A couple questions before I splurge, teh Nook's been looking really tempting at it's current price point. I'm talking about once it's rooted and presumably running something stable (CM7 most probably).
a) How's the browser? Is Flash reliable, and overall is it good enough to check some e-mails and open five or six tabs of desktop versions of sites?
b) Battery life? Any stats and comparisons?
c) How's video playback? Does RockPlayer or such work and does it play XviD/H.264 files at their own framerate? HD isn't required, but would be nice.
d) Any drawbacks I should know about?
e) Is having no soft/hard keys for Android functions a detriment to the usability?
Thanks for any help and suggestions guys. Looking to buy me one of these if feedback's good.
here are some answer:
a) browser will be the same that your nexus one. But i use Opera mobile wich is smooth, can open lot of tabs (yesterday i had 8), flash work.
b) battery life: it get better, just cut wifi when you know it will iddle (when you sleep or go to work). I don't shut if off and it stand about 3 or 4 day (using it for web, mail). Watching an 20 minutes show drop around 8-10% battery. (using mx player soft decode, hw decode don't work )
c) mx player is great (better ui than mobo, i just switch!) don't use hd file, last time i tried it doesnt work..
d) no stable honeycomb, so no app using fragment ui (gmail for honeycomb)
e) you can try tablet tweak on your cyanogen's nexus one. bottom status bar + button in status bar work like HC!
pro: i like the rugger back the nook, no shiny plastic with lot of fingerprint!
onclebob pretty much answered everything. I'm a fan of the Dolphin HD browser which also handles flash, multiple tabs, etc. There was a deep sleep issue a while back but it's been fixed. I can routinely get a week or more out of a full charge with minimal use. Of course, YMMV. With tablet tweaks, there's really not a problem with missing the dedicated hardware keys. It uses the honeycomb-style soft keys. The nook 'n' key can be used as home, etc. I honestly can't think of any unsuspected drawbacks -- performance is great (at least with overclocking which is built-in to the nightlies) -- speaking of which, if/when you get one, the CM7 nightlies are the way to go -- very stable on the NC. Bluetooth and usb host mode are available. I will say the speakers do not get very loud, so that could be a factor. The other things are "known"... ie. 7" screen (although a very good one), no 3g/4g, etc.
Plus, for what it's worth, the community here is pretty awesome, which hopefully says a lot.
D's ) The SD card is very hard to insert or eject
The whole thing creaks and pops; poorly fitting/fixed components
Blink the wrong way and the USB cable will shatter into fragments
Still awesome though
I'm selling my Nook Color if you're interested.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1240181
Related
I have been on the fence for this ever since it has been out. I have been to bestbuy and verizon to test out the demo units multiple times and both units seem to have the same issue.
When I open some apps, say dolphin hd for example, I can see screen artifacts for a second. Like colored dashes of varying lengths, and this seems to happen often.
Second, when I am trying to pinch and zoom or scroll in Dolphin, it jerky and spastic, there was one other app that did this as well but I can remember which one. The scrolling on the stock browser seems ok but not the best.
Anyway, do any of you see this? More than likely a software fix, but hey, you never know.
And a rant, who on earth thought of that flimsy power adapter, good grief, they were both broken and the two stores when I first went to look but have since been replaced. And the power button? I have to turn it over to find it.....
Rant off and hoping to fall of the fence.....
Matt
The power button is actually placed well I think. It's not in the way and not hard to get to. I rarely have my device on a table cause of the viewing so it's not a hassle. Also I have not experienced that with dolphin HD on my device.
It's a Dolphin HD problem.
The stock browser rocks.
I haven't noticed any screen artifacts on my display whatsoever. For the most part I disregard demo displays in any store, as you have thousands of people with their hands all over it and the mentality of "Its not mine, what do I care?". God only knows what was done to the demo units.
I have not used Dolphin HD browser at all, so I can't comment on that, i'll try and download it today and give you another reply. The android browser pinch to zoom works damn near flawlessly for me.
As for the power cable, yes I was a little weary of it and the size. But since the battery lasts for quite awhile on this thing, I just plug it in on my nightstand and it lasts me through the day.
My typical uses through the day are music, browsing the internet on breaks, work e-mail, picture management, and work e-mail (exchange push). I start work at about 8 o cloak and am usually done around 6. During this time theres constant use of e-mail and music, and when the day is finished I am around 35%-50% on battery depending on how the day has gone. When I am home, its light browsing and maybe a game for awhile.
The power adapter could become an issue if you plan on having it travel with you constantly, but in a fixed location for charging and nothing disturbing it, its not so much of an issue.
Are you seeing the artifacts? It is like a blip and then the app starts.
I know what you're talking about... but it only occurs for me with Dolphin. I used to use that as my main browser and pinch/zoom when it would try to reload the text/images it would be very jittery.
Again though it's the apps issue not the tablet or honeycomb.
I just had to change the default browser to load as a desktop and not as a mobile device.
i know this probably a common excuse, but HD Dolphin isnt made for honeycomb. Dolphin is making a tablet specific browser and hopefully it'll be release soon. i have both installed just to keep my browser option open.
as for the power button, i think it's the best place. what you dont release from the demo unit is that when actually have in your hands, it's completely different. if the power button was along the side anywhere, it could be easily hit. especially laying down it on it side or even having it in a tablet stand. i even have some issues with the volume button when i place it in my tablet stand.
besides all that, i contact Quickoffice and asked about whether they're developing a Honeycomb specific Quickoffice with editing and making new documents. they said yes
I use the stock browser with no problems.I don't see why they had Dolphin browser on the Xoom anyway because its not designed for honeycomb & furthermore those demo units are no way to judge the Xoom anyway.People push everything in sight on them & mess them up anyway.
I'm surprised they don't perform a reset every once in a while to clear up the device of any hangups.
Though I guess it makes for a pretty good stress test to see if it can handle anything that is thrown at it.
Mooem7 said:
I'm surprised they don't perform a reset every once in a while to clear up the device of any hangups.
Though I guess it makes for a pretty good stress test to see if it can handle anything that is thrown at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I put all kind of stuff on there testing stuff I read here.
Launcherpro
dolphin
spareparts
asee ( app i use for my home dvr)
The verizon store also had an ipad right next to it, and I do have an ipad now, but love my Droidx.
the other thing I seem to notice is that the colors are a little washed out on the xoom compared to the ipad and the ipad is much brighter, but that always is best especially late at night in the bed. The ipad is to brit on tne dimmest setting.
Man i just cant decide to drop the dough....
As many of you have likely already seen, the Nook Color is available for 179.99 today only (factory refurbished) at http://1saleaday.com/
I've been looking into getting a tablet lately, mostly for play - things like games, reading, and netflix. It seems like the Nook is a great "bang for the buck", and the devs have done some amazing work on it. I have a few questions before I take the dive though...
1. Battery Life.
How is the battery life while watching Netflix? While watching a movie on the SD-Card (let's assume 720P encoding). I notice that the Nook is rated at 8-10 hours with WiFi off, does that mean Wifi kills the battery, or just shaves off an hour or two?
2. Speed.
I understand that the Nook wasn't supposed to be a full fledged tablet, but the Devs have gotten some great ROMs for it that make it so. How is the speed? I want to make sure I'd use the tab over my phone when I'm at home, but my phone is actually quite fast (Atrix 4G, rooted, unlocked, running Alien2 with the OC kernel). Videos of the Nook with CM7 making it look very smooth with everything which is a huge plus (MotoBlur sucks, all animations on my phone are clunky... waiting for CM7 which is in alpha right now).
3. Gaming
I use my phone for moderate gaming, but it kinda sucks. I think that this will be my main focus on the Nook. Using emulators on my Atrix is a lesson a patience... The touch screen times out after 30 seconds of a finger being on the screen, so in games where you have to hold buttons a while, the screen becomes non-responsive. Because my phone's screen is small, it also makes playing a lot of emulators difficult as the buttons are on the screen itself. How do emulators run on the Nook? It looks like games from the market run just fine, which is great.
4. Shared Google account
My google account is tied into my phone right now, if I use the same account on the Nook, will I be able to install all of the same apps / games off of the market automatically?
5. Text Messaging
The Nook is Wifi only, so I know that Gtalk will work. What about SMS style messaging? Is there an app (or native in a ROM) ability to send / recieve text messages from the Nook while its on? This would make it so that I don't have to switch between devices at home in order to play games / watch a movie / whatever and talk to my phones.
Lastly.. what do you use your Tablet for? I know that I will play with this thing non-stop for a while, since its a new "toy". But other than running "old school" console games for a while (and Heroes of Might and Magic), I'm not sure what else I'd use the Tablet for considering that I own a very high end PC for gaming / programming, a MacBook Pro which sits on the coffee table in the TV room, an XboX for netflix streaming to the TV, and my much loved Atrix. I know that the tablet will be awesome while I'm playing with it and flashing ROMs, but from the experience of others... is it a passing fad for fun, or do you get a ton of use out of your tablet? If so, what do you use it for?
Any comments / questions are greatly appreciated. I've been looking into this for a few days, but now I'm on a time limit to buy the Nook on sale today, or wait for the next sale of a tablet.
DK
1) Battery life is amazing with the newer releases of CM7. I'm running 7.1 RC and left the wifi on when I finished charging it. After 24 hours in sleep I was only down 5%. After an hour use to update apps, browse online, etc, I was only down a few more percent.
2) Speed is great and just seems to get better with releases. Most people clock theirs to 1200 or 1300 (stock is 800) and run it daily like that. There is a lot of room to adjust for what you need/want.
3) I don't do a whole lot of gaming, but running something like Pocket Legends isn't a problem. I know some people are able to get Honeycomb only games running without problems. I think some require Tegra 2, so it shows how well this little thing performs.
4) Yes google account is shared. You purchase an app for your account and you can download it to both devices. The new market is device aware, so you may be able to purcahse and download to your phone, but not the Nook (if, for example, the app requires GPS), but there are ways around this.
5) I know SMS can be done, but I've never done it. Can't help here.
I love this little thing. For the price I don't see how you can pass it up. I use it for a little of everything: media, web, email. Probably the most use for me is having a nice little device to carry around documentation for work when I need to reference it.
If you have the money, thought about getting a tablet, and can do without camera, cell connection, it is definitely a great device to have.
I already have a NC but I went ahead an ordered one for the wife. She is a little jealous of mine so I figured why not for the price.
I use google voice to sms (can't call though without network), if you don't have a google voice account already, you can set it up, and connect it to your own phone number.
Hi all newcomer here ...congrats for your forum.
I received yesterday my archos 70b it2 honeycomb 3.2 tablet (yep the new 70b internet tablet ...1.2 ghz //512 ram and so on)...so if you have any questions that i can answer do post. Keep in mind although im tech shavvy this is my first android device so im not an expert. Ill try to do my best though.
I have a couple of questions for you. (keep in mind i got latest firm)
a) It seems (to my dissapointment) that the unit CANT handle youtube HD clips. I do have flash player installed and using the built in youtube app. Only way to watch youtube clips is without using hd. Is there something wrong im doing? Im finding strange that it can play 720p mkv but not youtube hd clips that are much less processor hungry.
b) When i connect the device to my pc although it seems to mount ...navigation to its folder and copying movies...its just impossible...slow-sluggish and the copy just never starts. (tried to copy an avi in videos folders ...takes forever). Is there something im doing wrong here? (usb debug is off btw). Maybe because it had low battery and i connected the usb cable to do the transfer?
Anyway in general for 199euros its not a bad tablet...screen is ok (not an ips so viewing angles arent the best) and seems solid built.
Thank you for any help (this same post is in archosfans forum)
Hmm 100+ views and none knows? Maybe i posted in wrong forum ?
Archos 70b IT
Hello, sorry you haven't gotten a reply yet...I am in America (North Carolina) and am waiting for Archos to start selling these tablets. I have the money set aside and just need somewhere to just start selling them...I stopped at HHGregg today and they didn't know what I was talking about...(they really didn't put a lot of effort in making me believe they knew what they were talking about)...anywayz...
I have no idea of problems you are having or the fix for your issues...I was just going to ask how the tablet is overall...like the screen for instance...does the screen seem as though it will be easily scratched or is it nice wipe away glass like a kindle fire? Any other info you can add would be great, it would be nice if you'd post a review of your thoughts since you've had it for over 24 hours now .
Thanks for the post, it's hard to get information for these things here...it is on their website, just not for sale there yet...
-Gig4 <><
The problem is probably in your statement - low battery, You should fully charge the battery before doing anything !
Also, the lack of replies may be due to the fact that hardly anybody has one of these devices yet.
Update
The problem with mounting was solved but doing a factory reset.(maybe the battery low was the problem)
@gig4
Screen is ok. Its not ips so the viewing angles are a bit limited but other than that i would say the screen res is fine. Colors are ok too.
The screen is a fingerprint magnet and im not sure that it would be hard enough too resist scratches. Depends on how you use the tablet i guess but i wouldnt throw it on a backpack if you asking that.
Some problems i have found.
a) Youtube hd = a big NO ...i dont know if this is a problem of honeycomb or the tablet isnt strong enough but...it just doesnt play. My net connection isnt the best but i can stream and view even 1080p at my desktop so i presume it has nothing to do with it. Wifi seems stable hadnt have any disconects. (wpa2)
b) Hdmi out...it connects to the tv but as soon i get it of the tv the tablet needs a hard reset ...(displays a white screen and cant do nothing) ...again im not sure if im doing something wrong BUT there is NO mirroring in tablet and tv...i just see the ui in the tv and tablet responds to my inputs BUT i dont see anything on it.
c) It doesnt charge to 100% ...left it overnight but went only to 99%.
d) Battery is decent...about 5-6 hours surfing / watching movies...
e) Web browsing is hit and miss again...tried 3 different browsers (dolphin hd/opera mini/stock browser) ...some sites work ...some sites doesnt load at all or just freeze...i dont know im really disapointed with android (got an iphone 4 and besides the non working flash i have zero problems surfing).
Overall the tablet is ok in specs but in real world perfomance...im not happy.
Again keep in mind this is my first android device but i would call my self quick learner...
PS flash was installed in all my tests.
The reason that Youtube HD (Flash) does not work is that Flash on Gen8 devices relies solely on the CPU and is not designed specifically for Gen8's, unlike Archos' Video application which uses the DSP (and possibly other components) to do hardware acceleration.
If you want to watch HD quality videos from Youtube on your 70b, I would suggest an application that allows you to download the video file and use Archos' Video application. The app I use for this purpose is Tubemate:
devian7.iisweb.co.kr/download.jsp
(You will have to copy and paste the link in your browser.)
The link is to the developers webpage and offers an apk download so the Android Market is not necessary.
The Gen8's can handle any of the different formats that can be downloaded with Tubemate, with the exception of 1080p.
In regards to the HDMI out:
If the 70b works like the older Gen8's, then the displays do not mirror each other. The external display shows the UI and the tablet acts as a giant (laptop-like) touchpad.
In regards to the browser:
With my Gen8 101, the stock browser works well if plugins is set to on demand and if I am not opening too many tabs/windows that have a lot of pictures (high RAM usage). Other browsers should function well if set to the same settings (Dolphin HD worked about the same when I used to use it).
Also battery life should be better with the plugins set to on demand.
In regards to the battery:
I assume that the reason it doesn't charge to "100%" is due to the firmware. Older Gen8's would charge to "100%" on older firmware versions, while the same devices on newer firmware only charges to "99%". From what I have read, the difference is irrelevant because the difference only shows up when it is charging. i.e. It says it is charged to "99%" while plugged in, but when unplugged it shows a "100%" charge.
thanks...I appreciate the reply.
And for the browser, this most of the time comes from the stupid f... that has done the webpage.
If you don't change the Useragent in your browser, the Website knows that you come from an Android browser.
As most ignorant Webdevs still have no clue that there is someone else then IE,FF or IPhone they sometimes do strange things.
Try to set the Useragent to either Desktop or IPhone and see the changes.
i have this tablet
it is very good for the transport in paris
it is better that the 70 it
i have no problem with HDMi
I'll ask the question again.
Does anyone know if the data transmission speed of wifi radio in the new 70b IT has also been knee capped at a very low 54 megabytes/sec utilizing 802.11n protocol, like all the other Archos Gen 8 devices?
Given that the processor achitecture of the 70 IT and 70b IT are apparently the same (single core ARM Cortex A8), when will Archos push Honeycomb out to the Gen 8 devices?
Also it has been suggested that the new 70b IT OS will be updated to ICS in February. Will the Gen 8 devices get this. And if not, why not?
See that
http://www.jbmm.fr/2012/01/archos70bit-chiffres-tests/
for ICS on this model 70b ? perhaps....
I don't believe the wifi has been ' kneecapped' or nobbled in any way - 54 mbps is the maximum speed for the hardware, it uses wireless n standards and is compatable with wireless n, it is not dual band and only operates at 2.4 ghz, the higher speed of wireless n are obtained using 5.0ghz band, this is my understanding of it, and as you point out that the 2 devices share the same hardware, It's safe to assume the speed will be the same, it certainly seems to be the same on both of mine, but my 70b is a froyo device so can't definitively speak for the 'honeycomb' version.
As the early release 70b, 512mb ram, higher res screen etc... is not getting the honeycomb update due to incompatability, I think it's safe to say the 70IT will definitely not get it, as for ICS - I have seen no such indication from any credible source that this is likely, unless you are refering to dev roms, in which case there are already both 'honeycomb' and 'ICS' roms in the works
Hi guys. I tried looking for a review that spoke specifically about how the TF300 works with ICS, but I didn't come across any. Maybe I didn't look hard enough . Anyhow - here are some newbie thoughts on the device. Having had it for three days. But I will try to keep this more software, rather than hardware oriented.
I got the dock as well. Initially, the power mode was set to balanced, but I felt like the device was a bit slow in response, so I set it to full performance mode. With that on, the power on the dock drains fairly quickly. I lost about 20%+ dock charge to the tablet in about an hour of light use: browsing with streaming radio in the background (via TuneIn). GPS off. Low brightness setting.
The browser is just ok, but not great for me. Many sites default to the mobile version though (as to be expected). Haven't figured out how to change the home page from Asus as yet. Pages seem to load a bit slower than on my Motorola Milestone 1 on gingerbread (CM7) or on my iPad1 on the same wifi connection.
I tried to maneuver between Maps, Browser and Polaris Sheet without an external mouse - and this was a bit tricky. I had problems selecting, copying and pasting text from one to the other. It doesn't seem to accept the typical Ctrl+C or Ctrl+V functions either. Using Polaris Sheet is not all that intuitive, and responds a bit different from traditional excel, but still useful.
I installed Netflix on it. On both my phone and iPad, scrolling left-right or up down is alot more fluid, while on the TF - it's a bit choppy. This is on a 5meg DSL connection. When I click on videos on the TF300 it sometimes take a few seconds or a few tries before it does anything. Also, during playback, when I try to scrub, it doesn't show me frames as it does on the other two devices (or as it does on a PC). I also do not see the language selection pop-up. It might be that Netflix itself is not optimized for ICS?
I inserted a standard 2GB SD card from a Canon digital camera into the keyboard slot. It saw the card and the first two folders in the hierarchy. However, when I tried to access the folder with the pictures (DCIM) - it just sat there thinking.....and thinking. I tried to access from File Manager and Polaris - and neither way worked. . I didn't try another SD card from another camera or device as yet.
I tried skype on it as well. The self picture compensates the exposure a bit too much if it detects a bright area behind you and you find that your picture (and resulting feed to the other end) comes out rather dark. There should be some way to adjust that, without having to point the thing downward or away from any background light source. A workaround will be to turn of any lights behind you (if you're indoors). If you are outdoors, I don't know how it will behave.
All in all, it's ok so far, and I still need to use it some more to see if there are tweaks to help with some of the problems I've encountered so far and review some of the tips that are out there. I will update this thread later on too.
I have a Nook color wiped with a full version of the last stable release of CM7. It works well, but with that irritating problem of wifi reliability.
I would like to upgrade to CM10.1. The goal is to use the Nook as a development platform, while still sharing it with my wife to actually read books.
Here is the questions: Is release candidate two (RC2) of Cyanogenmod 10.1 stable enough on the Nook for daily use? I want the latest and greatest, but I don't have the time to constantly be chasing down problems, nor do I want my wife to kill me because her "book reader" has become unstable.
Do I hold out for RC3, wait for a stable release, or jump right in with RC2?
All comments and suggestions are welcome.
While CM10/4.1 was promising, CM10.1/4.2 has been a pain.
The interface seems all weird (it use a Phone interface instead of Tablet), and the performance makes the Nook Color nearly unusable. I'm talking single-digit framerates and choppy scrolling.
Personally, I found PA to be smoothest I tried... surprisingly smooth for the NC.
YMMV
I don't know about the others, I lost WiFi connections once every 2-3 hours using the most recent builds including rc2.
The fix is just turning the eifi off and on again.
However I never got sod so it is acceptable for me.
Thanks for the info guys, but the question is still up in the air. What condition is CM10 in for the nook? The wifi issues in CM7 make it useless as a connected device anywhere except with my home router (go figure). Is anyone using CM10 as their daily driver, and if so what build are you using, and where would you place the frustration level on a scale from one to 10?
codingCat said:
Thanks for the info guys, but the question is still up in the air. What condition is CM10 in for the nook? The wifi issues in CM7 make it useless as a connected device anywhere except with my home router (go figure). Is anyone using CM10 as their daily driver, and if so what build are you using, and where would you place the frustration level on a scale from one to 10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using CM10.1, RC2, and I'm having only very minor issues that are probably due to the ancient hardware (Flipboard sometimes freezes on me after 10 minutes, and browsers are slow, except for the very light Naked Browser). Everything I need works great, including wifi. I took it on a three week business trip to South America recently and only used my laptop once, doing email every day with no hiccups. I think it helps to tweak some settings, and use the Seeder app. Scrolling isn't butter smooth, but it's very good. Frustration level close to 0. Go figure.
I used CM10.1 for few months, it worked very good. I would say my frustration level maybe 1, and pretty much nothing compared to the satisfaction. I liked the key board, wifi connection, HD video play (for example in youtube), Browser and new UI in CM10.1 over 7.2.
recently I upgraded to CM10.1 RC4. I also did the following things to make it better. after boot up, it still has close to 150 MB memory.
1. tablet UI by autopatcher.
2. V6 SuperCharger
3. ES Task Manager to disable some startup services like Email, Email Exchange and etc.
4. Seeder.
The result is very good. It runs very smooth.
Only frustration is the speaker's volume which is low. I am using Speaker Boost, looks like helped little ( but not very sure).
xflier said:
1. tablet UI by autopatcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anybody posted a zipfile for this version?
Only frustration is the speaker's volume which is low. I am using Speaker Boost, looks like helped little ( but not very sure).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find that it works for some apps, DSP Manager works for others.
Sent from my NookColor using xda premium
I uploaded RC4's tabletUI patches, and you can get them in my signature link for My 4 Shared.
I tried one of the RC's back in the day for CM10 and didn't like it much. It seemed slow and glitchy, and it kept corrupting my SD card, so I went back to CM7 for a while, and then tried the CM10.1 nightly for 6-17 yesterday and had SD card problems again. Switching to a higher quality SD card fixed that problem, seems 4.x's file access methods make it more finicky with external media than 2.3's. According to LMT's status bar, my NC is running at 1000mhz, and everything has been fairly stable, although there are a few apps that seem to grind it to a halt, most notably the new Opera browser, although I hear that may just be an issue with their new version, using Opera classic seems to run fairly well. As far as getting the true tablet experience, I had to switch the launcher over to Apex, which has a tablet mode that removes the phone-style dock. On another note, I have two Android phones, an older one running CM7, and a new one running ICS out of the box, tried wireless tethering on each and found that my NC could Ad-hoc into the newer one and share it's internet at remarkable speeds, but couldn't maintain a connection to the CM7 phone even if I skipped DHCP and manually set the IP. I tried Bluetooth on this one and found that neither Sixaxis or Wiimotecontroller worked, but the NC did detect the Wiimote I tried, so I know Bluetooth is working. If I can find my BT headset, I'll give it a try and see if I can't make some internet phone calls. At this point, I'm going to be using CM10.1 as a daily driver, I think it's VERY usable, with my only annoyance being that it's a little slow to boot - any custom boot animations I use other than the one that comes with it are choppy and freeze up, and once the OS has loaded, I have to wait 10-20 seconds while the lock screen says (WIDGET LOADING) to even get the lock screen clock, but after that it's smooth sailing.
On the subject of reading books, I installed Moonreader+ and read some books on it yesterday, so that's still working just fine.