/entertainment/2011/10/barnes-and-noble-not-just-for-books-anymore/ Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:01:00 +0000 hourly 1 /entertainment/2011/10/barnes-and-noble-not-just-for-books-anymore/#comment-3524 Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:35:00 +0000 /?p=8046&post_type=entertainment#comment-3524 It’s neat that they are offering the option to rent textbooks. That’s definitely a trend that I can see picking up even more over the next couple of years.

]]> /entertainment/2011/10/barnes-and-noble-not-just-for-books-anymore/#comment-3510 Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:44:00 +0000 /?p=8046&post_type=entertainment#comment-3510 1. Kindle Fire doesn’t have microSD slot that, for example, Nook Color has thus it is stuck with 6 GB usable internal storage unlike Nook Color that can get up to 32 GB card in. Kindles are made to be almost like a “dumb terminal” of the past to make sure you’re tied up to Amazon’s storage on the web (for which you need Wi-Fi connection to get to) and you can only store content you get from Amazon there, not other files. Quoting Amazon on Kindle Fire: “Free cloud storage for all Amazon content”. Get it, Amazon content?
2. The stats of how long the battery can last (Kindle Fire theory is 7.5 hours) are taken with Wi-Fi off. It will last only about 3 hours if you use it to access content from their Cloud storage over Wi-Fi.
3. Amazon can spy on your web activity through their new cloud-integrated web browser of Kindle Fire.
4. VERY IMPORTANT – lack of microSD slot means that if you decide to root your Kindle Fire, you’ll have to root the actual device thus there will be no coming back. On Nook Color, you can make it boot from a “rooted” microSD card and if you want to get back to the original Nook you can just take out the card and reboot.
5. Kindle Fire doesn’t have a camera.
6. Kindle Fire has about 70% less usable screen area than iPad 2.
7. Kindle doesn’t support eBooks in ePub format that is the most used format in the world.
8. Kindle app store contains only Amazon approved apps and it does not include (and will not include) Netflix app that iPad has and Nook Color is getting thus again you’re stuck with Amazon content only.
9. Amazon confirmed that you cannot download anything to Kindle Fire when traveling outside US.
10. Amazon says it will review every app in its Appstore for Fire compatibility, as part of an automated process. Rejected apps will include those that rely on a gyroscope, camera, WAN module, Bluetooth, microphone, GPS, or micro SD. Apps are also forbidden from using Google’s Mobile Services (and in-app billing), which, if included, will have to be “gracefully” removed. In terms of actual content, Amazon has outlawed all apps that change the tablet’s UI in any way (including theme- or wallpaper-based tools), as well as any that demand root access.
11. I’d recommend waiting for Nook Color 2 that is rumored to be released by Barnes & Noble shortly.

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