16GB Barnes & Noble Nook 7" WiFi Tablet (refurbished) $140 + Free Shipping (expired)

You'd be crazy to get this instead of the Nexus.

Quote from lattiboy : This is a super good deal, BUT people who are only casually into "hacking" stuff and are used to one-click type solutions for Android devices need to re-think this. I have the original Nook color and the ROM/Rooting stuff is a nightmare compared to almost any other device. The Play Store only works about half the time, you'll have to be constantly trying different update schemes and clearing cache to download apps. Reading XDA on the Nook Tablet, it's an identical situation. Newer version of ROMs, but the same problem of B&N doing a horrible job of file/storage structure. If you're looking to use it as B&N intended, this is a fantastic deal and you should jump. If you're looking for an easily rootable tablet that will get all the updates, look elsewhere. Not to say it isn't worthwhile, but for $60 more a 8GB Nexus 7 is (IMO) a much, much better value.

I have a NT 16GB running CM7.2 (on internal memory) with no issues. Google & Amazon stores work flawlessly. Rooting was simple. I'm not a hacker but the step by step instructions are easy to follow. 32 GB micro SD gives me plenty of room for movies and music.

As long as you don't need a front facing camera for skyping, then this tablet is awesome. Once Jelly Bean is running, it will be even better.

Quote from lattiboy : I have the original Nook color and the ROM/Rooting stuff is a nightmare compared to almost any other device. The Play Store only works about half the time, you'll have to be constantly trying different update schemes and clearing cache to download apps. Reading XDA on the Nook Tablet, it's an identical situation. Newer version of ROMs, but the same problem of B&N doing a horrible job of file/storage structure. If you're looking to use it as B&N intended, this is a fantastic deal and you should jump. If you're looking for an easily rootable tablet that will get all the updates, look elsewhere. .

Not entirely accurate.

The issue with the NT was the locked bootloader didn't get cracked until late last year, so development fell behind. It's also why the 16 GB model has much more development than the 8 GB, since the 8 GB came out later, and why you shouldn't buy the 8 GB NT if you have any interest in running more than stock.

On both the NT and NC, the file structure is identical between stock and hacked, so I have no idea what you're talking about there. (Edit: sorry, just realized I do - you're talking the dumb initial B&N factory partition between their apps and your data where you end up with 1 GB of space initially. It's an easy enough fix: if you're not technical, just take it to a B&N store and they'll dump an SD card in and reformat it to give you 12 or 13 GB. If you aren't scared of console commands, you can do that yourself thanks to an extremely detailed walkthrough; someone just needs to batch file the process like they did for the NC. Had totally forgotten about that one because it was so painless to do.) The only issue with the stock OS is that it's a lousy and clumsy rebranding of Gingerbread.

CM7 works fine and is stable on both internal and SD cards; it's what I'm running until CM10 gets more robust. CM9 works reasonably well and CM10 is in development - I don't believe CM10 is actually available for SD mount yet, but haven't paid much attention to it until it's past 0.03. None of the versions of CM actually have video hardware acceleration for graphics yet; the Ducati instruction set has proven a pain to get a hold of, but that'll eventually happen.

The NT versus NC is no contest. The NC was a great tablet at the price at the time it was hacked and has the same gorgeous screen, but for more than light tablet use it just doesn't have enough processing power even with the single core chip overclocked and overvolted. At a $100 price point, it's still a good deal for lighter use people. And it also has an extremely stable, extremely tweaked, extremely clearly explained CM7 build available that I've literally never seen a force close on; if your hacked NC is unstable, that's your own fault at this point.

As far as NT versus Nexus, as the Nexus thread crappers routinely point out the Nexus is indeed a more powerful tablet.

What they don't point out is that even with higher resolution there are some problems with the screen [gizmodo.com]. In contrast, the NT's screen is pretty much the best in class for that resolution [displaymate.com].

That, and the manufacturing issues on the initial Nexus run along with wanting to see what the KF2 looks like are why I'm not upgrading until next year when things settle down. The hacked NT plays 720p video quite well, browses the web quite well, has access to pretty much all apps now, and still has room for improvement when hardware acceleration gets figured out.

Finally, 8 GB is an awfully small amount of space if you actually do more than play games all day and store anything locally rather than stream it. Total available storage in the data/app partition is closer to 5.7 GB, so you're talking 3 hours max of 720p video, and probably closer to 2.5. And while the Nexus can play 1080p, those files are far larger - and there's not much point if you can't fit a movie on it without chopping it in half. Processing power is all good and wonderful, but some people might actually want to watch a full movie on a transcon. This is why not including the micro SD card on the Nexus killed it for a lot of folks and rules out the 8 GB version if you want any video locally.

Thus, the real comparison is between this and the 16 GB Nexus. You're talking $100+ difference, and that to me is enough to make this a pretty good deal.

I have 2 Nook Tablets and they are great. Loading ROMS is not very hard at all. Once you figure out how to do it, you are golden. Here is a pic of my NT loading Windows XP. It loaded evenualy but it was very laggy, lol. CM9 works but it has bugs so I just use CM7 and it works great.


The screen is really nice and bright. The battery life is AMAZING! We have 2 NT and 3 kids and they watch NETFLIX on them non-stop. We lower the screen brightness and that really helps the battery. The NT gets thrown, sat on, laid on and dropped more times then I can count and it just keeps on going. My 2 year old and 1 yr old have done everything to it but thrown it in the toilet.

I would rather have a Nexus only because I like to stress test things but I'm very happy with the NT, if it had a camera it would be PERFECT.

We have 2 SD cards loaded with Spongebob and Dora shows for long trips for the kids.

Jumped on this deal, i've jumped on 2 previous nook color deals (1 for the wife, 1 for the daughter) and now its my turn. Camera and GPS on a tablet are useless for me as we use our readers for book reading and web browsing.

dam i do not need this what so ever as i barely use my TF300 but this is a pretty good deal and i wouldnt mind a new toy... decisions decisions... thanx for making me think OP!

Quote from ibm650 : The nexus has no micro sd, so you have to hack and then have a kludge to add storage. The nook color is easier to root than the nook tablet, they locked the bootloader on the tablet, still doable not as easy. Try using wifi on a cruise, $1 a minute and slow.

Since the invention of USB-to-GO, I honestly don't mind that the Nexus 7 does not have microSD cards. =)

AOSP > any hacked tablet any day.

Quote from PoisonWolf : Since the invention of USB-to-GO, I honestly don't mind that the Nexus 7 does not have microSD cards. =) AOSP > any hacked tablet any day.

Funny, since you have to root - ahem, hack - the Nexus so you can actually use USBOTG, and there are plenty of threads on XDA about people having problems getting it to work.

But, to each their own, just as long as they don't keep TCing.

Quote from old64mb : ... ..... CM7 works fine and is stable on both internal and SD cards; it's what I'm running until CM10 gets more robust. CM9 works reasonably well and CM10 is in development - I don't believe CM10 is actually available for SD mount yet, but haven't paid much attention to it until it's past 0.03. None of the versions of CM actually have video hardware acceleration for graphics yet; the Ducati instruction set has proven a pain to get a hold of, but that'll eventually happen. .....

Thanks to everyone who offered their advice, knowledge, and experience to share! I repped the most helpful, detailed, and informative posts.

@old64mb - Your whole post was helpful and had great advice. I agree with your reasoning. And I really liked how thoroughly you addressed everything, complete with comparative products' analysis. The part I'm quoting here is particularly interesting to me because I wasn't aware the xda team started work on CM10 already for NC/NT (I'm uncertain which tablet, or both, you were referring to). I did some research a few months ago about rooting a NC & NT, to see how useful it would be for me, but haven't checked back on that forum in the last few months, since joining SD. So, thanks for the info.!

Thanks also to the OP for the deal! I went ahead and bought this and will decide whether I should keep this one, or the NC I bought for ~$90 (with tax & shipping) from Cowboom (a #5 condition :S). Hopefully, I'll finally have a decent, cheap tablet, with great display to read pdf books, watch offline videos, and web-surf.

what makes the nexus better instead of just the 4 core chip? i doubt you will notice a difference anyways. btw lukewarm deal at most weren't new nooks selling for only ~160?

Quote from MrLateNite : Disagree. Nook Color is SUPER SIMPLE to hack. The current 3 way boot on SD card is the most simple way you can do it, AND you dont mess up your internal memory/void warranty. Just buy a Class 4 SanDisk 32GB microSD card, follow some simple instructions download and expand a file on the card and reboot a few times and you will have original nook color, Gingerbread (CM 7) and ICS (CM 9) runnable from the card. Never had a problem with Google Play or Amazon market on a Nook Color. Agree Now... speaking of the Nook Tablet ... This one WILL be harder to mod than the Nook Color. However there are SD card forms of the CM9 (ICS) and CM10 (JellyBean) available for NT. Problem is they are not polished like NC and a lot of stuff doesn't work on them yet like video acceleration and the like. I think there is a CM7 (Gingerbread) available for NT but I haven't looked into it. If you want a hassle free rooted tablet with awesome screen, go with a NC for now. If you want faster and want to wait a year for the hacks to get improved while still using the built in stuff, then go with NT.

I heard bad stories about a refurbished NT so buyer beware. I just bought the Nook Tablet 16GB from B&N online and received it today including the $50 GC over email. I'm re-buying the NT but for the $199 8GB and use the $50 to give myself a discount. So it's $149 + CA Tax. Use my B&N GCs to pay off the remaining balance. I'm returning the 16GB version which I don't need.

Anyway, I plan to root it using a program that I can download from AndroidForNook for $10 and I guess it's very straightforward to do this by yourself instead of buying the preloaded card which is $20. FYI, CM7 (and MIUI) is pretty stable on the NT.

If you want to install CM7 yourself, go here:
http://raywaldo.com/2012/06/no-ro...7-on-nook/

If you want to install the less stable ICS/CM9, go here:
http://raywaldo.com/2012/06/insta...ok-tablet/

i have a nook tablet which i'm dual booting with CM7 from microsd.
I'm very pleased with the quality of the B&N OS versions of
Hulu Plus
Netflix

The B&N marketplace is a complete rip off, which makes using the stock OS for what you'd like a tablet to do dodgy at best.

That's where the dual boot comes in, but I'm really disappointed in the overall stability of CM7.

CM7 + wifi - upon bootup, the wifi doesn't automatically connect, and I need to force it to turn on by going into settings --> wifi, or turning on a wifi widget (turns on after some delay).
CM7+ integrated hardware volume buttons - just plain don't work - volume needs to be controlled via software, and another custom widget. This is a total pain in the ass.
CM7+sleep=CRASH - depending on the app, the tablet will do a complete crash when the screen goes to sleep (This happens EVERY TIME with Angry Birds Space). Turning it back on requires unplugging the the microsd card, and holding the power button and the nook button simultaneously.

CM7 stock images and splash screens are f-uuuu-uuuu-uuugly.

I need to upgrade from CM7 to CM9+ to see if it improves things, but I gotta say I don't have the time, inclination, or patience to figure out whether or not there's an upgrade path, and whether my partitioning scheme is compatible with upgrade. (Read - all your shit may be over-written on the upgrade, and you may have to reinstall all your apps).

Regarding wi-fi tether with your cell phone - It's unclear to me whether or not you can buy a micro-usb bluetooth adapter so you can make this work with FoxFi when you're out and about. This question applies to both B&N OS and CyanogenMod OS. The reading is sparse on the topic - anyone have any experience with this?


just my $0.02.

Nice!!

Quote from lattiboy : This is a super good deal, BUT people who are only casually into "hacking" stuff and are used to one-click type solutions for Android devices need to re-think this. I have the original Nook color and the ROM/Rooting stuff is a nightmare compared to almost any other device. The Play Store only works about half the time, you'll have to be constantly trying different update schemes and clearing cache to download apps. Reading XDA on the Nook Tablet, it's an identical situation. Newer version of ROMs, but the same problem of B&N doing a horrible job of file/storage structure. If you're looking to use it as B&N intended, this is a fantastic deal and you should jump. If you're looking for an easily rootable tablet that will get all the updates, look elsewhere. Not to say it isn't worthwhile, but for $60 more a 8GB Nexus 7 is (IMO) a much, much better value.

I rooted my Nook Color and besides a few occasional freezes I haven't had any issues. Wifi is great, Netflix works flawlessly with the new update, and the Play Store hasn't failed me yet. I guess it's just a matter of what version of CM7 you use, my version was very stable.

Quote from sethpa : Jumped on this deal, i've jumped on 2 previous nook color deals (1 for the wife, 1 for the daughter) and now its my turn. Camera and GPS on a tablet are useless for me as we use our readers for book reading and web browsing.

Oh yeah thanks for reminding me about the GPS, Jellybean, higher res screen and camera in the Nexus 7.

Seriously, I'm a big Nook Color fan, have a rooted 2.1 as stock and am using the good uSDs running off Sandisk cards (CM7 and triple boot), even bought three more for the wife and kids through a sub-100 deal. Somebody help me, other than booting apps faster what does dual core but locked NT really get you over NC? Is there something the NC can't run that NT can? This deal would have been hot tomatoes a couple months ago but how does NT trump a 199 Nexus (use Dropbox or Skydrive or etc for your storage) or even a refurb Samsung II, even at this price? And keep in mind the first run of dud Nexus 7s that will be fixed and issued as refurbs in a few months.