Battle of the Budget Tablets - Nook Color vs. Galaxy Tab
by Vivek Gowri on May 25, 2011 12:52 AM ESTRound 4 - Cameras
The Nook doesn’t have a camera, so Samsung wins by default. With that said, I never missed having cameras on the Nook while I had it. I understand the allure of having a front facing camera from the videoconferencing point of things, but I never figured out why I would need a rear facing camera on a tablet. I’m not going to complain that they have them, but just given the usage model of tablets, I’m not sure how often most people use the rear facing cameras. Usually with tablets, you’re just sitting somewhere, either at home or somewhere like a Starbucks or a library, and generally you don’t need to take pictures of stuff there. It’s like putting an outward facing webcam on a notebook - sure, I’m sure someone somewhere would find a use for it, but for a vast majority of users, what’s the point? It’s why the rotating webcams on laptops died out long ago; it was a part that had little to no usage model.
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nomagic - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
Because it is so damned affordable...medi01 - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
Nah. Street price for WiFi Samsung Galaxy Tab is about 260$.Basically this article sounds like hidden advertisment / Samsung bashing.
Galaxy Tab is vastly superior. Screen is NOT better than that of Nook (I know, I've used both). With contrast of 700+ you care more about max brightness, than max contrast.
Samsung's device is solid.
And "hacker undriendlines" of Galaxy Tab is sush a piece of bull**it, it's rootable for ages, and there are custom roms. Not that it's built in ROM really needs rooting, as Nook does.
VivekGowri - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
Where are you seeing that street price? For a new one, the lowest I can see is $340 on Amazon, $345 on Google Shopping results, and $349 from most standard retailers. There's less out there for the Galaxy Tab as far as ROMs and the like, but just to root it, yeah just run SuperOneClick and you're all good. The point being that unlike the Galaxy Tab, you need to hack the Nook to make it useful, and once you do, you have more options than with the Samsung.Look, I like the Galaxy Tab, I've got two here and they're both great devices. I also like the Galaxy Tab more than the Nook Color, it says pretty clearly there that the Galaxy Tab is definitely the better device. If you can find it for $260 (the refurb deal on Woot, maybe), yes, no brainer right there. At $350, only $50 less than the ASUS Transformer, hell no. If you're looking for a cheap and cheerful barebones tablet, the Nook works better simply because it's a lot cheaper.
And just for the record, the reason the screen is better has more to do with the viewing angles that come with the IPS display in the Nook, but as far as regular TN LCD panels go, the Galaxy Tab is one of the best. I can't wait to see the AMOLED panel in the next-gen Galaxy Tab 7".
DJMiggy - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
The 3G/WiFi galaxy tab refurbished was 259.99 on woot today but that is sold out. Must be where you are getting that price from unless you mean with a two year contract which you can get it on Sprint's Network for $199.99 with a 2 year contract.zvadim - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
Overstock had a refurb Nook Color for $183 shipped a few days back & B&N sold brand new ones on e-bay a few times for $200.kkwst2 - Friday, May 27, 2011 - link
Yeah, I recall some refurb prices for a little over $100. If you can put up with its speed, it is a great deal given the screen quality.redechelon - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
First off, great article! (in typical Anandtech fashion)But... the Asus Eee Pad Transformer seems like too much of a solid competitor to leave out of this budget category. I realize it's slightly more expensive ($399/$400) than these, but it seems th $50 difference from the Galaxy is well worth it, just a thought.
redechelon - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
I also realize you talked about it, i just couldn't get over it =P. Out of the 2 though, I'd take the nook as well... would be fun to monkey with.VivekGowri - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
Yeaaaap, the Transformer's pricepoint just blew the 7" Galaxy Tab off the market. I mentioned it at the beginning and only really discussed it at the end, but I figured that it made more sense to compare these two, since they're pretty similar, instead of comparing to any of the Honeycomb tablets.medi01 - Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - link
No it didn't. No GPS, no 3G, crappy software, unpolished hardware.I don't get where do you get your conslusions from, guys. From articles filled with lies/semi-lies like this one?