easier. But I think nook makes the right trade-off.
I also think the curved edge makes the nook more comfortable to hold. In the tech review game, however, it's all about looking cool and how many mm thick you can get down to, so nook loses again.
I only wish that B&N had also gone off the beaten path w.r.t. aspect ratio and picked 4:3 instead of 16:10. I think 4:3 is a lot better for web, email, reading, and even games (on small screen). That's 80-90% of what I do with a tablet. The only thing wide screen is good for is watching tv/movies. But that's what I have my big screen tv for.
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Not to nitpick but this is 3:2 ratio. At least the HD+ is.
I do agree that for pretty much ANYTHING other than media consumption 4:3 is the way to go. Even then, 16:9 shows aren't too bad.
Sent from my Nook HD+ using xda app-developers app
I get "false touches" on my HD+ a lot. So much so that sometimes I have to turn the screen off and back on to get it to register a real touch. I think it has to do with the metal sides conducting bioelectricity. So the bezel may be great, but it certainly doesn't serve much purpose aside from comfort in holding the device.
JeauxAdam said:
Not to nitpick but this is 3:2 ratio. At least the HD+ is.
I do agree that for pretty much ANYTHING other than media consumption 4:3 is the way to go. Even then, 16:9 shows aren't too bad.
Sent from my Nook HD+ using xda app-developers app
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Agreed, 4:3 seems to me to be the best form factor for a tablet overall. I've actually always been curious about this. Is there any consensus out there on why Android manufacturers mostly go with 16:10 instead? Do they just want to be purposefully different to the iPad, or are they making an educated assumption of some sort that a majority of users will use their tablets mostly for watching video?
episode96 said:
Agreed, 4:3 seems to me to be the best form factor for a tablet overall. I've actually always been curious about this. Is there any consensus out there on why Android manufacturers mostly go with 16:10 instead? Do they just want to be purposefully different to the iPad, or are they making an educated assumption of some sort that a majority of users will use their tablets mostly for watching video?
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I think maybe originally it was just to be different from apple. But this was one thing Steve Jobs got right.
to me a lot of apps just feel better in 4:3. Take gmail. Pretty much the same app on ios and android in term of basic layout and functionality. But it looks more proportionally pleasing on my ipad than the nook. The message list is less cramped vertically, with right amount of white space. The message pane feels right, not too wide and short. Probably has something to do with the golden ratio and all that.
I can't find any 4:3 android tablet that isn't from a no name Chinese manufacturer. ditto Windows metro. The whole widescreen thing started when movie makers wanted to differentiate from tv. then HDTV came along and wanted to more closely resemble the movies (and differentiate from SD). They should've thought twice about replicating widescreen in a small multi-purpose hand held device.