- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Google Nexus 7
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
- Kobo Arc
- Amazon Kindle Fire HD
- Archos 80 G9
Rated 61% by by The Verge (Apr, 2011)The display of the device is a gorgeous 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen which sports brilliant, bright colors and deep, dark black ranges.
Rated 100% by by Alan-Houston--alanhouston-texas (Apr, 2012)The Nook tablet has very sharp, clear, and contrasty fonts and is very pleasant to read, even for several hours.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the BlackBerry PlayBook compared to the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet
“7
BlackBerry Tablet OS 2.0
Rated 60% by by TrustedReviews (Mar, 2012)These add a huge amount of enjoyment to videos, games and music simply because you actually have the absorbing affect of stereo (rather than mono).
screen size
7"
7"
PlayBook by david (Jan, 2012)The Playbook has many positives, including a beautiful sleek design; perfect not too big, not too small, not too heavy size; awesome picture; sensitive screen; and fast processor; however, IT'S GOT NO APPS!!!To give you some perspective on where I'm coming from: I'm a regular guy.
Nook Tablet by Mia--Who-Digs-Movies-and-Music (Nov, 2012)As you are reading a book, if you tap on the screen to access the chapters, page slider, font size etc. - all of that is way too small and where the heck is the Brightness Slider?
memory
| 0 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
processor
PlayBook by Tosotikoga (Feb, 2012)Solid build, great speakers (better than iPad and Lenovo K1 combined), crystal clear display, camera is better than most tablet cameras, quick, quick dual core on Blackberry's homegrown OS.
Nook Tablet by c|net (Nov, 2011)Performance: With a faster dual-core CPU and double the RAM of the Nook Color, the Nook Tablet is noticeably zippier than its ancestor (as I said, I always thought the Nook Color was a bit underpowered) and the overall experience operating the device was generally smooth, though the iPad 2 feels a bit more responsive.
Performance Real world tests of BlackBerry PlayBook vs Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet
cpu speed
PlayBook by Rikki79 (Jan, 2013)I purchased the playbook because of past experience with the brand, the perceived quality, nice price, software updates, processor speed, and just a general balance of design and function.
battery life
7 hour
11.5 hour
PlayBook by cgeor_ny (Jan, 2012)Great multitasking, plays everything on the web without a hitch, takes great videos which I then play on my big screen TV via the HDMI output, good battery life.
Nook Tablet by c|net (Nov, 2011)On paper, it does offer a bit more battery life than the Kindle Fire, with up to 11.5 hours of reading time and 9 hours of video watching.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet
| Has an accelerometer | Yes | vs | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somewhat common; Detects movement for interactive apps | |||
| Has a gyroscope | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Play games and use applications that take advantage of device rotation | |||
| Has a light sensor | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Automatically adjust screen brightness for environmental factors | |||
| More storage capacity | 32 GB | vs | 8 GB |
| 4x more storage capacity; Holds more music, movies and photos | |||
| Has a compass | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Great for maps and navigation apps | |||
| Has a GPS | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Get directions and navigation, geotag photos | |||
| Supports Adobe Flash | Yes (BlackBerry Tablet OS 2.0) | vs | No (Android) |
| Somewhat common; Many games and videos on the Internet require Adobe Flash | |||
| More RAM | 1 GB | vs | 0.5 GB |
| Twice as much RAM; Better able to run big apps with lots of content | |||
Advantages compared to the BlackBerry PlayBook
| Significantly longer battery life | 11.5 hour | vs | 7 hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 60% longer battery life; surf the web longer without having to plug in | |||
| Supported card formats | SDSC, microSD | vs | None |
| Supports supported card formats | |||
| Has a microphone jack | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Can use an external microphone for superior audio quality | |||
| Marginally newer | Mar, 2012 | vs | Apr, 2011 |
| Release date 11 months later | |||
Reviews Word on the street
BlackBerry PlayBook | Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet | ||
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 | Rated by 721 users at amazon.com Rated 40% by by DANIEL-E.-MCGINNIS (Dec, 2011) Rated 100% by by Sean-Heid (Mar, 2012) | Rated by 211 users at amazon.com Rated 20% by by Steve--Steve-(Walnut-Creek--CA--USA) (Jan, 2012) Rated 100% by by J.-Bass--Time-for-Tea (Dec, 2011) Rated 100% by by loveit (Dec, 2011) | |
screen
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 100% by by Alan-Houston--alanhouston-texas (May, 2012)The Nook Shop has a relatively small number of apps, each of which has been tested to verify it works well with the Nook tablet's seven inch screen...most Android apps are designed for a three inch or four inch screen.
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 73% by by c|net (Nov, 2011)I'm not going to go into all the features of the Nook Tablet-you can read the full review of the 16GB version to get the details-but what I will say is that I didn't notice all that much of a performance difference between the two Nook models.
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 60% by by Mia--Who-Digs-Movies-and-Music (Nov, 2012)On the Nook Tablet, which watching a video, if you tapped on the screen, you could easily option the Brightness setting bar.
operating system
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 73% by by c|net (Nov, 2011)The Kindle Fire runs the same 1GHz OMAP4430 processor as the Nook Tablet but the Tablet's inclusion of 1GB of RAM instead of the Fire's 512MB gives it a leg up in the multitasking department (running multiple apps at the same time).
BlackBerry PlayBook 32 GB | Rated 80% by by oscar (Dec, 2011)The lack of integrated email app is a bit frustrating but email through the web works just as well on it as on a p.cAll in all a great product but can be better and will be after OS 2.0 (hopefully) for the price of 199 AMAZING little tablet and can honestly run circles around a kindel fire and a nook tablet.
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 100% by by Zachary-LeingangNow that they released a 8gb nook for $199.00 its price point is on par with the fire, and has the option of expansion, and a simple hack allows for a custom android launcher, and i can easily install the amazon app store(and kindle app), android market place, and have a very decent wifi tablet, tbh i wasn't much of a analog book reader, but with this little nook tablet i've been averaging a book a week, along with .99-1.99 monthly magazine subscriptions.
apps
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 100% by by David-L.-Rogers--Fighter-FanB&N is still at a disadvantage with a pretty limited app selection compared to Google Play and Amazon's app store and of course Apple's App Store, but after being enamored with my work phone (iPhone 4) for about six months, I'm over the apps and much happier with the Nook Tablet's larger screen, with the 1 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM, there's plenty of power for my casual web browsing and video watching at home.
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 100% by by Alan-Houston--alanhouston-texas (Apr, 2012)Bottom line: the Nook Tablet 8gb is a terrific way to read books and magazines while enjoying your favorite music (I loaded a 16gb memory card with thousands of my favorite songs...transferring the songs over to the Nook from my laptop was fast and easy).
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 100% by by Alan-Houston--alanhouston-texas (May, 2012)The Nook Tablet has Pandora Radio installed, so I can listen to my favorite music while I read books.
touch
BlackBerry PlayBook 32 GB | Rated 100% by by Mark-Trahanovsky--THE-TRUTH (Jul, 2012)I own a iPhone 4,iPod shuffle 4th gen,iPad 3rd gen,Kindle touch 3g,Kindle Fire,Nook Tablet and a 3ds.
Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet 8GB with WiFi | Rated 100% by by Alan-Houston--alanhouston-texas (Apr, 2012)The Nook tablet is a great color e-reader with the "bonus" of being able to read your email, shop on Amazon.com, surf the web, watch tv shows on Hulu Plus, movies on Netflix, and listen to the world's largest selection of music on Pandora Radio.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 2 | Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 2-way tie: Has a rear camera |
 | 3 | Kobo Arc Largest amount of storage capacity |
 | 5 | Archos 80 G9 3-way tie: Fastest processor |
 | 6 | Toys”R”Us Tabeo 4-way tie: Supports Flash |
 | 7 | ePad Inch Biggest screen |
 | 8 | Acer Iconia B1 5-way tie: Decent amount of expandable storage |
