7" Android Tablet...?

[eFeeder]

Could someone please add the specs for the galaxy tab to the tab matrix for comparison?

[RoboRay]

Originally Posted by ebookrights

Creative ZiiO, USD250.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/17/c...-sale-for-270/

That looked like a contender until I saw that it uses a resistive touchscreen instead of capacitive. That dog don't hunt.

[EZPuzzler]

I sprang for the eLocity A7. It has decent reviews. It is capacitive screen. But appears it is not multi touch. http://elocitynow.com/

[GyGeek]

I got my hands on the A70 after two attempts. They can't keep them in stock. It has a capacitive touch screen with multi-touch, and although Google Market isn't preloaded, it is easily rectified. Web browsing is great if you stick to the mobile sites, normal news sites and blogs, but becomes hampered slightly with busy full sites.

Satisfied as a book reader, I use a pdf viewer and Moon+ book reader. It is very light, and has a good battery life. Should last all day with heavy book reading, not so much if one is prone to skipping off to the Internet a lot. All in all it is a decent alternative to the pricier tablets.

[RoboRay]

After anticipating the Notion Ink Adam for a whole year, I've decided to get the NookColor instead. It really snuck in under the radar for me, but I've been researching it for the last few days and it basically offers everything I was looking for in the Adam except the Pixel Qi screen for half the price. It appears to be quite trivial to "hack" the NookColor into a fully-functional Android WiFi tablet.

I really wanted the Pixel Qi screen but Notion Ink raised the price for that version of the Adam and it is going to be $100 more than it was initially. Not to mention that Notion Ink can't/won't provide any information on when they'll even be able to sell me one with the pre-orders for PQ models having sold out in about an hour.

I can't really justify a 100% price-premium for rare outdoor usage, especially not when I can just hang onto my OLPC XO with Pixel Qi's display technology to take to the beach or wherever when I really do need a sunlight-readable screen.

And, who knows, maybe Pixel Qi will eventually offer a 7" panel for tablet upgrades like their 10" one for netbooks.

[ebookrights1]

Another, Archos 70b...

We have all ideas that the 70b will look mighty weak after next year's spate of slates, tablets and readers hit the public view at CES, but with a price tag as diminutive as €99.99 ($130), who cares about bells and / or whistles? Spotted first in the FCC's lairs a few weeks ago, the Archos 70b e-reader is now up for pre-order in Europe, boasting a 7-inch WVGA touchpanel, 4GB of storage, 802.11b/g WiFi and an SD expansion slot. We're told that the battery will keep things humming for around ten hours (or up to 18 if using it strictly as a music player with the screen flipped off), and if we had to guess, we'd say it'll probably make the trip through the Panama Canal in Q1 2011. Question is: will you care?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/22/a...der-in-europe/

[ebookrights1]

Have anybody tried the various "iRobot" series 7"...? I can get one for about $80. I know it's no NOOK nor Galaxy Tab but the price is tempting. I wonder if the screen is okay for ebook reading and if the battery has enough longevity.

Some discussions:

http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f...-irobot-35026/
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/...nse-e7001.html

Wow... Some people have even ported CyanogenMod to the "Apad batch 2"...

http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php?topic=13229.0
http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php?topic=10809.135

[ebookrights1]

I've gone out to handle some of these tablets in a local computer mall today, and was underwhelmed. The interfaces were quirky, the build quality was poor, but the major issue was the unresponsiveness of the screen.

There were better models but they costed more. Quality clearly comes at a price in this case.

However, with the more expensive models, I'm wondering if I should just get a NOOKcolor instead.

[RW2112]

If looking at the $250 price point I'd say go with the Nook Color and then root it. Almost everyone I've talked to who has one loves it.

[denclock]

Originally Posted by wheatfree

Most of those no-name chinese tablets have crappy battery life. My novel will run about 5-6 hours with the wifi off, and I have an external battery pack for it that doubles that. I wouldn't buy anything I had to charge more frequently than this. It's frustrating enough that on days like yesterday when I spent the day trying out all the different firmwares available on slatedroid for the PDN, I had to recharge it twice. But for the record that 2.2 is FAST--FASTFAST. It's just not ready for primetime yet.

For a cheap android tablet with fairly good support on slatedroid, the Pandigital Novel is still it for me. $100 give or take with rebates and sales. You can buy it at places with very liberal return policies, and the different firmwares on slatedroid mean you can cut yourself on the bleeding edge of what it will run or take a more conservative approach.

I'm back running the Cruz UI firmware. I just like it, and everything works. I tried to live without the market yesterday, but even with all the other places to get apk files, I got frustrated by specific things I couldn't find elsewhere.

I have seen several people mention external battery packs for Novels. I have a 9" and I am worried about battery life, and I wouldn't mind getting and external battery pack. Where can I get one, I look on the Pandigital site. If this isn't the right place, I am sorry.

[wheatfree]

If the charger cords are the same for the 7" and 9"(output 12v 1.5a), you can use the Energizer ER-PHOTO Universal Digital Pic Frame Battery. It comes with multiple tips, and the smallest one fits my Novel. It makes for a nice, small external battery to carry with me when I'm going to be gone all day. I got mine on ebay for under $20.

[gtriever]

Originally Posted by RW2112

If looking at the $250 price point I'd say go with the Nook Color and then root it. Almost everyone I've talked to who has one loves it.

For all the horror stories about hacking the Nook Color, mine has been flawless. The only drawback is no hardkeys, but the Softkey app is a good substitute.

[Noah98]

Originally Posted by ebookrights

I'm very leaning towards a Nook Color now, for USD250 with a high-res and capacitive screen and Froyo and Android Market coming AND an active XDA community.

Too bad it's not being sold to oversea customers yet.

My experience with my nook color has been fantastic thus far. I wanted a 7" android tablet, and finally settled on the nook color. I wanted a Galaxy Tab, but it was too expensive. I then looked at the Archos 101/70, but lack of availability, cheap build quality and lackluster screen killed it.

With my rooted nook color I have more apps installed than I actually even need. I can read with the original B&N software, or Kindle, Aldiko, Fbreader, etc. I also have the full, updated market. The Youtube app even plays videos in HQ. Live wallpapers look great, too. Lots of great games like Angry Birds and Raging Thunder 2 round out the fun

[jasonkchapman]

I have to agree, if it's primarily for reading, a rooted nookColor is the way to go. It won't fly if you need/want things like GPS and a camera, though.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by kwarner84

I just got a Cruz reader and its great for the most part but i am having one problem. I can't watch movies. When I try to play something I have downloaded it just plays the sound and a blank screen. i don't know what i am doing wrong. I downloaded skyfire so I can watch youtube videos and other but when i try to play anything that i already have on my cruz it doesn't work. Any ideas???? anyone???

According to the specs it only supports MPEG-4, H.264. By the way this unit is selling for $119.99 at http://www.tigerdirect.com/ today.

Dale