I’ve had my Nook Color Android-powered e-reader for a few weeks, long enough to really get a feel for not only the e-reader experience but a bit of a tablet experience as well.
I have to admit I was initially somewhat dismissive of tablets. My feeling was though they would be useful in many situations, I personally had little use for one. I spend the majority of my time in my truck, where I’m already equipped with an iPod as well as laptop computers. I felt that the iPod had most of the functionality of an iPad, and that since my MackBook Pro was running most of the time when my truck is parked I really wouldn’t have much use for a tablet.
Since having the Nook Color I find myself spending quite a bit more time on it than I initially thought I would. I use the iPod for listening, and I’m using the MacBook for tasks such as recording my own podcast as well as email and iTunes. However, a great deal of the time I find myself using the Nook Color to browse and consume web-based content.
I believe the adoption of tablets is going to change the content that people consume from the Internet. The change isn’t going to be dramatic or overnight, however it does seem to me that if I’m browsing on a tablet I’m much more likely to read certain types of articles and/or news stories that I probably wouldn’t read in a laptop of desktop browser.
In other words, tablets are turning the Internet into the equivalent of a digital book or magazine as opposed to something that is best used sitting at a desk. The effect of this change in consumption psychology is likely to be subtle but relatively substantial over a period of time.
I have to use my company logbook. However, I do find it useful to be able to use Google Maps on the bigger screen of the Nook Color running Android 2.3 “Cyangenmod 7” in a dual-boot configuration via the Micro SD card slot. Once I’ve discovered what I’m primarily using a tablet for, perhaps the tablet device market will have had a chance to mature some more before it’s time to replace it.
In the stock Nook Color operating system, I’m using the included Android browser. In the version of “Cyangenmod 7” Android 2.3 that I got from I am using the Dolphin HD browser, which includes tabbed browsing and other nice touches. I’m going to be writing more articles about running other versions of Android and some of the uses I come up with for it in the near future.
An iPad would really make a killer GPS for a big truck! Yes, I have an MacBook Pro too. And I’ve kind of dismissed the tablet concept for a while because of the MacBook. However I think a tablet could be pretty useful. I’m thinking logbook, pre-trip documentation. I saw where pilots are using tablets for things like that. Why not big trucks too?
Hey Trucker Tom
I too have been enjoying my nook color and I have just started to use it to view different kinds of data. I was just wondering what app you use to browse on the web, or do you just use the standard browser that is built in? Nice article, I look forward to your reply when you get time.
Gary