Nook Color with Honeycomb....Eat that iPad!

So I said I would check in and let everyone know how and why I am using the Nook Color and not the iPad1 or 2. While there are some advantages to having an iPad (i.e. cameras, more apps, syncing with iTunes and therefore my iPhone) there are still plenty of reasons why I refuse to go the way of the iPad. Probably the biggest and most important for me right now is the price. Half a grand for something that is bound to be semi-obsolete in a year thanks to the way Apple does business. No thanks. I don't have that kind of cheddar to be flushing on a regular basis. Kudos to those who do, and please see my contribute icon to the left where you can send me some through PayPal.
So let's look at the Nook Color and the features it has. First, if you look around enough you can find one for under $200 as I did. This little tablet has a 7" screen with a 1024x600 ratio. The stock Nook Color has B&N proprietary software running on top of an Android 2.1 platform and is the first thing I changed about my NC. I am by no means a tech genius, but I manage to get around and understand a portion of what is discussed in forums. At least up to the point that you start talking in code. So I looked around on XDA for some info on how to root my NC and found a plethora of threads discussing the matter. You have to download a couple of programs (winimage and winzip) in order to use the files and perform the needed tasks, but all said programs were free so no argument from me. It did take a while for me to figure out exactly what I needed to do as the instructions were a little foreign to me, but after several breaks and coming back to the problem they were easily overcome.
So after rooting the NC it was then running Froyo and the B&N software, but I noticed it was too slow and it was super annoying to keep seeing B&N stuff popping up now and then. I quickly decided that had to go and started researching the Honeycomb install.

Nook Color running Honeycomb. Compared to my dad's iPad this seems to run just as fast with loading web pages and does well with running multiple programs at once.

This was after all the reason I went with this tablet. I knew there was a build out there and that it was working pretty good. Again back to XDA for more downloads and in 2 hours (most of which was spent by my computer unzipping and writing/mounting files) I had a tablet running a version of Android meant for a tablet. Let me just say it is awesome.
I quickly set up my exchange account, my gmail account, downloaded some of my favorite medical apps and transferred all my pdf textbooks to my 16GB uSD card. Which by the way is another great feature. I can swap out cards whenever I want and keep video, music, or whatever on each of them. I am not doing this right now, but the possibility is there. For now everything fits easily on the uSD card.
I downloaded a program for PDFs that allows me to highlight and anotate them so it is almost as good as having a paper copy. Several obvious pluses to this are that I no longer pack a library around with me and can access them anywhere without an internet connection. STEP 1 here I come.
I have my First Aid on here and I can access my USMLERx subscription when I have a WiFi connection. My next step in this process is to jailbreak my iPhone and start using its unlimited data package to access WiFi when I am in the hospital. Oh the possibilities.

So here's my list of why you should buy the NC instead of an iPad:

• Price: $250 vs $499
• Size/weight: NC: 8.1"x5"x0.48" and 15.8oz vs. iPad: 9.5"x7.31"x0.34" and 21.3oz.
• Battery life: 8hrs vs. 10hrs
• OS: android open source Honeycomb vs. closed iOS
• Apps: There are enough Android apps to keep you happy and to handle anything you need to do. A significant number of them are free too.
• Memory: The use of a microSD card up to 32GB in size makes this hands down more economical. I can swap them out easily without any problems. Currently I use 1 16GB card and a smaller 8GB card. Your apps are stored on the card, so be aware of they may not work if you swap cards. I use mine just for music and video.
• Flash: While my NC doesn't currently support it, it will. Flash Player 10.2 was released for the Motorola Xoom with Honeycomb. The AOSP (open source code for Honeycomb) is soon to be released and I am sure a version of Flash will be ready shortly thereafter. Hulu anyone? Apple has shot down the idea of ever using flash on their mobile products which underscores how moronic they are when it is the standard in the industry right now. I'm fine with saying it sucks and that you need something better, but don't not use it until there is an acceptable replacement in use. DORKS!

There you have it. In the end you have to decide what works best for you and meets your needs. I don't do a lot of gaming or video watching on mine so that is not as important for me. I want something that works for me and handles my day to day stuff while letting me customize it as I see fit.