Nook alternatives on the horizon

[jester121]

Ran across this the other day, looks like a possible Nook replacement for the future?

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/05/04/new-look-at-the-onyx-boox-t68-e-ink-android-tablet-6-8-screen-android-4-0/#.U8bg_vldUp5

6.8", eInk screen with good resolution, Android 4, wifi + SD card, and a decent CPU speed.

Even if it's a bit more expensive, it's good to see that there are still some Android reader tablets being developed and produced, so we may not have to scrounge for closeout Nooks forever. Curious to see what the real world battery life is like (in hot or cold weather). Somewhere in the the writeup they mention it's a rugged screen too, which is nice.

[jcwren]

I can't find anywhere you can actually buy one. They don't exist on Amazon, eBay, or any third party vendor.

[wgnoyes]

REALLY expensive. 250 euros? $338. For that much, I'm going 1st gen iPad minis. That price needs to come down a whole lot! But at least they're trying.

[jester121]

The lady in the video said mass production in June 2014 so I'm guessing they're not quite ready for prime time. Some other links and references I found to various stores make me think they'd be more in the USD 199 range to start, but who knows... or maybe that was euros. I'd just love to have Nook-like value with smartphone/Ipad responsiveness and smoothness, with a side of no-root-needed. At least it looks like there will be some options when the supply dries up.

[jester121]

Apparently these guys ship to the US, a bit over $200 (no VAT, but I don't know what shipping would be, or customs.)

http://ereader-store.de/en/onyx-boox/65-onyx-boox-t68-uhdml-charger.html

I ain't *that* interested in seeing how it works with Practiscore... I'll wait for the US launch.

[ZackJones]

HP has a $99 Android-based tablet (http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Tablets/HP/G4B64AA) that I've considered checking out but battery life is reported to suck (5 1/2 hours). For $149 they have one has better specs (http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Tablets/Slate/F4C60UA?HP-Slate-7-Plus). For now NST's get the job done but in the future I may look into iPad mini's as well. One thing I'm looking forward to checking out in iOS 8 is the greyscale mode you can enable. That may make reading them out in the bright sun easier.

[wgnoyes]

I've already used the 1.6x versions of practiscore (with the significantly bigger fonts and controls) outside in VERY bright sunlight on an iPad mini running iOS 7.x. NO problems reading the screen. Also tried the android version on a google nexus 7. NO problems reading the screen.

[jester121]

The sunlight issue, battery life, and heat resistance are the biggies for me, as far as the Nooks are concerned. They do crawl pretty badly in very cold weather though.

I'd think the HP Android would have the same problems as the Ipads in very hot weather, no fun icing down tablets between squads. I think the color screens have problems with polarized glasses too. That's why I'm hoping an eInk Android tablet with a beefier CPU shows up in the marketplace some time.... at a reasonable price.

[wgnoyes]

You have to wear clear/auto-darkening or yellow glasses.

[Rob Tompkins]

I can't find anywhere you can actually buy one. They don't exist on Amazon, eBay, or any third party vendor.

Now in stock on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KW4EJL0

[Graham Smith]

OK, who's going to be the first person to see if they can brick one?

[jester121]

I'm 100% sure I can brick one, and I'm happy to prove it. Who wants to bet me $200 I can't?

ETA - On a positive note, Amazon accepts pretty much any return. Wouldn't be ethical, but...

Honestly, this thing is already a tablet running Android, has the Playstore, etc. It doesn't even need to be rooted. In the Amazon comments, a user mentions needing a utility app to trick the play store into thinking you're on a Galaxy S3, and then it will install pretty much any app. No reason to think it wouldn't run Practiscore with no issues, mostly as-is.

Edited August 7, 2014 by jester121

[bikerburgess]

I just picked up one of the boox tablets mentioned above here is what I know so far.

First practice doesn't come up in the play store on it it says something about not being compatible with the device. This was easy to get around, I just went to practiscore.com and downloaded the file and once it was done when I clicked on the file it asked if I wanted to install it and it worked fine.

The screen is just like a nook or Kindle and is just as slow to refresh as a nook. You can scroll in it like a regular tablet so you don't have to go a whole page at a time like the nook which is nice

The screen is a regular touch surface so I think I will be able to put it in a bag to score in the rain.

Basically other than the regular touch screen it works just like a nook, so for the price difference I don't think it is the final answer it scoring devices

Edited September 6, 2014 by bikerburgess

[Rob Tompkins]

Thanks for the review. At that price point I would expect more features - iPad minis or Nexus tablets (wifi only versions) are not much more that that.