e-textbooks - Kindle Fire HDX 7" & 8.9" General

Anyone on here use their hdx for school and e-textbooks? I bought my gf a Asus tf100 for Xmas but now I'm thinking I should have gotten her a hdx 8.9. It seems textbooks are easier to get on the hdx and I'm sure she could could take notes with a keyboard.

sicmadek said:
Anyone on here use their hdx for school and e-textbooks? I bought my gf a Asus tf100 for Xmas but now I'm thinking I should have gotten her a hdx 8.9. It seems textbooks are easier to get on the hdx and I'm sure she could could take notes with a keyboard.
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HDX 7" works fine for textbooks for me. Before this I used an Optimus V for about 2 years, so I may be more adapted to smaller screens. Either way, i wouldn't see a problem with buying an HDX for textbooks, especially when they are really cheap and faster than probably all competitors in their price range.

aimlessanomaly said:
HDX 7" works fine for textbooks for me. Before this I used an Optimus V for about 2 years, so I may be more adapted to smaller screens. Either way, i wouldn't see a problem with buying an HDX for textbooks, especially when they are really cheap and faster than probably all competitors in their price range.
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well of course she wants digital books because their cheaper but does kindle have a bigger selection than ipad?

sicmadek said:
well of course she wants digital books because their cheaper but does kindle have a bigger selection than ipad?
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I have Google Books along with my Amazon Books. I think apple's books are epub format just like google books. Amazon has the .mobi format so Google + Amazon > Apple

Faznx92 said:
I have Google Books along with my Amazon Books. I think apple's books are epub format just like google books. Amazon has the .mobi format so Google + Amazon > Apple
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Using both of those apps I could not find the books she needs.

I have both tablets and I have to say that the tf100 is going to make schoolwork a chore. It's just very outdated and gets quite hung up at times. I bought the HDX for school also, and you will have a better time with it. It's thinner, lighter, and most importantly for reading, has a MUCH better screen. You can get Kindle books using the Android app, but the process of selection is much better on the HDX since it's streamlined for Amazon product consumption.
The other thing is there will probably not be a lot of textbook selections quite yet so you will have to check other sites.
coursesmart.com tends to have the best selection and http://www.directtextbook.com/ has the best textbook search.

Related

Kindle fire

Just placed pre-order for the Amazon tablet. Don't know if it will replace my galaxy tab but for $200 the Amazon tablet looks like a good deal. Also I like the 7 inch better than the 10. I think this will force all others to seriously think about their tablet pricing.
What are your thoughts?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0051VVOB2/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1317224821&sr=8-1
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using xda premium
HPs firesale was evidence that pricing can be king outside of the iOS ecosystem, Im personally not interested in one, but I do like the pricing, it could put pressure on other OEMs to drop their prices, look at RIM there are starting to move more playbooks since they are starting to price cut
This also goes to show you how big of a mark up these things have
I just preordered mine as well. I'm crossing my fingers that this thing has bluetooth. Otherwise no external keyboard.
atoy74 said:
I just preordered mine as well. I'm crossing my fingers that this thing has bluetooth. Otherwise no external keyboard.
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No bluetooth. Complete specs at the Amazon Landing Page.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051VVOB2/ref=tsm_1_bl_aw?tag=vglnk-c1655-20
But it does have USB 2.0, so you could plug in a Bluetooth adapter. Potential issue: battery life issues from adapter.
Ashyford said:
No bluetooth. Complete specs at the Amazon Landing Page.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051VVOB2/ref=tsm_1_bl_aw?tag=vglnk-c1655-20
But it does have USB 2.0, so you could plug in a Bluetooth adapter. Potential issue: battery life issues from adapter.
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Depending on the chipset used, it might have latent bluetooth, just like the Nook Color.
Doesn't look like it has a SD slot either. With just 8Gb storage a few movies etc will fill that up.
--bill
There are two considerations I take in above all else these days when I consider a purchase, especially for phone/smaller computing devices.
1. Price to performance (lets be real, tablets are *finally* getting out of over priced stage.)
2. What the support here at XDA is going to be like.
I can handle getting a "mid ranged" device if the price is right.
IF there are enough tweaks, roms, and third party support.
A "Cheap" and "Midranged" tablet can go toe to toe with the best of them.
*if* I consider a tablet.. the lenovo A1 and Amazon Kindle Fire are going to be on the top of the list, because I am suspecting I'll see strong support on both.
Then again, being able to "reverse" whatever I do is also important.
Snow_fox said:
There are two considerations I take in above all else these days when I consider a purchase, especially for phone/smaller computing devices.
1. Price to performance (lets be real, tablets are *finally* getting out of over priced stage.)
2. What the support here at XDA is going to be like.
I can handle getting a "mid ranged" device if the price is right.
IF there are enough tweaks, roms, and third party support.
A "Cheap" and "Midranged" tablet can go toe to toe with the best of them.
*if* I consider a tablet.. the lenovo A1 and Amazon Kindle Fire are going to be on the top of the list, because I am suspecting I'll see strong support on both.
Then again, being able to "reverse" whatever I do is also important.
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I definitely think there will be lot of dev support for kindle fire given the price point.
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using xda premium
pokey9000 said:
Depending on the chipset used, it might have latent bluetooth, just like the Nook Color.
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Ah! I see. Good point.
The Nook has "latent Bluetooth" but no antenna so it's not very useful.
The new Kindle looks nice, but no 3G/4G (yet). If they do offer it with mobile data it will probably be locked to one carrier. That and being stuck with Amazon's app store makes it a non-starter for me. I'll stick with my old Galaxy 7" for non-home use for now.
burhanistan said:
The Nook has "latent Bluetooth" but no antenna so it's not very useful.
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Not quite true.
I'm not impressed what amazon did. Combine their services with good hardware and "real" Android Honeycomb/ice cream sandwich and they might have a winner.
But with this, medium hardware (RAM, int storage, display resolution), missing components, a bit heavy, depends on cyanogen mod to get a real taste of Android, I'm not sure. I see little more than a new Nook color.
With the support of the amazon services like music, video and appstore (since there is no market at least at the beginning) it might be interesting for some people. But for me the 7.7 seems like a much better choice if you look for something smaller than 10.1 or 8.9, even if it costs twice as much.
gokpog said:
I'm not impressed what amazon did. Combine their services with good hardware and "real" Android Honeycomb/ice cream sandwich and they might have a winner.
But with this, medium hardware (RAM, int storage, display resolution), missing components, a bit heavy, depends on cyanogen mod to get a real taste of Android, I'm not sure. I see little more than a new Nook color.
With the support of the amazon services like music, video and appstore (since there is no market at least at the beginning) it might be interesting for some people. But for me the 7.7 seems like a much better choice if you look for something smaller than 10.1 or 8.9, even if it costs twice as much.
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Price is the key though, look what the recent HP firesale did, this will be a mass product aimed at those wanting their first fray into tablets, other manufacturers will need to take note if they want their product to sell. At the way the current global financial state is in Amazon have got a winner here.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Damn for $199, I'd love to buy it.
Does anyone know if true Android can be hacked or developed for the Kindle fire? It's android based but it doesn't run honeycomb or anything.
I know the Blackberry playbook you cant but that's cause it's RIM software and their security stuff.
It'd be cool if there was a lot of support for it and you can flash all different kinds of ROMs and stuff.
kettlecorn said:
Damn for $199, I'd love to buy it.
Does anyone know if true Android can be hacked or developed for the Kindle fire? It's android based but it doesn't run honeycomb or anything.
I know the Blackberry playbook you cant but that's cause it's RIM software and their security stuff.
It'd be cool if there was a lot of support for it and you can flash all different kinds of ROMs and stuff.
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I think Amazon tablet will be locked to start with since it is running Amazon's customized Android. We will only know for sure when this is released.
But I think as usual developers will eventually crack it open.
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using xda premium
nikzDHD said:
Price is the key though, look what the recent HP firesale did, this will be a mass product aimed at those wanting their first fray into tablets...
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What do HP touchpad firesale and every china tablet in common (other that the 99$ price tag)? You buy the thing, get frustrated that it doesn't do what you expected and you get a "real" tablet. We have a saying here, if you buy cheap you end up paying twice.
I'm not arguing that it won't sell,it will probably sell pretty good. but I'm saying it's not what it could've been. And I don't think 199$ is particularly cheap for that tablet. It's a good price but not really cheap considering what you give up.
And don't forget everyone who has no access to the amazon services like video and cloud music, which is half of europe. They would get even less out of it but I don't think that it'll be available here.
I think it takes more than a good price to make a winner.
But I don't think amazon really wants to play the tablet game. They want to give you an easier way to subscribe to and consume their content and that's what they can archive with the kindle fire.
I'll wait for the "Fire" app to show up. You know Amazon is going offer one before long.
Jay Evans said:
I'll wait for the "Fire" app to show up. You know Amazon is going offer one before long.
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I would think it would be more something like "Amazon Portal" that would manage all your Kindle, MP3, Amazon App store, etc on a non-Kindle device.
kirdroid said:
I think Amazon tablet will be locked to start with since it is running Amazon's customized Android. We will only know for sure when this is released.
But I think as usual developers will eventually crack it open.
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using xda premium
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I'm sure it can be cracked in one way or another. OMAP4 is something a lot of devs have experience with, and I doubt they're deviating much from the components we keep seeing on other platforms.
I'd like to believe that this will be as easy to root as the Nook Color, but given that Amazon has been playing cat-and-mouse with hackers and the older Kindles, I doubt it. Amazon didn't preen their own app store for the last year for nothing, and that's only one content channel they want to own. An open platform means most people will probably install the default Google Market and avoid Amazon's store altogether. The OMAP has some security features in the same vein as the Tegra2, and I'd be surprised if it's not as locked down as the Atrix was before the unlockable bootloader.
That being said, there's a nice tool out there for booting a kernel/ramdisk (read:recovery) OMAP4 over USB, so should Amazon decide to have a change of heart it will be a quick test to tell if the boot process is as easy to hijack as the Nook.
Why not just buy a Galaxy Tab 7" WiFi? Or a used 3g/carrier-branded version on Craigslist. Both can be had for about the same prices as the K-Fire, and they're a whole lot more functional.
Sure, it's single core, but it's single core Hummingbird/SGX540, which is still pretty competitive with the chipset in the PlayKindleBookFire, especially in relation to graphics.
It's also lighter, has a LOT more functionality (GPS, Bluetooth, light sensor, microphone, etc.). And, it's not locked down to the Amazon infrastructure, and has a pretty good XDA community already.
You can still use the Kindle app, but you can also read ePubs, use Google Music, Netflix, etc.

playbook -> amazon fire

considering the hardware is meant to be so similar, what is the chance of the playbook being flashable to an amazon fire?
and EVEN if it was possible, how would the amazon cloud stuff work?
hmmmm
They both have 1 GHz dual-core OMAP4 SoCs. It's not that beyond the realm of possibility for there to be a port. We obviously don't know how locked down the Fire will be, and I have no clue about the PlayBook's hacking status... One thing to note is that the PlayBook has a full gig of RAM and two cameras, whereas the Fire has no cameras and people guesstimate only half a gig.
Im glad theres no camera keeps the cost down and If I need to make a video call I can do it from my Infuse ,captivate, or gs2, coming to my hand very soon
I wish Fire's android can be ported to Playbook. I have a playbook but can't seem to do much due to lack of apps. I read from the news that Fire and Playbook shares the same hardware design and both developed by Quanta
shadow65781 said:
Im glad theres no camera keeps the cost down and If I need to make a video call I can do it from my Infuse ,captivate, or gs2, coming to my hand very soon
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infuse,captivate and gs2..you look like samsung fan all the way
just wanted to up this for more opinions now that the playbook is $199. i'm trying to decide between the two.
also wanted to know if there are any xda threads devoted to android on the playbook?
I haven't heard too much good things about the Playbook to be honest. Where I live it costs very much more than the Kindle Fire too, for me it was quite an easy choice.
Masssy said:
I haven't heard too much good things about the Playbook to be honest. Where I live it costs very much more than the Kindle Fire too, for me it was quite an easy choice.
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with them being the same price here the decision is a little tougher because the fire is basically a stripped down version of the playbook. having the two cameras and gps etc seems like it may be worth it even though app selection and future support is questionable.
it also seems as though with the new beta os that adding android apps to the playbook is now possible.

Thinking about buying a Kindle Fire.

So my friend is willing to sell me a Kindle Fire for $60.
I'm heavily thinking about buying it, but I also want to save for a Galaxy tab.
Either, way I can get the Kindle Fire for the right price. But is it actually a decent tablet like device? Performance wise that is. Also, I kinda want one because I know some group of intelligent people are going to port a working Gingerbread or even Honeycomb ROM. Thus making it a full tablet.
tl;dr
Should I buy a Kindle Fire?
Is it good performance wise?
What do you want to do with it? I use it for web, forums, other basic Internet activities, and it works very well.
//Tapatalk.KindleFire//
60 bucks? What's your hold up? You can't go wrong at that price.
Boo
It depends on what you need it for. The KFire doesn't come with Bluetooth, GPS, 3G, camera, or a built in microphone. So if you really depend on those features then I would get the Galaxy Tab. The KFire is still a great device though. You can read books, watch movies from Amazon Prime, get apps from Android Market, and much more.
Performance-wise the KFire's processing speed is 1Ghz, the same as the GTab but the Kindle Fire has 512mb of RAM while the Galaxy Tab has 1GB. Don't worry about the performance of the Kindle Fire because 512mb of RAM is more than enough. Even the Galaxy Tab only makes 512mb of its RAM usable anyway. The overall performance of the Kindle Fire and the Galaxy Tab are the same though.
Hope this helps!
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium
Thats good rate for stolen. Usually only get 50-25% off.
Thelgow said:
Thats good rate for stolen. Usually only get 50-25% off.
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That's exactly what I was thinking lol. Who would sell you a Kindle Fire for $60?
Well if you don't buy it send your friend my way.
I'd even up it to $100
I love mine. Awesome machine for the money!
Galaxy Tab 7 Plus and KF performs the same? HHmmmm. Not in my experience. The GTab is an android tablet where the KF (and NT) are really e-readers running android. Not that that is a bad thing. With all new shiny things there's a bit of giddiness and excitement as it should be. The KF is, and IMO will continue to be a serviceable unit primarily for reading and content consumption via Amazon. With all the new tabs coming out Devs are going to be hard-pressed to choose which to dig into. Likely choosing the ones with the greater return on time expended. Remember. most Devs do this because it's fun on their free time. HC and ICS on the KF? I have strong doubts on official releases. Ports perhaps but upgrading the OS doesn't have a return on investment for Amazon. They're making a buck or so on the units. Their profit is via content. I see Amazon releasing official upgrades ONLY if OS-specific content that they can charge for (locked down from their site/store). Heck even BN only released 2.2 from 2.1 on the NC after a year and that was for flash support (for BN content).
Perhaps I'm being cynical. Or realistic. But points to think about.
What are you waiting for? I though $199 was a steal! especially since it has an external mic capability is a bonus!
Actually nook Tablet is better for a low end Tablet
Sent from my EVO4G using Tapatalk.
UnU$UAL ROC said:
What are you waiting for? I though $199 was a steal! especially since it has an external mic capability is a bonus!
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And we are also working on enabling the on-board Bluetooth
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium
Nice,
I would have definitely bought it as soon as I heard $60 come out of his mouth.
UnU$UAL ROC said:
What are you waiting for? I though $199 was a steal! especially since it has an external mic capability is a bonus!
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Literally...a steal. Tell your friend he could get more than $60 for stolen KF's.

HTC flyer vs Kindle fire

This is why I picked the kindle fire, even thought I could have bought the Flyer for pretty much the same price.
Even thought the flyer looks like a very nice machine, I bought the a kindle fire. The things that won me over are very simple but I believe fundamentally important. While the cameras are nice, I already have a galaxy note, so I didn't need them, i simply focused on the thing that I would really use. for people that have not used the kindle fire, I recommend you buy it and try it and forget the demo at the store.
The Kindle fire treats you every time you press the on key, even though the key is in an odd position. once you unlock it, you get treated to YOUR kindle, it' personal, and not just a slab. I like the amazon "skin" and find this to be a feature, not a draw back, if you want 100% android simply use your phone.... I guess since I have Gnote that may be narrow minded view. In the end, I like the amazon experience, and I can't wait for the next tablet..
with $170 spent, I don't feel as though I have a BIG investment and won't feel like a loser when the next one comes out, I'll simply give this one to a family member or friend, and buy the next one (assuming the price stays the same).
I hope this helps anyone in the position I was in last night, HTC flyer vs Fire, for ME it was the fire. I can see why you would want to go with the flyer, especially if you don't have a smart phone. If you have a smart phone, get the kindle, the new update 6.3 makes it well worth it, I LOVE the silk reader view. It's my little partner.
If you want pure android on the kindle you can just root it and install cm7 or cm9 it makes the fire a real tablet and not Amazon's half ass idea of a ereader they essentially put a Ford Shelby 500 engine in a Focus when they made the kindle, what a waste
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I don't see it that way, if you want a aneroid tablet ... buy a flyer used on amazon for the same price. If you want the amazon experience the kindle is fantastic.

[Q] Why isn't the nook hd+ wildly popular?

Silly question, I suppose, but why isn't the nook hd+ just wildly popular. it's such a cool tablet, and you can get them cheap on ebay... or from barnes & noble, for that matter, what with the recent sales at various stores.
EDIT: 3 weeks later and I'm liking my nook more and more. It's just a joy to hold. The perfect size for me. I hope all the predictions about its demise are wrong. I'd love to see it continue to develop, keeping the hardware up-to-date as time goes on.
As a tablet it is fine and dandy with all that it has going for it but I felt it was too big to carry around as a reader. Obviously many many others disagree since the iPad is popular as a reader as well as being used as a tablet though so I don't know
I'm mostly unplugged from mainstream media, but I don't think it got nearly the exposure of the Nexus and Kindle Fire products. It also has the B&N app store dragging it down, and the original software (which is what most people experienced in-store last year, and maybe still do) was a bit laggy. Developers and tech lovers flocked to the Nexus 7/10 and "For Dummies" types looking for a media device went to Amazon and Apple. The low end of the tablet market is a lot more crowded than it used to be.
We have to remember, the Nook is targeted as an eReader. To be frank, it actually is - nothing more. Only once rooted, or once CM10 is installed, is it's true full potential unleashed, as a competitor against the Nexus 7, iPad etc. Without the XDA community, and the developers here (sincerely thankful to those), without them, this tablet would be basic eReader.
You can imagine the amount of people who have a Nook HD/+ and have no idea how to root, or install CM10. Those who simply use it as an eReader; they're not going to consider it competing against the likes of a Nexus 7. Once the developer community steps in, that's when it's popularity is increased.
So, as a stock ROM is shipped by default, and not many people are aware of it's "full-potential", we can assume this is the reason for lack of sales.
Boy, ain't that the truth. I think B&N are doing a huge disservice to themselves and their customers by being so uncooperative with all the developers who're making their tablets into useful multipurpose devices.
HiddenG said:
We have to remember, the Nook is targeted as an eReader. To be frank, it actually is - nothing more. Only once rooted, or once CM10 is installed, is it's true full potential unleashed, as a competitor against the Nexus 7, iPad etc. Without the XDA community, and the developers here (sincerely thankful to those), without them, this tablet would be basic eReader.
You can imagine the amount of people who have a Nook HD/+ and have no idea how to root, or install CM10. Those who simply use it as an eReader; they're not going to consider it competing against the likes of a Nexus 7. Once the developer community steps in, that's when it's popularity is increased.
So, as a stock ROM is shipped by default, and not many people are aware of it's "full-potential", we can assume this is the reason for lack of sales.
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Market
We tend to forget that B & N is in the book business not the hardware business. While I wish they would let this device be fully and easily converted to an Android tablet, why would they? I use the few hacks available and find it to be good as an Android Tablet and happy to have it.
dbrickg said:
Boy, ain't that the truth. I think B&N are doing a huge disservice to themselves and their customers by being so uncooperative with all the developers who're making their tablets into useful multipurpose devices.
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Yes, of course they're in the book business. But they do sell other stuff, nice coffee cups, for instance, with cute book-related quotes printed on the outside. And they don't lock the top, making them useless for coffee, on the grounds that they're a book business and don't want to allow their customers to actually use their mechandise for anything other than reading. Or, maybe if they were selling sports cars, they'd take the wheels off, insisting that people only use them to sit in the driver's seat and read books on the heads-up video display. In short, it seems to me that, more than being in the book business, they're in the business of selling stuff, and, no matter what that stuff, it seems silly to deliberately cripple it. It's as if they started censoring their books based on some arbitrary rule....
diajohn said:
We tend to forget that B & N is in the book business not the hardware business. While I wish they would let this device be fully and easily converted to an Android tablet, why would they? I use the few hacks available and find it to be good as an Android Tablet and happy to have it.
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diajohn said:
We tend to forget that B & N is in the book business not the hardware business. While I wish they would let this device be fully and easily converted to an Android tablet, why would they?
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They just took a big step in that direction: http://liliputing.com/2013/05/bn-adds-google-play-store-to-nook-hd-nook-hd.html
If they would just let other launchers override the native button/notification bar and recent apps, I wouldn't need CM10.
dbrickg said:
Yes, of course they're in the book business. But they do sell other stuff, nice coffee cups, for instance, with cute book-related quotes printed on the outside. And they don't lock the top, making them useless for coffee, on the grounds that they're a book business and don't want to allow their customers to actually use their mechandise for anything other than reading. Or, maybe if they were selling sports cars, they'd take the wheels off, insisting that people only use them to sit in the driver's seat and read books on the heads-up video display. In short, it seems to me that, more than being in the book business, they're in the business of selling stuff, and, no matter what that stuff, it seems silly to deliberately cripple it. It's as if they started censoring their books based on some arbitrary rule....
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Comparing a tablet and a coffee mug is like me comparing a car and a tank.. Two COMPLETELY different things.. I'm pretty sure it probably cost B&N about 2 dollars to "make" that coffee mug and sell it at a 90% profit when they sell them.. Tablets are very content driven.. B&N probably isn't making any money on the Nook itself.. More off the content that people buy on it (Newspapers, books, magazine subscriptions, ect..)
Yes, of course you're right: they're very different things. Just like books and cups and nooks are all very different things. All I'm saying it *whatever* they sell, whatever *anybody* sells, they should probably sell the best stuff they can. I still buy ebooks from the B&N store, but I would never have bought a nook in the first place if it couldn't be uncrippled. As it is, I've bought 4 of them. But no thanks to B&N. A big thanks to xda developers.
bkosh84 said:
Comparing a tablet and a coffee mug is like me comparing a car and a tank.. Two COMPLETELY different things.. I'm pretty sure it probably cost B&N about 2 dollars to "make" that coffee mug and sell it at a 90% profit when they sell them.. Tablets are very content driven.. B&N probably isn't making any money on the Nook itself.. More off the content that people buy on it (Newspapers, books, magazine subscriptions, ect..)
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I don't think the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is selling well, either. It has had several $50-off sales, and has been marked down to $269 (16GB) from $299. Likewise, from the latest IDC report, the whole KFHD line hasn't had the same success as the orig KF had. A reasonable conclusion can be drawn that, as tablet users become more savvy and demanding of their tablets, walled-garden-style tablets with limited ecosystem are losing out to more "open" tablets. Perhaps that's the same conclusion drawn by B&N in adopting Goog Play.
http://www.geekwire.com/2013/amazons-kindle-fire-dips-4-market-share/
It'll be interesting to see how Amazon adjusts to the slowdown in adoption rate. It can't rely on low pricing to push KFs any more, not with low-end tabs dropping down to $170 for 7" and $250 for 10". From the B&N CEO's allusions, we can surmise that B&N is ditching the hardware route and concentrating on packaging its core IPs for existing ecos. There's no good business reason for B&N to do its own hardware, now that the walled-eco strategy has failed.
I just got the Nook HD+ a couple of days ago, about a day before the new 2.1.0 update, so have had experience with both the old and new software. The improvement is night and day. I'm hoping that this will kickstart the Nook line and get more users into the Nook fold, if for nothing else than to get more bodies into these forums. The hardware is great, and now the (stock) software is good enough. But for the long term, I do expect the HD line to be the last of the Nooks.
Yahoo! Sounds like they're starting to get the message.
Taosaur said:
They just took a big step in that direction: http://liliputing.com/2013/05/bn-adds-google-play-store-to-nook-hd-nook-hd.html
If they would just let other launchers override the native button/notification bar and recent apps, I wouldn't need CM10.
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Nicely said. Yes, yes, and yes. And I imagine you're right, too, about the HD being the end of the line for nooks. But I hope not. I really like my HD+ and would love to see them continue to upgrade it!
e.mote said:
I don't think the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is selling well, either. It has had several $50-off sales, and has been marked down to $269 (16GB) from $299. Likewise, from the latest IDC report, the whole KFHD line hasn't had the same success as the orig KF had. A reasonable conclusion can be drawn that, as tablet users become more savvy and demanding of their tablets, walled-garden-style tablets with limited ecosystem are losing out to more "open" tablets. Perhaps that's the same conclusion drawn by B&N in adopting Goog Play.
http://www.geekwire.com/2013/amazons-kindle-fire-dips-4-market-share/
It'll be interesting to see how Amazon adjusts to the slowdown in adoption rate. It can't rely on low pricing to push KFs any more, not with low-end tabs dropping down to $170 for 7" and $250 for 10". From the B&N CEO's allusions, we can surmise that B&N is ditching the hardware route and concentrating on packaging its core IPs for existing ecos. There's no good business reason for B&N to do its own hardware, now that the walled-eco strategy has failed.
I just got the Nook HD+ a couple of days ago, about a day before the new 2.1.0 update, so have had experience with both the old and new software. The improvement is night and day. I'm hoping that this will kickstart the Nook line and get more users into the Nook fold, if for nothing else than to get more bodies into these forums. The hardware is great, and now the (stock) software is good enough. But for the long term, I do expect the HD line to be the last of the Nooks.
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dbrickg said:
Nicely said. Yes, yes, and yes. And I imagine you're right, too, about the HD being the end of the line for nooks. But I hope not. I really like my HD+ and would love to see them continue to upgrade it!
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I'm doubtful whether there will even be another generation of eink Nooks, though I'd love to see a reader with the screen and lighting of the new Kobo Aura, but running Android.
Sent from my LT28at using xda premium
You just need a bigger carry bag
Seriously, though, one of the reasons I like the HD+ is that it fits in my small Eagle Creek side bag... just barely. Whereas all the 10" tablets are too big. And I love that it's big enough to display a usable full hacker's keyboard in portrait mode. On my 7" tablets, the keys are too small for my big fingers. The keyboard works well on the 7"s in reduced mode, but it's kind of nice to have working Ctrl and Tab keys accessible all the time.
koreanschoolkid said:
As a tablet it is fine and dandy with all that it has going for it but I felt it was too big to carry around as a reader. Obviously many many others disagree since the iPad is popular as a reader as well as being used as a tablet though so I don't know
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Had it released with Google Market, it would have been. That of course would defeat the business model purpose of the device in the first place.
rushless said:
Had it released with Google Market, it would have been. That of course would defeat the business model purpose of the device in the first place.
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You are absolutely right. I was in the market for a tablet in last November and checked out Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD 7, and Nook HD. I ruled out Nook quickly after checking what's available in the B&N App store. I have Amazon Prime but still refused to pay for a KFHD due to the locked environment. In the end, I bought Nexus 7 and later received KFHD as a free gift. Now I just bought a new Nook HD+ as I prefer a larger tablet for reading books and technical manuals. I would not have bought one if they didn't add Google Play support.
I was able to take advantage of the Mother's Day sale on barnes&noble.com, got me a Nook HD+ for $228 with taxes and shipping—still a great steal at that. I wish B&N would turn the walled ecosystem biz model on its head and compete head-on with the other tablet giants. Heck, ship them all rooted, and watch the buyers drop the Kindle and iPad mini lines en masse once they realize what Nook HD+ can do. (the hope of course being that B&N can sell more books despite having that open platform)
I do hope they don't discontinue the Nooks; with their specs, they can price it up to $300 and it'd still be an attractive alternative to the other better-marketed options from Samsung, Apple and Amazon.
Taosaur said:
They just took a big step in that direction: http://liliputing.com/2013/05/bn-adds-google-play-store-to-nook-hd-nook-hd.html
If they would just let other launchers override the native button/notification bar and recent apps, I wouldn't need CM10.
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? I installed apex launcher from Google Play and everything worked fine sorry for bumping an old post
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
CubeCloudOS said:
? I installed apex launcher from Google Play and everything worked fine sorry for bumping an old post
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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Ya I ran go launcher HD pad version and it works fine on stock nook HD+
I am running cm 10.1 now rooted.
I would have been ok with running stock rom, but got too many "you can't do that" messages lol.
So I'm running CM 10.1 and love it. This is a fantastic tablet for the value. I got the HD+ 32gb for $ 179
then added a 64GB sandisk class 6 (one of the very few 64gb sdcards that actually works without problems on nook)
so I have a 96gb tablet that still cheaper than a Nexus or Asus.
Very happy with it and recommended to all my friends.
I think if more people were fully aware how awesome it was for the low cost, they would quickly be bought up!

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