I've had an iPad (retina display) for the past year. Frankly, it's served me well enough for my basic tablet purposes of reading/watching movies/basic gaming. My wife has been asking for a tablet, so I'm going to give it to her and get something else. I want an Android based tablet, so this week I went ahead and purchased a Nook HD+ for $150 from Barnes and Noble and the new Nexus 7 32gb (2013) for $240 from Staples, with the intention of keeping one and returning the other.
I went ahead and installed Cynamogen 10.1 on the Nook HD+, and it's been very good so far. Haven't encountered any real problems with it, besides the occasional wallpaper resize issue. I like the fact that the HD+ is also lighter than my old iPad, and easier to hold. I also like the fact that the screen is 8.9" and that it has a microsd slot. And of course, you can't beat that price for tablet this size. I do have some concerns about the quality/durability of the actual hardware though.
The Nexus 7 is pretty nice. Everything seems fast. Games (Riptide GP 2) load fast and play well. The screen is also fingerprint resistant, which seems like a small thing, but in comparison the HD+ is like a smudge magnet. However, my biggest complaint with the Nexus 7 is that I just feel the screen is not big enough for my tablet use case purposes. Even thought it has a better ppi than the HD+ , I've already got an Android smartphone with a 4.7" screen, and it doesn't seem like enough of a difference in size from it to the Nexus 7. Of course, everything else in the Nexus 7 is better (2gb ram, cameras, gps, higher ppi) than the Nook HD+, and it is a newer device, with stock Android. Maybe I feel this way because I'm coming from the 9.7" iPad?
So anyways, need some opinions here. Which would you keep? Are there other factors I should be considering? Thanks for the help.
I went ahead and installed Cynamogen 10.1 on the Nook HD+, and it's been very good so far. Haven't encountered any real problems with it, besides the occasional wallpaper resize issue. I like the fact that the HD+ is also lighter than my old iPad, and easier to hold. I also like the fact that the screen is 8.9" and that it has a microsd slot. And of course, you can't beat that price for tablet this size. I do have some concerns about the quality/durability of the actual hardware though.
The Nexus 7 is pretty nice. Everything seems fast. Games (Riptide GP 2) load fast and play well. The screen is also fingerprint resistant, which seems like a small thing, but in comparison the HD+ is like a smudge magnet. However, my biggest complaint with the Nexus 7 is that I just feel the screen is not big enough for my tablet use case purposes. Even thought it has a better ppi than the HD+ , I've already got an Android smartphone with a 4.7" screen, and it doesn't seem like enough of a difference in size from it to the Nexus 7. Of course, everything else in the Nexus 7 is better (2gb ram, cameras, gps, higher ppi) than the Nook HD+, and it is a newer device, with stock Android. Maybe I feel this way because I'm coming from the 9.7" iPad?
So anyways, need some opinions here. Which would you keep? Are there other factors I should be considering? Thanks for the help.