As has been mentioned, the kindle app is really good.
I would highly reccomend changing the settings to white text on a black background for night low/light reading. (Though you’ll then curse the annoying minority of authors who hard-code the text to black though 
)
Also enabling the option for the volume buttons to turn pages is very handy.
There actually is a good way to, if not “root,” at least hack it to put the Play Store on it. I have the Play Store on my Fire. Not everything works (most notably, Inbox simply won’t run for whatever reason) but enough does that it’s still worthwhile.
Really looking forward to trying a $50 “name-brand” Android tablet that won’t have to be rooted.
$50 dollar me no hollar!
A used Kindle (not Fire) should only run you about $20 on craigslist or ebay, and you’ll be much happier reading on e-ink than on an LCD screen.
$50? That’s my exact price point for one I’ve been looking for to put in the kitchen that wasn’t some cheap Chinese tablet and didn’t come with Amazonian issues. I’m sick of having to use my phone to look up recipes and have been wanting something I could just stick on the wall. Huzzah!
I agree, especially since I am not particularly interested in the rest of the tablet’s functions. Those are more than adequately provided by my PC. But, being semi-disabled and on a small, fixed income, cost takes priority over quality 
You should read the article, it’s pretty informative.
“plain-vanilla Android Marshmallow”
“128 GB capable SD card slot”
Yeah, I hear you. The base Kindle (without a backlight can be found for around $50 or less, I think). The Paperwhite (with backlight) occasionally goes on sale for $89 if I remember right. It’s been awhile since I checked prices though. Electronic books grossed me out until I saw the Paperwhite. I still prefer print, but also enjoy the portability of the Paperwhite and the text is beautifully rendered on a matte screen (plus, the ability to pirate books you can’t afford is nice. Please forgive me authors. I know it’s abhorent. But my admittedly self-serving excuse is that I only do it if I can’t get it at the library and don’t have the muns to buy it).
Edit: I was talking ‘new’ prices. Sounds like @deedub knows the score.
The excuse I have is when you don’t want to pay, for example when you want to read stuff like L Ron Hubbards SF work. I have no ethical qualms about pirating things that would otherwise fund a aggressive cult.
If by “fantastic” you mean rudimentary.
Features I want (but since they haven’t really updated ever, I’m not holding my breath)
I guess those features could be useful in some circumstances, but how often do you need to remote in to a 5-year-old’s kindle?
Or perhaps a better question might be, can you think of another tablet on the market for the same price that has better parental controls than kindle?
I bet B&N won’t be super excited by all the people installing the Kindle app on this thing.
Really, as I noted in the article, Barnes & Noble could choose to emphasize that as a selling point, the way Miracle on 34th Street had Macy’s Santa direct people to Gimbal’s if they didn’t have what they wanted. “You can read anybody’s ebooks on this, not just ours. Will Amazon’s Fire let you do that?”
Of course, I doubt they will, but it would be a nice gesture.
I could install the kindle app on my Nook HD via Google Play and the last set were bog standard samsung tablets even if lower end ones. Not sure why they would keep you from doing it on this version.
My mynah’s need a new tablet. My old Nexus is really showing it’s age. This should be easier to set up for them than the fire tablet.
You should read my post. I said the latest version, as in not merely Marshmallow, but the latest security updates. Also, just being able to take an SD card doesn’t mean the tablet uses Android adoptable storage. The latest Samsung phones and tablets, for example, do not.
But with plain vanilla Marshmallow you can update it since the new one came out.
Samsung, well, who can explain why they do the things they do.
I love mine as well, bought it pretty cheap as they were discontinuing them but i use it extensively. Stupidly though i bought the one and only book from the now defunct UK nook store (spin by robert charles wilson) and then realising i couldn’t get the epub off it and break the drm using calibre because it’s in some hidden partition or something? It doesn’t show up in the nook for pc software either; does rooting it give you access to that partition? At least it turned me to the drm-free way from then on. 
True enough. I like my Samsungs. But no like the lack of adaptable storage option - though it is less of an issue in high end devices with sufficient onboard storage than it is for low end devices such as this tablet with it’s 8Gigs.
OldFartRant
I remember when a gigabyte was an unthinkable and outrageously large amount of storage. It still blows my mind that Android barely works with 8 gigs. Oh, you can do it, but you have to be parsimonious in how many apps and media files you put on the device.
/OFR
Android’s gotten a lot better lately about utilizing the SD card for installing apps and other storage purposes. And you can get a 64 GB micro-SD card of a reliable brand for around $20 or a 128 GB model for $40 from Amazon these days (or from places like Best Buy or Fry’s that will price-match Amazon on the same model). That should be plenty of memory for your tablet needs.
