5 Responses to “Barnes and Noble NOOK ebook reader”

1. Mahlers2nd says:

   April 10, 2010 at 3:03 am

   Updated: 02/14/2010

   Barnes and Noble has issued yet another firmware release and as a result, several issues including bookmarks, losing places in books and speed issues have been resolved. In addition, for those who were unable to register due to not being in an area with wireless coverage, you are now able to take advantage of the WIFI capability to register your device. Battery is still abysmal compared to nearly all other readers out there however, if you get in the habit of recharging every night and carrying a spare battery, this is will not impact your overall reading experience.

   While the Kindle and the Sony readers are still superior and not as buggy — Barnes and Noble has shown that they are committed to making this product work. It is a very nice looking reader and the rubber backing is much more comfortable to hold than the metal backing of the Kindle. I still feel the LCD color component is merely eye-candy and of little functional use but I have upgraded my star rating. While this reader still lacks the functionality and maturity of its main competitors, I would say it has definitely become a viable option for those who don’t want to be tied to Amazon or the Sony Store.

   UPDATED: 01/02/2010

   Some will say that I am “premature” in putting this review out because I should be giving Barnes and Noble the chance to fix their device — which they diligently appear to be trying to do. However, anyone contemplating the sale of the nook has a right to know how this reader operates NOW unless they are willing to spend 260 on promises of a eReader that does not do some of the simplest tasks (bookmarks) at the time of purchase. As improvements are made, I will continue to update the review.

   Unfortunately, Barnes and Noble continues to struggle with the functionality of the nook.

   ………………….

   I love Barnes and Noble so was very excited to see them enter the ereader market.

   Barnes and Noble was hoping that the shiny and colorful package would keep people from realizing that they rushed their reader to market without proper testing.

   There have been so many problems with the Nook that they are already on their 3rd firmware update even though the first set of readers were only shipped 2 weeks ago. This, itself, is a problem because such frequent updates can cause additional quality issues — break broken functionality (for example, bookmarks), and leaves nook owners in the position of having to beta test their 260 dollar reader.

   After putting a nook through its paces at my local Barnes and Noble repeatedly (i.e. prior to the firmware updates and after firmware updates), the problems I found were many:

   1. FIXED (KINDA) SLOOOOW — page turns were much slower than ANY reader on the market.
   
   – with Firmware version 1.1.1, this has gotten better. However, it appears that the longer you are reading a book, pageturns start to slow down again. (Memory leak???)
   
   2. FIXED: SLOOOOW — the navigation using the color LCD touchscreen is so laggy that you keep touching it thinking it hasn’t accepted your input.
   
   3. FIXED: Bookmarks — being able to save where you left off in the book is seriously flawed and only works a small percentage of the time — if at all (introduced with the latest version 1.1.1 of the firmware)
   
   4. FIXED (Kinda)User Interface — something that would take you just a few button clicks on a Sony or a Kindle will take you 4-5 on the nook. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if it wasn’t for the fact that the user interface was so SLOOOOW
   
   5. Battery drain — the battery will drain after just 3-4 days — as opposed to 12-14 for a Kindle and even longer for a Sony… and that is with the Wireless turned off and the LCD panel dimmed.
   
   6. IMPROVED: Device frequently freezes and needs to be rebooted — which is a problem when your bookmarks don’t work.
   
   7. Frequent firmware upgrades (with inadequate testing) which has the potential to cause further instability (such as the bookmark issue which was just introduced in version 1.1.1) which turns all nook owners into nook volunteer beta testers.
   
   8. Downloaded books sometimes consist of blocks of blank pages and are unreadable
   
   9. FIXED: Often, if you hit page forward, it pages forward several pages at a time.

   Advantages of the nook:
   
   1. It’s great looking — though I find the LCD portion of the screen basically useless Eye Candy that doesn’t add to the overall functionality of the screen and is a significant power drain.
   
   2. Ability to “lend” a book — however, this is a severely limited capability which many publishers are fighting and may not be available on many books. You can lend a book to only once to 1 person for 14 days — but only if the publisher allows it. Like Kindle’s text-to-speech “feature”, most publishers are insisting that this feature be disabled.
   
   3. Supports SD cards — a major flaw in the Kindle in my humble opinion — if for no other reason than it allows you to organize your files.
   
   4. User-replaceable battery — You’ll need this considering the currently battery drain and need to recharge often associated with the current power management scheme. But at least you can have a spare on hand and not have to send it into be done for you — another disadvantage of the Kindle.

   The screen on the nook is very good but it uses the same manufacturer for its eInk screen that Kindle, Sony, Cybook and the rest of the eReader market currently uses so you would expect that to be pretty comparable.

   To Barnes and Nobles’ credit, they appear to be frantically trying to address many of these issues with firmware updates. The page-turn performance issues have already improved. However, at the pace that firmware updates are being made (at least 2 in one week) — are you really interested in being a beta tester or do you just want to read books?

   While the firmware updates have addressed some of the performance issues. However, I have been back to the Barnes and Noble store (It is one of my favorite haunts!) — even checked that the firmware update there was present (it was) and still there were issues in terms of reliability, speed, and even ability to download books from within the store.

   In fact, version 1.1.1 — the current version as of this writing — is actually a step BACKWARDS in terms of critical reading functionality:

   1. The nook does not remember the last page that was read. This means every time one re-opens a book to continue reading, you must page forward one page at a time to get to where you left off reading.

   2. Bookmarks only last until you open a new book or leave the book you placed the bookmark in. This makes the bookmarks worse than useless.

   My review is intended to highlight some issues that buyers of an ebook reader should be aware of if they are considering the nook. Once the issues have been corrected, then I will update my review and increase the star rating.

   [NCJAR]
   Rating: 4 / 5
2. Deborah A. Woehr says:

   April 10, 2010 at 4:13 am

   Despite all of the negative reviews, I decided to take a chance and buy the nook, once I tested it out at my local B&N. I loved the look and feel of this device and was looking forward to the convenience of buying more books without adding more clutter to my already cluttered bookcases. I read all of the pros and cons of owning a Kindle and compared it to the pros and cons of owning a nook. The nook won because of its versatility (epub format, book lending, etc).

   My nook arrived on January 28th. Since then, I’ve experienced one crash and had to figure out how to use the touchscreen so that I can flip the pages without having to use the arrow keys. The latter took some practice, but I eventually mastered it and have been enjoying this feature ever since. I’ve also read three books in the space of a week, which is a personal record for me, as it normally takes two weeks for me to read a single paperback, longer if I’m reading an ebook on an LCD screen.

   The eInk technology is fabulous. I can read all day (and do) without eyestrain. The letters are very crisp on a plain white background. Even better, you can adjust the font size from small to extra large. Not only that but the nook comes with several fonts: Amasis, Helvetica Neue and Light Classic. I’m happy with the Amasis as it resembles Times Roman.

   My only complaint so far is that I am not able to categorize my books into categories. At the moment, I’m forced to wade through my list until I find the book that I want to read. B&N has already sent out an update, which is a good improvement over the old interface. While the touch interface can be a bit buggy (Sometimes you have to flick your finger more than once or use the arrow keys to turn the page.), I can turn pages in one second compared to the 2-3 seconds it would take with the original software. That wasn’t a big deal until I received the upgrade.

   I also like what they’ve done with the bookmarks feature. Before, they had a strange numerical format for bookmarks. With this upgrade, it lists the page that you bookmarked, which is much nicer.

   I love how I can download samples of ebooks directly from my nook without having to rely on the B&N site to do everything. Once you finish the sample, you have the option to buy. If you decide to buy the book, you will be taken to the last page you read so that you can continue from there. You can also archive the books that you’ve read directly from your nook with the press of a button, which helps manage your list.

   Sideloading my pdf ebooks onto my nook was an easy experience. However, you can’t categorize your documents; you can only sort them by title or author.

   Another great aspect of owning a nook is that you can check out ebooks from your local libraries (see [...] for a list of libraries near you), sideload books that you have bought from Fictionwise and other ebook stores, and download free ebooks from either the B&N site or Google Books. That’s what ultimately sold me on the nook, the versatility and freedom to choose where I want to buy or download free ebooks. The nook is not proprietary, unlike the Kindle and the soon-to-be-released iPad.

   The interface is very easy to use. It comes with a manual that you can read on the device, or on the B&N website. If you’re still stuck on an issue, I found this great forum ([...]) with friendly people who can help you.

   I’ve yet to check out the Lend feature because my family and friends have yet to embrace this technology.

   Other than my issue with organization, I am really enjoying my nook. I’m looking forward to reading many books in the future, thanks to this wonderful device. Highly recommended.

   Side note: I agree with S. Dayton about the iPad. After reading a few ebooks on my iTouch and my Mac, I have to agree with him about the eyestrain. For casual surfing and watching video, LCD works fine. But for longterm reading, eInk is the way to go.
   Rating: 4 / 5
3. S. Dayton says:

   April 10, 2010 at 6:26 am

   I’ve had my nook for 2-3 weeks now, and I don’t understand why people haven’t liked theirs. Maybe it’s that I’m 21 and part of the Millennial Generation and can learn how to use most technology without too much difficulty. I love my nook. The screen is easy to read, it holds a library large enough for me to take a lifetime to read, the e-book store is easy to navigate, it has twice the library size of the kindle (yes, many of them are low quality scans from google books, but they are still readable and in most cases free), the color touch screen adds flair when appropriate and hides the keyboard when not in use (unlike the kindle), the screen looks like the page of an actual book, and the nook looks seamless in general.

   Alleged problems people have with the nook:

   Slow page turn and power on.
   
   Touch screen not sensitive enough
   
   Frequent crashes
   
   Can’t jump to specific pages

   In my experience, the page turn is not bad at all. Perhaps it is a bit noticeable at first, but just like turning the pages of an actual book, you cease to notice it. In fact the page turning takes no longer than turning actual pages and probably less. If the lag does actually bother you, try pushing the button as you’re on the last sentence. The split second that it takes you to finish the sentence will be more than enough time for the nook to turn the page. This may sound more complicated than you would like, but once you’ve done it a couple times it will become habit.

   The touch screen is easy enough to use most of the time. The keyboard buttons are a tad small and occasionally hard to tap, but in general it’s responsive. It is nice that it hides the keyboard when not in use, unlike the eyesore keyboard of the Kindle.

   I’ve heard of frequent crashes on the nook, but I haven’t experienced them. Every once in a while the nook has trouble loading and formatting a book (this does not include starting where you left off on a book, that’s just fine), but if you wait for a minute or so, it resolves itself.

   The nook cannot jump to a specific page number, but it does remember the farthest point you’ve reached in a book, and it does allow you to jump to specific chapters (and sometimes sections of chapters). With a few clicks of the page turning buttons (or swipes of the touchscreen), you reach the page you’re looking for. So no significant trouble.

   Problems I have experienced:

   Slow Power On
   
   Slow Formatting

   The nook does take a while to power up and format books (only occurs when switching to a new book, the nook knows what you’re currently reading and keeps your place). I will admit these are probably the biggest problems with the nook, but in general they are not that hard to deal with. A few seconds of patience never hurt anyone, and once you’ve loaded the book, you’re off to the races.

   Overall, I recommend the nook. It has everything one needs in an e-reader, it’s fun to use, and has the biggest library selection available.

   P.S. If you’re considering the iPad instead of the nook or Kindle, don’t. The iPad’s screen strains your eyes. How many times have you gotten a headache from using a computer screen too often? Don’t get me wrong, I love apple, and I’m writing this on a mac right now, but the iPad is just not the way to go for an e-reader.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Online Shopper says:

   April 10, 2010 at 8:24 am

   I just got the Nook as a gift in the mail the other day, and I really like it. I decided on the Nook because when I compared it to other e-readers, I found features that appealed to me. I’m in Barnes & Noble all the time, so I’m very much into the feature about getting deals on books/special content while in the store. I’m also into the idea of having both wi-fi and 3g coverage because it’s like having plan A and B in one shot, so you won’t go without a signal. I like the touch screen at the bottom portion of the Nook. When I first got the Nook, I was welcomed into the idea of an e-reader with the “tour” and some notes in “the daily” section of the Nook. I enjoyed reading about how to use it. The e-ink display is great, and the page turns are faster than regularly turning a page in real life. I don’t care if any other reader does it faster or whatever. I think half a second page turn is good enough! I liked the amount of books available, as well as the idea of having an ebook wishlist. I think the best thing I like about the Nook is that it has a replaceable battery. I don’t think the Kindle has that, so I’d rather not be screwed when the battery eventually gives out. I understand that there were some issues in past software versions of the Nook, but I think that it deserves some patience rather than completely ruling it out. I think if I had any sort of cons, I think the “word lookup” is a little lagging when it comes to selecting the correct word. Also, the touch text screen is a little small, so it’s easy to type errors. I noticed the side surfaces of the Nook will attract fingerprints, but that’s not terrible. I don’t think those things are enough to make me like it any less. I’m not here to bash Kindle or any other e-reader because I think it all depends on how you want to be able to use your e-reader. It all depends on preference. Save yourself the time and don’t bother bashing my review because I most likely won’t have the time to answer. I’ll be too busy enjoying books on my Nook =).(Actually, I find it a bit ironic that the Nook is rated low on Amazon…not surprised )I’m just being honest with what I like is all.
   Rating: 4 / 5
5. birdonamission says:

   April 10, 2010 at 10:12 am

   Battery life — since the v1.2 software upgrade, it has been phenomenal. Recommend leaving Airplane mode on except when you actually need connectivity (to purchase books, mainly). You can always turn Airplane mode off overnight while charging so you can have your Daily updated by morning.

   Replaceable battery — does the Kindle let you do that? That’s what I thought.

   Touchscreen — love it. Breaks the monotony of monotone. But that’s not why I love is so well. I enjoy the swiping feature to turn pages. Very cool, but also functional. Arrows work, but swiping takes it to another usability level. I also like the navigation process in the touchscreen. Works well for me for getting around. No, it’s not like a mouse, but this is a ereader, not a laptop. The virtual keyboard works fine for me, but I can see issues if you have double-wide fingers (smile), but just use your fingertips and you’re fine.

   Lending — don’t think I’ll use that too much because I don’t have lots of friends or family with nooks to be able to this with, but it’s there and it’s darn cool to have this as an OPTION.

   Borrowing ebooks from public libraries — what’s not to like about that??? You get to read current titles for FREE. My library has a note that Amazon does not allow ebooks from the library to be read on Kindles…I’d be ticked about that if I owned a Kindle.

   Looks — I’m a function over form guy most of the time, but sorry, the nook is MUCH better looking than a Kindle. The form factor is just less cluttered and it feels solid and comfortably weighted. There’s a certain amount of trade-offs between real or virtual keyboards, but I much rather have the touchscreen than a Big Momma chicklet keyboard taking up all that real estate.

   More open ebook format options — less DRM hassles. Period.

   Expandable memory with microSD cards — nice option. (Although room for 1,500 books in on-board memory is mind-boggling as it is.)

   So… I think the nook that’s all of one Christmas season old and the Kindle that’s matured in the market for several years already now are both amazing products. But, no one can tell me the nook is not AS good as a Kindle or even better with some of its features. In fact, I believe many of the issues people ran into with their nooks are not unlike issues that Kindle owners run into, especially when Kindle was only 3 months old way back when (like the nook). And to be frank, many of the complaints that came forth prior to v1.2 and even now are because people REFUSE to read the manual or go to the help web sites or message boards that explain many of the fixes or get-arounds or instructions for the people who are allergic to reading those aforementioned manuals.
   Rating: 5 / 5

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