Nook HD Plus 16gb $149.00 32gb $179.00 Various Retailers

[manly]

Is the Nook HD + 16gb still the best bang for the buck @ $149? I have a Nexus 7, but the wife wants an e-reader, and the Nook HD + looks pretty good.... Is it too big for e-reading? The Nook HD 16gb is the same price.....

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-hd-plus-barnes-noble/1110060512

I think it's definitely best value currently.

As for an e-reader, that really depends. If you're reading e-books (EPUBs or Kindle formats), the Kindle Paperwhite is probably the best leisure reading experience. Superior battery life and easier for long reading sessions, but you lose all the "benefits" of a true tablet.

But if you have PDFs or technical materials that demand a larger physical "page", a 6" e-reader gives a relatively poor experience. A 9" tablet is not too "big" for reading, but it can't be held in one hand by normal humans. Too wide and heavy, so you'll have to prop it on something. By the numbers, the NOOK HD+ is slightly thicker than the closest comps (i.e. KF HD or iPad mini) but it's actually a couple ounces lighter than the Kindle Fire HD.

I've had one complaint, the touch screen is a bit grippy and also seems difficult to keep clean. I couldn't find any mention anywhere of durability, so I'm hopeful it's not going to get scratched up easily. Still for $100+ less than a comparable KF HD, beggars can't be choosers.

The missing bullet points are decent speakers, and a front-facing camera. I don't think those 2 are worth $100+, but that's me.

 

[gorcorps]

The Nook HD is great for large reading you don't mind being on a couch for. I personally read books in bed so it's way too big and heavy for such a thing. But lounging on the couch reading magazines or something is nice enough.

 

[cardiac]

Thanks for all the info, guys. Gonna spring for the Nook HD +. Thx.

 

[ElFenix]

the first one i picked up had a noticeable dark area running the full length of the right side of the screen. second one has it as well but not as bad. am i just getting bad luck or did the QC go downhill when they decided to exit the hardware business?

 

[GTFan]

Bad luck, this is a known issue for some of them and it's poor QC as you said. Mine has no screen issues but I got it from Best Buy last month. It's the luck of the draw - some have complained about a yellowish tint to the whites on some of them too but mine is fine.

 

[ElFenix]

Bad luck, this is a known issue for some of them and it's poor QC as you said. Mine has no screen issues but I got it from Best Buy last month. It's the luck of the draw - some have complained about a yellowish tint to the whites on some of them too but mine is fine.

this second one is definitely more yellow than the first. maybe i'll try again. target's going to start hating me.

 

[kmmatney]

I just updated my daughters 32GB unit to CM 10.1 - it runs a lot smoother now. Having the CD card slot is really nice for rooting and installing CM - just boot and install directly from the CD card, and you can make a backup of the old ROM directly to the SD card as well.

 

[dualsmp]

the first one i picked up had a noticeable dark area running the full length of the right side of the screen. second one has it as well but not as bad. am i just getting bad luck or did the QC go downhill when they decided to exit the hardware business?

Mine has the same dark area on the right side of the screen and runs the whole length and about an inch wide. At times it seems to diminish after the unit has been on awhile and warmed up a bit. It's not really bad, but noticeable. I'm wondering if it might start to diminish after owning the tablet for a couple months? I'm tempted to keep it because another tablet might be worse.

I know my Dell LED LCD 24" had fairly bad light bleed on the left side, but decided to keep it because some people reported after having the screen awhile it wouldn't be as bad. Apparently when wiping the screen down to clean it helps to even the screen pressure and over time the light bleed will diminish. Now after having the screen for 3 years I barely notice it unless you're looking for it.

 

[ElFenix]

Mine has the same dark area on the right side of the screen and runs the whole length and about an inch wide. At times it seems to diminish after the unit has been on awhile and warmed up a bit. It's not really bad, but noticeable. I'm wondering if it might start to diminish after owning the tablet for a couple months? I'm tempted to keep it because another tablet might be worse.

I know my Dell LED LCD 24" had fairly bad light bleed on the left side, but decided to keep it because some people reported after having the screen awhile it wouldn't be as bad. Apparently when wiping the screen down to clean it helps to even the screen pressure and over time the light bleed will diminish. Now after having the screen for 3 years I barely notice it unless you're looking for it.

went and picked up another one. the dark area on the older one seems to have diminished but the newer one matches it already. old one also doesn't seem yellow anymore. newer was definitely more yellow out of the box. after doing the software update it was less yellow so maybe that's part of it.

 

[cardiac]

I went ahead and got the HD+. The wife absolutely loves it. Feels nice and solid, and the graphics are decent. I have a Nexus 7 that I was comparing it to. It also has a dark area on the right side of the screen, but I haven't told the wife about it, and she hasn't mentioned it yet It is very faint.... Don't think you can beat this thing for $149.....

 

[richierich1212]

I went ahead and got the HD+. The wife absolutely loves it. Feels nice and solid, and the graphics are decent. I have a Nexus 7 that I was comparing it to. It aslo has a dark are on the right side of the screen, but I haven't told the wife about it, and she hasn't mentioned it yet It is very faint.... Don't think you can beat this thing for $149.....

Does it seem laggy to you at all? I'm still contemplating picking one up...

 

[cardiac]

Does it seem laggy to you at all? I'm still contemplating picking one up...

No, not really laggy at all. I haven't messed with it a lot, but it does feel pretty smooth. It did an update not long after firing it up. Chrome browser seems decent. Graphics are sharp and colors are true. The WiFi works well throughout our 2300sq ft house. Temple Run is smooth. The wife says her book reading/looking/buying, etc. works well....

 

[GTFan]

No lag that I notice after I put the Nova launcher on instead of the stock Nook one. I've also tried the CM 10.1 ROM and some people say it's faster than stock but I never saw much of a diff. Ran into some issues with CM 10.1 (Flash and Bard's Tale not working) so I went back to stock 2.1.0 and don't regret it.