Lots of smart peiple here so I thought it couldn't hurt to ask here if...
I'm thinking of getting a tablet, maybe a B&N Nook, to supplement my XP desktop.
I've Googled and can't find out if they'll read email from Gmail and run Google like my XP machine - searching, looking at web sites, etc. The Nook seems to be just for reading books and stuff? Special B&N apps? The Androids? I just want a cheap one, not an Apple, etc.
Anyone know?
TIA
FWIW I got an Android about five months ago and love it.
It was all of $85 . I don't see why people get iPhones that cost $650.
If I had it all to do over again I'd probably get one with with a bit more storage. Mine is an 8G and I have to limit the amount of apps I install. OTOH if I got a 16G I'd probably fill it up with garbage.
It will come with a browser but more than likely you will prefer to install Firefox of Chrome as well. It will pretty much function as your browser does on your desktop computer.
It only took me a few days to get used to it and now hardly ever turn my computer on anymore
Last year I bought a Samsung Tab A wi-fi from Best Buy. It was on sale, and I bought some extra storage (16G) that you can add to the 8g that came with mine.
It does everything you mentioned. The only thing I think it can't do is phone calls, but if you have Facebook messenger you can do video phone chats with it.
The Nook is an Ereader only as is the Kindle. That means you can only download reading material such as emagazines, ebooks and other periodicals.
If you want an actual tablet that allows the function similar to a PC(connecting online and apps/programs) then you want a tablet. Though, what you get depends on your main purpose of use and thus, the price could still be several hundred. You will be able to find a cheaper device but it would have all the bells and whistles of the more expensive units such as the iPad, Pixel C, Surface Pro, Experia, Galaxy Tab and more.
I suggest learning about them and determine what you will use and not. Then you will better decide what to buy.
Wife bought me a cheap one from Best Buy, think it was $50. Its cute and can do computer functions if you have wifi like browsing and email but they are truncated because of memory size. Android system is nice and you can actually use google ask where you ask things out loud like what is your local weather. You can do email but it is tedious to type on touch screen. It has cameras front and rear and you can take video and movies but would need to add more memory. To me it is a cute toy that I might turn on once a week.
Wife also bought me a cheap Kindle which is a very nice reader and I think higher Kindles do this function as well but also function as a tablet.
Not true.
I suggest you do the same. ;-)
The Kindle Fire is essentially a customized Android tablet. I bought a refurbed 6" last month for $45. I have an Acer A100 7" but it is stuck at 4.0.3 and many newer apps fail.
First question, what size do you want? The 6 or 7" models are very portable and easy to stick in a jacket pocket. Some have excellent resolution, meaning a sharper display. The downside is the virtual keyboard sucks even more than the larger ones. The 10 or 11" models may or may not have more real estate, again depending on resolution. The downside is they are not particularly portable. Personally if I'm going to hump a 10" device around it will be a laptop with a real keyboard.
Some tablets have provision for a keyboard. This may not be important if your surfing or reading mail but trying to enter anything longer than a WiFi password gets old fast.
They all come with at least one web browser and many of the dedicated apps are free or very inexpensive. If you have Amazon Prime the Fires are optimized for Amazon.
That review is recent but there are plenty of 'best cheap tablet' links.
True. Since the OP didn't provide a specific Nook, he stated the B&N Nook, which is a simple ereader as is the Glowlight and Kindle (not the Fire). The newer Nooks are tablet ready and can play video, browse online and use apps like most tablets, but they are limited to available apps. The cheaper Nooks are smaller in size, slower processors, less storage, etc. The more expensive ones are comparable to that of the bigger selling tablets.
The OP is not knowledgable about ereaders and tablets. We shouldn't expect that he would provide a specific model. (Assuming) the only thing he knows is that B&N sells the Nook, that's all he can ask about. To explain the limitations of the only model he has heard off does him a disservice and might possibly cause him to no longer consider *any* Nook.
A better response would include the mention that certain models of both Nooks and Kindles include browsers. Even better would be to state that some models have better browsers than others.
I purchased an Amazon Kindle Fire HDX several years ago and still use it. It was much cheaper than an iPad, but more expensive that almost all Adroid tablets with similar specifications. I'm very pleased with the quality of the display, the built-in browser (Silk), the built-in e-mail reader, the battery life, and the high speed response of the operating system. But when it dies, I'll replace it with a tablet that uses android.
Although there are many apps for Apple and Android that are also available for the Kindle Fire, many apps available for those operating systems have not been compiled for the Kindle Fire's proprietary modification of Android. Although some Android apps will work when side-loaded onto the Kindle Fire, (although it's often difficult to download them) many won't because they also require Google specific additional software. Therefore, Amazon decided years ago to block Kindle Fire access to the Google Play app store. Ironically, Amazon has a Kindle reader app that is available for both Apple and Android. Therefore, even if you get an Apple or Android tablet, you can download the Kindle app to read the identical file format you would be reading if you were using a Kindle. Apparently Jeff Bezos is happy to sell you e-books from Amazon regardless of which tablet you're using!
I have an early backlit Nook. Total waste of $$$.
I use Linux, so discovered early on, none of the books I wanted from my two local libraries were available. Both library "experts" on using ebook readers (Nook, Kindle, etc) could not help me, as Adobe (yes, that notoriously anti-Linux entity) had sewn up all access to library books (ADE?).
It was frustrating how my Nook could wifi to the closest B&N in Colo Sprngs, 100 miles away, to purchase something from B&N, yet could not reach either library (closest 8 mi away).
My advice: Since you are using Windows and probably have no fear of Adobe, you may be OK. I would at least buy a newer Nook with some kinda browser and universal wifi/browsing support. Also, I read where backlit devices can cause sleep deprivation. That may or may not have been disproved since I relegated my useless Nook to doorstop duty. ;)
nb
Back in the day Kodak was happy to sell very inexpensive cameras. The profit was in the film and processing. At the moment I have a keyboard Kindle, a Paperwhite, and a Fire HD. What I've spent on eBooks is much greater than the total I've spent on the hardware.
With the synching I can buy a programming book, read it at home with one of the Kindles, and then start at the same place on the desktop at work which also runs the PC Kindle reader.
At my library, when you checkout an eBook you are linked to Amazon which then delivers it to your Kindle. You can also return the book via Amazon or the loan expires in two weeks.
There are other delivery options that I haven't explored since the Amazon link is easy.
btw, you're not using WiFi at 100 miles. You're going into a wireless router and over the internet. My first Kindle had 3G in addition to WiFi. That meant it essential was a mobile phone that Amazon could deliver content to. They have what is probably a very complex arrangement with Verizon and other carriers.
The first Nooks had wi-fi but also connected over 3G network to B&N to make a purchase.
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