Kobo Vox Android tablet hands-on with 7-inch display, Gingerbread, $200 price tag

Adrienne Williams · Top Commenter · Founder, Web Producer at AJW Media
Sorry after seeing the nook in the store it's too heavy. Yes, I know the new one is lighter, but I just don't like the design of it, and there customer service isn't as good as Amazon... I'm holding out for the leader of the reader...
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· November 19 at 7:49pm

Wrencis Johnson · Top Commenter · Officer at B.E.Y.O.N.D Youth Organization
Nook is lighter than Fire. I can understand your misgivings about the visual design of the Nook, though. It's not 'standard'.

That said, the ability to do things off-line and the overall UX of Nook outweighed (no pun intended) the Fire for me.
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· November 20 at 6:50am
Kwan Nam · Top Commenter · Hercules, California
I've been playing with Fire for few days now. And my conclusion is that Fire is way too slow, especially if you listen to music or audible while web surfing. Another major drawback is that Silk browser is hijacking links to Android mart and music store and re-directing to Amazon's site. You can root the SW but you cannot add Ram.
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· November 20 at 8:01am
Adrienne Williams · Top Commenter · Founder, Web Producer at AJW Media
Wrencis Johnson I will check out the new one, the old one didn't do it for me. I hate the design and the weight. I have fibro and OA and it's too heavy for my wrist. This is why I hate the iPad! Whose going to carry that around all day! lol I still want to give it to Kindle first before I get something. I want the kindle reader so bad, so I think I will clearly get that one. The old one with the keyboard, I like that best! I do agree they should have added a card slot... and be able to do a download for offline like Google music can if you are on a plane etc... they will listen to feedback and make an upgrade, I'm sure.
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· November 20 at 8:44am

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Wrencis Johnson · Top Commenter · Officer at B.E.Y.O.N.D Youth Organization
"You simply must install a MicroSD card, a prospect that many might find onerous."

John, I'm going to disagree there. Essentially anyone who will need enough space to justify the SD card (ie, greater than 1 GB of personal content), is probably quite comfortable with SD cards.

Those who would find using an SD card "onerous" probably won't exceed the 1 GB limit.
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· November 18 at 1:47am

John Biggs · Top Commenter · Gadgets Editor at TechCrunch
That's what I meant: mom and pop will be fine the way it is, us dorks will slip in a microSD card. But $249 + $40 for the card could be onerous.
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· November 18 at 5:38am
Chris DeVille
John Biggs You can get an 8GB microSD card for $10 or a 16GB card for less than $20. Really doesn't add that much to the price of entry on a $250 device.
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· November 18 at 8:11am
Wrencis Johnson · Top Commenter · Officer at B.E.Y.O.N.D Youth Organization
John Biggs Ah, thanks for the clarification. For me, though, the extra couple bucks won't be that bad. I'm just glad to have the option. Fire's cool but the lack of SD just doesn't work for me.
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· November 18 at 9:15am

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Kwan Nam · Top Commenter · Hercules, California
If you do not have Amazon Prime subscription, I would definitely recommend Nook Tablet over Kindle Fire. If you do have Amazon Prime, unless you cannot live without Prime Video and Lending Library, I still recommend Nook Tablet. 1GB Ram and MicroSD is going to future proof Nook Tablet for at least 1 year. :-)
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· November 18 at 6:19pm

Adrienne Williams · Top Commenter · Founder, Web Producer at AJW Media
you know that will change after they get all the feedback? But more ram is always good! and a good additional slot!
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· November 20 at 8:48am

Robert Abate
If you can navigate to the Amazon site couldn't then use their cloud?
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· Saturday at 9:21pm

Eric Wondoloski · Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
By the way John, I'm glad you touched on the "HD" display. Rather disingenuous of B&N to call it that when it's clearly not, though not a dealbreaker for me. The they're explaining it away is they say it can decode HD. Can't display it but can decode it. Big difference.
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· November 18 at 10:45am

Robin Ashe · Top Commenter · UBC
"It is a backlit screen so outdoor reading is possible but not encouraged."

Did you actualy test it outdoors? I'm open to B&N overstating its suitability for outdoor viewing, but it looks like you did an incomplete review.
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· November 17 at 10:33pm

John Biggs · Top Commenter · Gadgets Editor at TechCrunch
Yes. It's not ideal in direct sunlight. Your results may vary.
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· November 18 at 5:37am
Robin Ashe · Top Commenter · UBC
John Biggs Is that because the screen completely washes out, or is it because you can see a very clear reflection that's distracting, but the content is still visible?
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· November 18 at 2:21pm

Eric Wondoloski · Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
In the end, does it really matter what the software is capable of since it can be easily modded? At least that's how I see it. I'm going to buy either this or the Fire and rooting is in its future.
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· November 17 at 2:36pm

Robin Ashe · Top Commenter · UBC
That's why I'd much rather a hardware overview than a software overview.
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· November 18 at 3:14am
Andrew Dodd · Owego, New York
No, it cannot be easily modded - locked bootloader for the lose. :(
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· November 18 at 8:58am
Eric Wondoloski · Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
Andrew Dodd Android Market is already working on the NT. APK's can be installed right from the browser. To me, that's "easily modded".
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· November 18 at 10:36am

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Keith J. Randolph
I have the Nook Color. What is the difference between the NC & the NT?
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· November 18 at 7:03am

Chris DeVille
dual core 1Ghz proc (vs single core 800Mhz proc on the color), double the RAM & double the storage capacity - those are the major differences. In comparing the two the tablet is an evolutionary step up from the color, but the performance gains are noticable. In my opinion, it's definitely worth the extra $50.
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· November 18 at 8:14am
Andrew Dodd · Owego, New York
Chris DeVille It depends on if you were running Cyanogenmod 7 on the NC, or the stock firmware. If you're happy with stock firmware, it's a worthwhile upgrade. If you were hoping to have Cyanogenmod, the locked bootloader will kill it.
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· November 18 at 11:37am

Luke Nicholas Appleton
Epic.
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· November 17 at 2:19pm