I bought a B&N Nook Color just before Christmas of 2010. (It was a present for me.) I bought it because I read… a lot. I have lots of paperback and hardcover books at the house. They range from classics to sci-fi, from horror to a couple that I guess you could call “romance” -I think that is what the author called them. I even have philosophy and history in my paper library.

I enjoy the smell of a book; I enjoy the feel of the document, and that is why I will continue to buy them under certain circumstances.

I bought the Nook because it may not have the feel or smell of a book but when traveling… It is awesome. I used to read three books when I’d fly somewhere and then have nothing once there. Then I’d have to buy something else and carry all of them back.

E-books and tablets ease that a lot. I search for a book or three, download them, read like normal, connect to the web download more, read and then take the tablet home. One thing to carry. Simple.

Nook color comes with a lightweight browser and some other add-ons. You can search for definitions of words, play chess, play Angry Birds (if you pay and download it) and other things too. Books, newspapers and magazines are available to download for your reading pleasure.

And reading is what I do on the Nook about 95% of the time. That is why I got it that is what it was bought for.

I’ve read where people have rooted their Nooks (which voids any warranty that the device had) and turned it into a lightweight tablet. I am not one of those people. There are reasons:

Warranties are there for a reason. If something goes wrong for any reason, no one will replace it if it has been rooted. Even if you root a Nook, it will not be nearly as polished as a Honeycomb tablet such as a Xoom. Better CPU, memory, etc… Fewer distractions on the Nook. When I read…. I read. Anywhere between 3 and 15 chapters in a single sitting. (Around 80-200+ pages)

The Xoom, on the other hand, is for my writing, some work, email, social media stuff, notes and a mini laptop.

I have not loaded the Nook app on the Xoom, and unless I am going on a quick trip, I won’t load it. I would rather carry the second tablet for the reason that I would want to read sometimes and other stuff the rest of the time. It’s a personal preference.

Apps I use on the Xoom will be added to the stuff page eventually.

A friend of mine just bought a Nook, an SD card, loaded a bootable version of Android Honeycomb on the card and had made his Nook color dual boot. Sure it is an experience thing but the Nook tablet isn’t made for a full experience. (Not to me at least.) If I were to do that then after doing so and after having the two minutes or less of “yay I did it” I would think to myself: “OK, now what?” Then eventually wipe the SD card and go on reading. Dual booting a Nook doesn’t take any “leet hacking” to do. Just Google search for a version you like, download and read the setup.

So what I am saying is:
1. Figure out what you want.
2. Ask people what they think of what they bought.
3. Go to the stores and play with them a lot.
4. Take a few days to think after playing, and then choose which (or both) to buy.

On an airplane, I will always read before trying to type a report, every time. So on a plane or in a car: Nook will win. Otherwise or should the situation come up where an email must be sent, and a laptop or desktop is unavailable… Xoom. (A smartphone can do emails, but it can be cumbersome to type on that tiny display/pad.)

My two cents…

And why did I chose Xoom over iPad?

… I wanted a tablet, not a supersized iPod touch.
I was disappointed with the iPod touch, not much more impressed with the iPad.