Nook HD+

A

alekhkhanna

Skilled
Something else turned up yesterday:

a4zHkx6.jpg


rBKw2Vq.jpg


Accessories:

JCErpC5.jpg


Moko Slim-type case, a 4GB card for rooting and installing CWM (and also CM if needed). A 32GB card for all the movies and comics (will be replaced with a 64GB soon :p)

y2h0isY.jpg


Damages: 13k for tablet + 2.2k for the case + 1.8k for the cards.
Been playing for some 6-7 hours. First impressions so far: (@phoenix844884 | @Spacescreamer)

Pros:
- Perfect size for movies and comics and books (8.9 inches)
- Brilliant screen (1920*1280). One would be hard pressed to get a screen like this in a VFM segment.
- Expandable memory - can't say how much I miss this in the current breed of tablets.
- Snappy OS. Latest update adds Google Play support, so you can download as much as you want.
- Light to hold, so no tired arms.
- Good PDF handling, with bookmarking and annotation support.
- CBZs look STUNNING when viewed with the internal reader. Absolutely stunning. Compared with ComicRack and Perfect Viewer, but nothing comes close to the native handling of CBZs. Page turns look really cool, with a translucent effect. Lovely stuff !
- Downloaded apps are automatically shared/moved to internal memory (16/32 GB), so no need to move to SD Card (and no option as well. 3rd party moving apps don't work).
- Stereo speakers hidden behind a single grille. Ideally a bi-grille would have been better, but I'm happy with the sound. Notifications are LOUD (and I do mean LOUD). Music/movies sound adequate. Was watching Pacific Rim and had to tone down the volume a bit.
- Even though there's no native MKV handling, 1080 rips are a treat to watch with aftermarket players . 720 ones, well, are generally stretched (higher screen res). I think the close distance of watching really outlines the difference between 720 and 1080.
- Multiple profiles are possible, with content filtering. So you can have guest mode, child mode etc.

Cons:
- Proprietary 30 pin cable. Given that B&N is shutting it's hardware shop, you WILL need to stock up on proprietary cables.
- Runs on ICS (4.0.4), which is sorely lacking in customization (already missing DashClock).
- No native CBR handling (as RAR is a proprietary format. Broken since 2.1 update). So you need to convert your stuff to CBZs.
- With side-loaded CBZs and PDFs, no native thumbnail generation (although PDFs and other formats like Mobi/Epub etc can be tweaked with Calibre to include metadata and thumbnails). All you can see is a question mark with the name at the bottom. Not the most elegant solution. Also no CBZ organization, so you cannot sort by series or date published or characters etc (this is where ComicRack shines). Major bummer given that the CBZ rendering is possibly the best I've seen in any reader so far !
- "Recent apps" is ****ed up. No two doubts about it. The recent apps drawer will only show running apps if you're using the stock Nook launcher. With Apex/Nova, the drawer shows up blank. Another major bummer as multitasking gets difficult. To circumvent this, I've been using Swapps from the Play store. A slide from the trigger area brings up recent apps and one can pick easily, but killing them all in one go is not possible. Nevertheless, I should mention that I never came across any "memory" issues throughout my initial run. Even in places where I had to go the app drawer and click on the app again, it picked up right where I left it off. So memory handling is pretty decent.

Other considerations:
- Can be rooted easily. I've also installed CWM as the go-to recovery.
- Settings are customized, so you *might* miss some native Android options (ADB debugging is thankfully present). There's a CWM flashable ZIP on XDA which enables side-loading of APKs ("Trust/enable external sources"). Personally, the only gripe I have is that the statusbar does not show battery percentage and there's no option to enable it.
- CM 10.2 is easily installable to the internal memory, giving a more stock Android feel. Personally, not a huge fan of CM, but will check out SlimBean/CarbonRom once I get tired of the stock layout (or if the recent apps issue drives me crazy !).
- Battery life seems decent - not OMFGBBQAWESOME and not mind-numbingly bad, somewhere in between. More on this in a week or so.
 
alekhkhanna said:
Something else turned up yesterday:

a4zHkx6.jpg


rBKw2Vq.jpg


Accessories:

JCErpC5.jpg


Moko Slim-type case, a 4GB card for rooting and installing CWM (and also CM if needed). A 32GB card for all the movies and comics (will be replaced with a 64GB soon :p)

y2h0isY.jpg


Damages: 13k for tablet + 2.2k for the case + 1.8k for the cards.
Been playing for some 6-7 hours. First impressions so far: (@phoenix844884 | @Spacescreamer)

Pros:
- Perfect size for movies and comics and books (8.9 inches)
- Brilliant screen (1920*1280). One would be hard pressed to get a screen like this in a VFM segment.
- Expandable memory - can't say how much I miss this in the current breed of tablets.
- Snappy OS. Latest update adds Google Play support, so you can download as much as you want.
- Light to hold, so no tired arms.
- Good PDF handling, with bookmarking and annotation support.
- CBZs look STUNNING when viewed with the internal reader. Absolutely stunning. Compared with ComicRack and Perfect Viewer, but nothing comes close to the native handling of CBZs. Page turns look really cool, with a translucent effect. Lovely stuff !
- Downloaded apps are automatically shared/moved to internal memory (16/32 GB), so no need to move to SD Card (and no option as well. 3rd party moving apps don't work).
- Stereo speakers hidden behind a single grille. Ideally a bi-grille would have been better, but I'm happy with the sound. Notifications are LOUD (and I do mean LOUD). Music/movies sound adequate. Was watching Pacific Rim and had to tone down the volume a bit.
- Even though there's no native MKV handling, 1080 rips are a treat to watch with aftermarket players . 720 ones, well, are generally stretched (higher screen res). I think the close distance of watching really outlines the difference between 720 and 1080.
- Multiple profiles are possible, with content filtering. So you can have guest mode, child mode etc.

Cons:
- Proprietary 30 pin cable. Given that B&N is shutting it's hardware shop, you WILL need to stock up on proprietary cables.
- Runs on ICS (4.0.4), which is sorely lacking in customization (already missing DashClock).
- No native CBR handling (as RAR is a proprietary format. Broken since 2.1 update). So you need to convert your stuff to CBZs.
- With side-loaded CBZs and PDFs, no native thumbnail generation (although PDFs and other formats like Mobi/Epub etc can be tweaked with Calibre to include metadata and thumbnails). All you can see is a question mark with the name at the bottom. Not the most elegant solution. Also no CBZ organization, so you cannot sort by series or date published or characters etc (this is where ComicRack shines). Major bummer given that the CBZ rendering is possibly the best I've seen in any reader so far !
- "Recent apps" is ****ed up. No two doubts about it. The recent apps drawer will only show running apps if you're using the stock Nook launcher. With Apex/Nova, the drawer shows up blank. Another major bummer as multitasking gets difficult. To circumvent this, I've been using Swapps from the Play store. A slide from the trigger area brings up recent apps and one can pick easily, but killing them all in one go is not possible. Nevertheless, I should mention that I never came across any "memory" issues throughout my initial run. Even in places where I had to go the app drawer and click on the app again, it picked up right where I left it off. So memory handling is pretty decent.

Other considerations:
- Can be rooted easily. I've also installed CWM as the go-to recovery.
- Settings are customized, so you *might* miss some native Android options (ADB debugging is thankfully present). There's a CWM flashable ZIP on XDA which enables side-loading of APKs ("Trust/enable external sources"). Personally, the only gripe I have is that the statusbar does not show battery percentage and there's no option to enable it.
- CM 10.2 is easily installable to the internal memory, giving a more stock Android feel. Personally, not a huge fan of CM, but will check out SlimBean/CarbonRom once I get tired of the stock layout (or if the recent apps issue drives me crazy !).
- Battery life seems decent - not OMFGBBQAWESOME and not mind-numbingly bad, somewhere in between. More on this in a week or so.
Click to expand...
This needs to be in the reviews section or at least deserves it's own thread titled accordingly, IMHO. :)
 
Woah ! Who created the thread ? Last I remember this was in the show-off section. :eek:
@dexBG : Yup, Plex is compatible with Nook HD+.
@Interested members: Do let me know if you want to check anything specific.
 
nimod said:
where did you find the case?
i have been searching for a case for last 2months in delhi.
Click to expand...
Got it from Amazon US marketplace. Shipped via DHL. Delivered within 48 hours ! Damage: 2.2k.
In case you're reluctant, Amazon.in also carries it (delivered by iBhejo). 2.5k the last time I checked.
 
So my Nook HD+ is suffering from the "critical 1% battery bug".
Had a chat with a B&N rep, and they agreed on replacing it on 2 terms:
1) I send it to the US at my own cost
2) They would check and replace if needed, but ship to a US address only.
Also raised a claim on eBay. The seller seems quite helpful and has agreed to replace the tablet if eBay picks it up.
 
This was eBay India that you bought it from or eBay US? Either way, what warranty did you get?

How did you notice the 1% critical battery bug? How long have you been using the tablet? Did you leave it in sleep mode for more than a day?

Try the following tips given to my cousin by a B&N CC rep -

I called customer service today and they gave me a few instructions to follow to try to resolve the issue because I'm having a very similar problem with my nook being stuck on the Critical Battery Alert page. I had left it on sleep mode for a few days and when I picked it up to read it, that page was showing so I plugged it into the wall charger overnight. The light went on when I plugged it in. The next day the light was out and when I unplugged it and looked at the screen it had the same page showing. I pulled the battery out a few times and kept holding the power buttons for different periods of time. I finally got sick of searching for a solution online, so I called customer service and spoke with a representative within a minute. This is what she told me:



Step 1: remove the battery

Step 2: press and hold the power button on the nook for 60 seconds

Step 3: keep the battery out of the nook for 15 to 30 minutes

Step 4: put the battery back into the nook

Step 5: plug the nook into the wall charger and let it charge for 4 hours



She said that it should be working after I have left it plugged in for the 4 hours. She diagnosed the problem as the battery not wanting to give it's charge to the nook.



Please do not charge NOOK without the battery
Click to expand...

Let us know what happens. I want to be sure that this is an issue I will be able to resolve if and when my Nook HD+ (arriving soon) balks at me.


As a last resort you may try installing CM 10.1 on the eMMC and booting fro there. If the bug still persists (probably a hardware issue), you can install Stock ROM back on it and ship it off to eBay/B&N.
 
Last edited:
phoenix844884 said:
This was eBay India that you bought it from or eBay US? Either way, what warranty did you get?

How did you notice the 1% critical battery bug? How long have you been using the tablet? Did you leave it in sleep mode for more than a day?

Try the following tips given to my cousin by a B&N CC rep -



Let us know what happens. I want to be sure that this is an issue I will be able to resolve if and when my Nook HD+ (arriving soon) balks at me.


As a last resort you may try installing CM 10.1 on the eMMC and booting fro there. If the bug still persists (probably a hardware issue), you can install Stock ROM back on it and ship it off to eBay/B&N.
Click to expand...
You cannot remove HD+'s battery. The steps you described are for Nook Color afaik. Also, it has nothing to do sleep mode.
The critical bug rose 3-4 days after use (battery will suddenly show 1% even if 60-80% is left).
The warranty is applicable inside the US only.
I bought it off of Ebay India.
 
ayaskant12 said:
Compared to nexus 7 fhd screen quality??
Click to expand...
I've seen and used the Nexus 7 2012 model, and Nook HD+ beats it to a pulp. Haven't seen the 2013 model, but given that the resolution is more or less the same (1200*1920 on N7 vis-a-vis 1280*1920 on the HD+), a 7inch will logically appear sharper than a 9inch. Having said that, I found the screen to be gorgeous, specially since 7 inchers don't cut it for me (insert TWSS joke here :p)[DOUBLEPOST=1384516519][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and have shipped the device to the seller. Should get a replacement next week.
 
Exactly I was also planning to get the nook HD from eBay.in before buying the nexus 7 2013 as 10inch iPad was little big and 7inches feels a little small
I think GPS and Bluetooth we're missing but still I was referring to screen color and and clarity for pdfs
 
ayaskant12 said:
Exactly I was also planning to get the nook HD from eBay.in before buying the nexus 7 2013 as 10inch iPad was little big and 7inches feels a little small
I think GPS and Bluetooth we're missing but still I was referring to screen color and and clarity for pdfs
Click to expand...
No GPS. Bluetooth is there. PDFs are a treat to read and annotate ! Best part is expandable memory.
Do you plan to get the HD or the HD+ ? Both are different.
 
alekhkhanna said:
I've seen and used the Nexus 7 2012 model, and Nook HD+ beats it to a pulp. Haven't seen the 2013 model, but given that the resolution is more or less the same (1200*1920 on N7 vis-a-vis 1280*1920 on the HD+), a 7inch will logically appear sharper than a 9inch. Having said that, I found the screen to be gorgeous, specially since 7 inchers don't cut it for me (insert TWSS joke here :p)[DOUBLEPOST=1384516519][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and have shipped the device to the seller. Should get a replacement next week.
Click to expand...
Can you comment on the performance??It has a 1.5GHz TI OMAP which concerns me.Any serious lag issues?How about heavy Internet browsing?does it have OTG??Ofcourse im gonna root and flash some rom so that will also make a difference..I had made up my mind for Nexus 7 2012 or 2013 but was concerned about the size.Damn i didnt know hd+ price had dropped.Also comment on the display contrast
 
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sarthakk250193 said:
Can you comment on the performance??It has a 1.5GHz TI OMAP which concerns me.Any serious lag issues?How about heavy Internet browsing?does it have OTG??Ofcourse im gonna root and flash some rom so that will also make a difference..I had made up my mind for Nexus 7 2012 or 2013 but was concerned about the size.Damn i didnt know hd+ price had dropped.Also comment on the display contrast
Click to expand...
Like I said before, the display is pretty awesome, even at half the brightness. Didn't try OTG with the stock ROM, but I doubt it as Nook uses proprietary pin. No issues with performance as far as I could tell. I don't play FPSs/TPSs on Android, so cannot comment on Dead Trigger etc., but played plenty of Rayman and it looks fantabulous !
Internet browsing: Umm, Chrome works fine with 4-5 tabs open. Anything more than that and you gotta reload specific tabs.
 
^ Cheers ! I thought you got it shipped via Intl' Priority ? Why such a long shipping time ?
Also do let me know if you can get an extra charger from the US. None of the Ebay/Amazon sellers are shipping to India and GEB is asking ~3200 for it.
 
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