[red-beard]

The best comparison is between the Nook and the G-Tab, since they are both Android and I've posted a bunch on the Slate.

The Nook comes with crappy dedicated version of Android, for B&N. It is easily "Nooted" to allow regular marketplace apps to be loaded. It also can be loaded with different ROMs, but I have not done this yet, since I've now given it to my wife as a reader/e-mail device.

The G-Tab starts life as Android 2.2 (Froyo). I, after way too much work, was able to load 2.3 (Gingerbread) onto the G-Tab. It works quite well with Gingerbread. I have noticed no problems, but then the ROM is a well established one.

The G-Tab is faster. Much faster. A good way to compare is playing Angry Birds. On more complex levels, the G-tab is noticible smoother. This would obviously be from the dual core, 1.0 Ghz processor. The Slate is about another 70% faster, but then it is running Win 7.

I've been able to load up all of my Android apps and it works well. The screen rotates very well and the g-sensors are responsive.

The screen is very readable and the battery life seems quite good. I ran it most of the weekend on a single charge.

Use: It is a good little game player, video shower, e-mail and web surfing machine. I like it! I can do a lot more with the Slate. But for these functions, it preforms very very well. With the well working bluetooth, I can connect it to audio devices, but the speakers that are built in work fine.

One thing I like better than the Nook, it has dedicated back, home, search and menu buttons. The Nook has one button and this brings up the soft menu. It also has dedicated sound buttons on the side.

So which do I like better? It depends. I really like the form factor and weight of the Nook. The 7" tablet is so easy to carry virtually anywhere. The screen is still very good.

But the Nook is also a bit Spartan. Bluetooth is never going to work correctly. It was never designed to really be a full Android machine, etc. It works fine if your plan is to have a reader, web surfing, e-mail, video machine. But it is noticibly slower. For the price difference, I think the G-Tab is a better value. IF you can find a color Nook for under $200, you might consider that.

I do think that the 7" tablet is the right form factor. I will be looking around for a 7" with good specs that can be rooted/ROMed. But until then, I get the G-Tab and the Slate, and my wife is going to get the Nook.

The final note, the one thing I can compare the iPad on is price. The 16GB Wifi only iPad is $449 and the iPad II is $499, not quite double in price. No other comments possible.