Nook Tablet frustration

ceres

So last night I bought a nook tablet. I asked the person who sold it to me shedloads of questions about it before I bought it, from "Can I use it to download and run any android app?" to "Does it come with this app here that I am using on the demo, or is it at least free?" and pretty much everything I was told was completely false. I was basically told that it was a tablet that happened to have a Barnes&Nobles store attached to it, and I've figured out by this point that the guy I was talking to actually had no idea what I was talking about or possibly what language I was speaking, because he answered pretty much everything with "Yes, you can definitely do that" when my every interaction with it up to this point has said "all this shit you want to do? well fuck you, that's what."

I want to get stuff from the android marketplace as well as the appbrain market. I want to install a Google Talk app and a Gmail app and an amazon reader and a general ereader and keep the B&N ereader and run like one or two apps available for the nook, and that's really what I want.

I also want to not root the damn thing because I'm worried that if I do the very few nook-specific things I really wanted to run and pretty much bought it for won't work.

I basically want a 7" htc Inspire because I love my Inspire but it's really too small for me to comfortably read anything on for any length of time.

Is there a way to use these marketplaces on it as it is without going through ridiculous contortions every time I want to use them or the apps I get from them?
If not, will rooting it cause the like two nook applications I want not to work?
Should I just return it now and continue to be tablet/ereader-less because none of the things I really want from it are feasible?

I'm pretty frustrated at the moment, and considering just dropping it back off at the store tomorrow for a refund. I have another week and a half to do so, and I'd rather see if there's a way to be happy with it before I return it and swear off the whole thing forever.

Centipede Damascus

In order to do what you're saying you want to do on your nook tablet, the only option is rooting it. It's definitely not a tablet with a B&N store attached; It is an eReader with some apps on it. The whole reason it is only $249 is because B&N is banking that you are going to buy books and magazines and apps from their store and not from other people. The plus side: It is not hard to root.

Although, f you really want a full-fledged tablet with a 7" screen, I think this is what you want: Acer Iconia Tab 7" 8GB

puffycow

And, for the next 16 hours, this is on sale:

http://1saleaday.com/wireless/

I haven't checked but does B&N have apps you can download so you don't need their specific eReader?

Mojo_Jojo

The Nook Colour is more or less useless without being rooted (it's neither an eReader, as it has an LCD screen, or a tablet, as it's locked down). Once you do that, it's a cheap low-end Android tablet. If you do root it though you can still use an Android device to display eBooks. There's a Kindle app too that sync with all that stuff, so I would be amazed if there wasn't a Nook equivalent.

So, if rooting it and replacing the OS to something more useful is out of the question for you, then you should return it to the shop.

MushroomStick

Just so everybody's clear, the Nook Tablet and the Nook Color are two different products. The Nook Tablet is basically a Kindle Fire with twice as much ram and an sd slot.

Ceres- I doubt you can do everything you want without rooting. I have heard of people sideloading android apps to various degrees of success.

amateurhour

Since it's already been fucking leaked online, HP is doing one more Touchpad Sale for $99 for the 16 gig models and $150 for the 32 gig models. They're refurbished, but I can vouch for them (mostly returns, there were no real mechanical issues with the first gen models, just a bad CEO that ditched the OS)

They're a good deal because they do have apps for all the current e-book marketplaces, they run android pretty flawlessly (even in the current alpha builds they've tackled almost all of the bugs) and even if you just wanted to stick with webOS it would be good for e-books, webmail and internet browsing and playing angry birds and looking at comics.

The sale is this Sunday on the HP Ebay marketplace (just google it to get a link)

Personal politics with HP aside, the Touchpad is a really cool cheap tablet that's better performance wise than everything but the ipad 2. The app marketplace is barren but android will fix that (it dual boots into both OS' with just a little config that I would be glad to help with) and it's dirt cheap.

Plus, HP has announced they're keeping the tablet market even if they sell webos, so you'll be able to get supplies and service on it with no real issues.

Just a thought.

ceres

puffycow wrote:

And, for the next 16 hours, this is on sale:

http://1saleaday.com/wireless/

I haven't checked but does B&N have apps you can download so you don't need their specific eReader?

Holy flurking shnit, is this a legit thing? I think this is EXACTLY what I'm looking for for less than I paid.

ceres

Everything I found pointed to the site being legit, so I jumped on it. The nook is going back.

puffycow you have made it onto my List of Favorite People.

Unless this doesn't work out, in which case I will totally blame you.

We'll know which it will be in 3-7 business days!

RubberAC

congrats on a wicked deal Ceres
I went through all the same things as you when i got my Nook pretty much, except it was closer to "Wait, my digital book can DO OTHER THING
S?" and then it turned out no, it couldn't, really.

ceres

By the way, @puffycow you have officially made the List.

You know, the good one.

It came last week and I've been playing with it and I love it, and I actually paid less for it than the nook, which went back to the store.

billwill

Just out of curiosity, ceres, what is the product that you wound up going with? I'm in a similar boat.

Adus

I'm glad it worked out for you Ceres. I saw the deal too and held off because I honestly just didn't believe it. I thought there had to be a catch. Maybe I should be less cynical.

ceres

It's an htc Evo that was on ridiculous wtf fire sale for a day. By the time I finally made up my mind to stop worrying about a catch and pull the trigger there were only about 8 hours left on said sale, but after looking it up it sounded like the most annoying thing about the site was shitty customer service, so the gamble was basically that it would get here in one piece.

Which, by the way, turns out really was a gamble, because it was shipped via UPS and terribly, terribly packed.

billwill

Oh, nifty! How much was it on sale for?

ceres

$234 after shipping.

Aioua

ceres wrote:

It's an htc Evo that was on ridiculous wtf fire sale for a day. By the time I finally made up my mind to stop worrying about a catch and pull the trigger there were only about 8 hours left on said sale, but after looking it up it sounded like the most annoying thing about the site was shitty customer service, so the gamble was basically that it would get here in one piece.

Which, by the way, turns out really was a gamble, because it was shipped via UPS and terribly, terribly packed.

Heh, I got one, too. Love it. Have you rooted yours yet? There aren't really any sweet roms out yet, but there's one up with the bloatware scraped out and some useful tools put in.

Adus

Oh we must have seen something different. By the time I clicked the link there was an android tablet for sale for 60 dollars. That was so cheap that I figured it probably wasn't exactly a high end model. That's what made me skeptical. Most electronics from the site seem to be factory refurbished as well, which mostly explains the prices. But if you're someone who doesn't care about something like that it does seem like a good place to get things cheap.

ceres

I haven't rooted it yet.. I want to play with it for a while before I think about stuff like that.

And yeah, refurbs don't bother me.

mhelm1

Don't con't count on returning it if you don't like it.

I purchased a Nook Tablet on 1/6/2012
received it on 1/11/2012
called for an RMA # on 1/16/2012
shipped it per their instructions on 1/17/2012
They received it on 1/24/2012

They told me my $266.43 would be returned by 2/17/2012. It wasn't. Now it is 3/172012. Or the billing cycle after that 4/17/2012?

2 months now and no money! It will be 3 - maybe 4. THEY DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT CUSTOMERS!

B&N is a despicable company, run by greedy scoundrels. Their customer base is snotty nosed kids who have NO idea what a real android tablet is, or how to use one. They have a "Nook cheerleading" site on Facebook, moderated by one of their customer service reps.

ceres

Actually I returned it just fine to the store I bought it from. Handed it to them, they checked everything out, and credited my card right away. No problems there.