Anyone using one of the Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook readers?
We got one of the B&N Nook Color readers a couple of months ago and my wife really likes it for what she does with it, but I think I will be looking into a tablet type device for myself that has more PC type functionality. The Nook uses Wi-Fi exclusively and has some oddball proprietary Android based operating system that currently doesn’t support any other Android apps or even Adobe Flash, so I find that usability and web browsing are pretty limited. Supposedly, B&N is coming out with an update for Flash support sometime in the near future, so that will be helpful.
Not trying to sound too critical of it though as it is only a reader and was never meant to replace a notebook or tablet, so I think it it does what it does pretty well.

KJay,

You'd probably want something newer, but I have a Motion M1400 tablet (1.1 Ghz/512MB w/60G HD) that I bought used about 2 years back. I use it mainly for Inventory purposes, using MS Excel with the Pen Stylus, but it does function as any other Computer.

It's light and easy to carry around. The protective Screen Cover is also a Keyboard, which you can plug in and use, or set aside if you don't need it. It is a very handy thing. If (knock wood) it broke tomorrow I'd immediately replace it with another.

I paid under $400 for it with cover/keyboard, a docking station and additional plug-in Keyboard with full-size keys.

Bill

My wife is looking at the kindle and they are bragging about 3G connectivity but it is only "experimental" for web browsing. I imagine they are fishing for another product line and I am sure the bandwidth will not be free as it is now.
One the hardware manufacturers are trying to do is avoid one product cannibalizing the market for another product.
In this case they don't want cheap book readers competing with more expensive tablets, even though they are essentially the same box with a different software load.

Forgot to include... mine came with a lot of software installed, including MS Office.

If I was buying now I see a bunch of newer models are pretty affordably priced used.

Bill

Thanks for the input. I have been looking over the new Dell Streak 7 tablet. They are offering it at a decent price when bundled with a two year T+ mobile or AT&T voice & data contract.
Some of the Dell and HP netbooks and their mini notebooks have got my interest as well. I still kind of like the idea of full PC functionality with things like a larger display, card reader, full-size USB ports, CD-DVD/R and full-scale MS office apps, so I it looks like there are a lot of options available and I have some hefty research to do before I can make a decision.

BTW, I’m the original anti-RISC, so I just can’t do anything Mac, no matter how good they are.

This is the new Dell Streak:
Dell Streak 7

I bought my grand daughter an Acer PCeee that is way more machine than a kid her age needs but it was cheaper than the Disney notebook we got her sister last year. This came loaded with XP home and works.

I have the acer aspire one and it works great for this.

It is possible to hack the Nook color into a full tablet. I can't remember the Andriod operating system. I am not sure how well it performs but I am led to believe it may be decent for a cheap tablet. Hacking also allows it to read all the Kindle stuff with the free Kindle app. Tech Republic has the instructions and it does void the warranty. I would not suggest doing so without knowing enough to fill secure in your own abilitiies.

I chose the Kindle for my wife as a reader. As far as surfing the web it is severely hampered by the lack of a touch screen. As a reader my only complaint is the lack of ability to read other formats. It feels good and well built.

When it comes to tablets, I am in no means knowlegible (I not even sure how to spell it). Those at tech republic have opinions.

I’ve heard about the Android hack for the Nook, but like you said, it voids the warranty, so I don’t think I’m going to mess with it. I can just imagine how thrilled my wife would be with me if I screwed up her new reader and she lost all her ebooks. I would probably have to move into the tool shed for the rest of the winter. Brrrr!