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DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Back

  • Sides

  • Size Comparisons

  • In the Box

  • Handling

  • Screen

  • Indoor & Outdoor Use

  • Controls

  • Connectivity

  • Battery Life

  • Reading Books

  • Buying Books

  • eBook Formats

  • Newspapers & Magazines

  • eBook Battery Life

  • Music & Audio Controls

  • Music & Audio Management

  • Music & Audio Formats

  • Music & Audio Battery Life

  • Video Controls

  • Video Management

  • Video Formats

  • Internet Video

  • Video Battery Life

  • Email

  • Web Browsing

  • Internet Apps

  • Other Internet Features

  • Device & Specs

  • Screen

  • Battery

  • eReader

  • Internet

  • Device & Specs

  • Screen

  • Battery

  • eReader

  • Internet

  • Device & Specs

  • Screen

  • Battery

  • eReader

  • Internet

  • Conclusion

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Back
  • Sides
  • Size Comparisons
  • In the Box
  • Handling
  • Screen
  • Indoor & Outdoor Use
  • Controls
  • Connectivity
  • Battery Life
  • Reading Books
  • Buying Books
  • eBook Formats
  • Newspapers & Magazines
  • eBook Battery Life
  • Music & Audio Controls
  • Music & Audio Management
  • Music & Audio Formats
  • Music & Audio Battery Life
  • Video Controls
  • Video Management
  • Video Formats
  • Internet Video
  • Video Battery Life
  • Email
  • Web Browsing
  • Internet Apps
  • Other Internet Features
  • Device & Specs
  • Screen
  • Battery
  • eReader
  • Internet
  • Device & Specs
  • Screen
  • Battery
  • eReader
  • Internet
  • Device & Specs
  • Screen
  • Battery
  • eReader
  • Internet
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Front

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Back

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Sides

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Size Comparisons

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In the Box

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Along with your tablet, the packaging contents include: a USB to microUSB cable, a charger, and assorted documentation.

Handling

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The {{product.name}} handles easily, but you may find it has a few balance issues if you have smaller hands or only hold it with your fingers. While the bezel is shaped to fit in your hand easily, the odd weight distribution of the innards are not, leading to some possible fatigue problems over a long period of time.

Screen

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The {{product.name}}'s screen is a 4.5625 x 6.0625 inch IPS (in-plane switching) display with a resolution of 600 x 1024. Though it's respectably bright compared to many televisions, it falls flat when compared with other tablets. In addition, the poor color gamut brings the score on this one down quite a bit. Acting as the main interface with the tablet, it employs the use of a capacitive touchscreen that is quite sensitive and accurate.

Indoor & Outdoor Use

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Due to the high reflectivity and comparatively poor peak brightness, the {{product.name}} doesn't seem to be able to handle direct sunlight well at all. Even in light levels like you'd see on an overcast day, the backlight of the {{product.name}} just can't overpower the ambient light, and it remains difficult to read at best. This is not a tablet that should be used outdoors.

Controls

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Aside from the power button, home button, and volume controls, the various commands you can give your {{product.name}} are accessed almost exclusively through the capacitive touchscreen. It seems to have decent response time, even if some of the animations are oddly reminiscent of the DOS classic Dark Seed 2.

The controls on the top right side of the iPad body: volume, lock and power.

Connectivity

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Much like every other tablet with WiFi, the {{product.name}} has an onboard 802.11/n wireless card that allows users to download files at a very respectable clip, many times nearing 1MB per second depending on signal strength. In addition to this, the micro USB port on the bottom of the tablet allows users to drag and drop compatible files on the {{product.model}} like it was a hard drive.

Here we see a Lightning dock in its natural habitat.

Battery Life

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Because we were graced with the package only this morning, we are still running battery tests, and we'll get back to you with the results. Sit tight!

Reading Books

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Reading books on the {{product.name}} is simple and natural feeling, as the pre-loaded Nook application is the same one that many people know and love on their iPads, Android devices, and the older Nook Color. Simply tap or swipe to turn pages, or hold your finger on words to select them and either share passages, look up definitions, or find other instances in the book you are reading.

The iBooks program offers a range of controls for font and text size

Because of the size and weight of the {{product.name}}, you are likely to elect to hold the unit with both hands while reading eBooks. Because the balance is so far off, it's almost necessary if you'd like to be able to read much without stabilizing the tablet.

Buying Books

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Buying books with the {{product.name}} is fairly simple. Once you've set up an account with Barnes and Noble, or logged into your existing account with billing information saved, you can simply tap open the Nook Store, and tap on the title you would like to buy. Once you tap the purchase button, the download will begin immediately, and your credit card account charged.

Books can be purchased on the iPad through the iTunes store

eBook Formats

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It's at this point in the review that we'd like to point out that the eBook wars are very heated and bitter, as the {{product.name}} refuses to read books bought with incompatible bookstores and DRM. While Android tablets and the iPad can use just about any eReader application, and therefore use just about any file format, the {{product.name}} is limited to its own native formats, plus a few common text files, like PDF, TXT, HTML, Microsoft Office files, and EPUB documents. If the eBooks you have saved on your computer do not work, you can always try using a free conversion service or program found online.

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Newspapers & Magazines

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The Newsstand and magazine store are both a part of the larger Nook Store, and function very much in the same way as the eBook store. It has the same format and process, so there should be very few if any difficulties here. You can also subscribe to certain periodicals and download the new files as they come out.

The New York Times is available on the iPad through their own app

eBook Battery Life

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Music & Audio Controls

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The {{product.name}}'s proprietary music player is simple and easy to control via the capacitive screen. While it's nothing special to look at, it gets the job done without cluttering the display with less-than-functional options. If you elect to do so, you can create playlists, which is nice to do if you intend on leaving the music playing int he background when playing chess or any one of the limited games or apps in the Nook Store.

The iPod app shows the cover art while playing music

Music & Audio Management

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When you load up music files onto the {{product.name}}, they are dropped into a folder entitled "Music" on the device, and from there they are managed by the music player on the {{product.model}}.

Audio files can be sorted by title, artist, album, genre or composer

Music & Audio Formats

Music & Audio Battery Life

Video Controls

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Much like the music control interface, the video control interface is very simplistic and spartan. While it may not give you the range of playback options that say, a computer would, that's not necessarily a bad thing; it's just that the interface is more geared to only being there when you absolutely need it, and never there when you don't.

Video Management

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Movies and photos are condensed into the "my media" folder in the {{product.name}}, but there's no distinction between the two minus a tiny play button overlay on the video thumbnails. Simply tap your video to get it started, and you're on your way to watching whatever it is you store on your {{product.model}}.

The gallery is used to navigate videos, and only offers thumbnails

Video Formats

Internet Video

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Unfortunately for tablets not blessed by Google, the internet giant denies apps for things like maps, YouTube, and Gmail for any tablet not running an approved iteration of Android. Consequently, the {{product.name}} does not have access to these apps, but can access their services in a somewhat limited fashion via the browser. What is interesting, is that there is a Netflix application pre-loaded onto the {{product.model}}, allowing users to watch their favorite streaming movies anywhere they can find an adequate WiFi connection. Keep in mind, though, that this eats a decent amount of bandwidth and power, so be advised that this isn't the best option on-the-go.

Video Battery Life

Email

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Though the native email application supports POP and IMAP clients, exchange format seems to be missing. Interestingly enough, Gmail seems to have some support despite the lack of Google's blessing, so users relying on the internet giant's mail client should not fear.

The iPad email app is basic, but adequate for most users

Web Browsing

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The browser on the {{product.name}} is thoroughly average and basic, but it does what is asked of it, but there are certain features missing, like multiple tabs, but it does support multiple windows, no matter how much of a pain this is. You can use the URL address bar to type in your desired webpage, and pinch to zoom when you're faced with text that couldn't possibly be legible, or if there are many links in close proximity to each other.

The iPad boasts a fully featured Safari web browser

Internet Apps

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Much like the Kindle Fire, BlackBerry PlayBook, and Velocity Micro Cruz tablets, the {{product.name}} does not have access to either of the two largest application stores, and it's painful. Though the support for the {{product.name}} seems to have a few more apps than Amazon (for the time being), it really is no replacement for the Android Market or Apple App Store. Users who are app junkies may want to look elsewhere, or wait to see if the Nook will support more in the future.

Other Internet Features

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Device & Specs

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Though both devices are relatively similar in size, and they use the same exact processor, the {{product.name}} has double the hard drive space and RAM, allowing it marginally better speed out of the box. The {{product.name}} is easier to hold as it's lighter, but it also has a worse screen by a large margin.

Screen

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The Kindle Fire absolutely trashes the {{product.name}} here, with a better color gamut, contrast ratio, peak brightness, and slightly less reflectivity.

Battery

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Despite its superior hardware, the {{product.name}} does fall behind in battery life, lasting over an hour less than the Fire's average battery life. While it's not a dramatically huge number, an hour is a long time for electronics, so this is an important one to consider.

eReader

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Because the Nook reader and the Kindle reader apps are very similar in function, this one comes down to the differences in device, and because the {{product.name}} has a more forgiving form factor for avid readers, we'll side with the {{product.model}} here. Still, there's one major feature that the Kindle Fire has that the {{product.name}} doesn't answer: the lending libraries. This one's up to you, but there are drawbacks to both units here.

Internet

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Because of the lending libraries and the Prime services available, the Kindle Fire takes this one easily, even though both tablets are hurt by not having access to a larger application store online.

Device & Specs

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Barnes and Noble seems to have found a design that they like, because these tablets look awfully similar. Despite that, the innards have changed, and what's under the hood is often what matters most: with a dual-core processor and a full GB of RAM, the {{product.name}} has more in the inside than the previous iteration of the Nook.

Screen

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Upgrading to an IPS display, the {{product.name}} has a much better contrast ratio and peak brightness, but falls behind the older Nook Color in terms of color gamut. Neither impress in that regard, but the {{product.name}}'s gamut is just plain bad.

Battery

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eReader

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As eReaders, these tablets are about as close as you possibly can get. You really can't go wrong with either here, although the newer {{product.name}} is more likely to be maintained from a software standpoint for longer.

Internet

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Where the original Nook Color had only a tiny handful of internet features, the {{product.name}} has marginally more at the time of publish for this review. With expanded file format support and web features like the Netflix app, the {{product.name}} is the better buy for the app-hound, even though both devices have access to the same app store.

Device & Specs

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On paper the {{product.name}} looks like it should be able to take on the iPad 2, but it absolutely can't. It may have a dual-core processor like the iPad 2, and double the RAM, but it's far smaller that the Apple juggernaut, and with better scores almost across the board, the iPad 2 gives you much more performance than the spec sheet would indicate.

Screen

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Both tablets use a newer IPS LCD display, but the iPad has a better color gamut, is less reflective, and while it lags a little in contrast performance, the Apple iPad 2 can be seen in more lighting conditions with a brighter backlight.

Battery

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eReader

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As an eReader, the {{product.name}} is easier to hold and less awkward in size, but the iPad 2 has one huge advantage over the {{product.name}}, and that's no marriage to any one eBook store. With the iPad 2, you can download the free apps attached to the different eBook stores and their respective eReaders, whereas on the {{product.model}} you would be forced to go through several arduous steps in making your eBooks compatible cross-platform.

Internet

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With access to the world's most extensive app market, and the hardware to make use of the most popular apps, the iPad 2 takes this one handily. There is seriously very little you can do on a {{product.name}} that you can't do better on the iPad 2.

Conclusion

Released on the heels of the Amazon Kindle Fire, the {{product.name}} offers competitive hardware at a competitive price (if you add the cost of a Prime membership to the total cost of the Fire). While it costs $50 more initially, what you get with that extra $50 is expanded file support, Nook's application store, the ability to import or store files on a microSD card, and a microphone. It doesn't sound like a lot, but for some users it may be.

We haven't finished battery testing yet, but that will be a huge factor in how the {{product.name}} is judged against its main competitor. We'll report back when we have our final results.

What is surprising is that the {{product.name}} seems to be fairly cheaply made. It's not terribly surprising, but some of the cost-cutting measures really hurt its performance, like the IPS display (rumored to be the inexpensive eIPS variety, which has terrible performance).

Additionally, the limited application availability hurts, but more enterprising users will probably trick their Nooks to get the Android Market. Though this may or may not be killed in the future by Barnes and Noble, something has to be done in the entry-level tablet field to solve this problem.

Despite all its setbacks, for its price point the {{product.name}} is a great tablet. It's not perfect, but that's a long way off. The {{product.name}} as it stands right now is a good buy for most, with a decently ergonomic form factor and competitive-enough performance.

Meet the tester

Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas

Staff Writer, Imaging

@cthomas8888

A seasoned writer and professional photographer, Chris reviews cameras, headphones, smartphones, laptops, and lenses. Educated in Political Science and Linguistics, Chris can often be found building a robot army, snowboarding, or getting ink.

See all of Chris Thomas's reviews

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