Barnes & Noble Nook
Filed under 6-inch eReaders
Flagged as a primary contender on the ever-expanding e-reader scene, Barnes & Noble’s Nook has turned a lot of heads as the first Android-powered e-book reader with a full-colour touchscreen. Got your attention, well it certainly had ours… but is all of this too good to be true?
Design
The basic design of the Nook doesn’t really break into any new territory. Measuring 19.6 cms from top to bottom and 1.3 cms in diameter, the Nook is only slightly heavier than some of its competitors out there. Weighing in at 317.5 grams, it is certainly not big or bulky by any means but it does feel solid and robust. Despite this, the Nook is still comfortable to hold for lengthy periods and your wrists won’t have to pay the price.
The front of the device is comprised of essentially three parts: a 6-inch, 16-shade grayscale e-ink screen (e-ink is pretty standard for e-book readers), a 3.5-inch LCD colour touchscreen and a white plastic border with back / forward buttons on either side. The Nook’s plastic back plate is removable and the lithium ion battery is replaceable – something which makes us happy.
Display
What really sets the Nook apart from its competitors is the LCD colour touchscreen. The LCD is bright and eye-catching and really adds the wow factor. This touchscreen is the way in which almost all interactions with the Nook and its online store are handled. It can display a directional pad for moving around text when highlighting or looking up words in the dictionary; it can give you a search box and a place to type notations; it can pop up the music player without leaving the page, and it flows book covers in your library and in the store.
Software
Ultimately, because the Nook is not exactly leaps and bounds ahead of its competitors in its hardware, it all really boils down to the software and the daily use of the reader.
At first blush, the LCD screen is colourful and exciting but after you have settled yourself, what is left is a rather confusing user interface and navigation. Although the fundamentals of the user interface are not hard to understand, the dual screen interaction may leave you muddling through the buttons and stopping to figure out what to push. Don’t get me wrong, the directories on the homepage are simple and to the point , but it is when you hit the subdirectories that things start getting a little pear-shaped. Essentially, within each of the sections on the homepage, are a number of sub-directories that are specific to that section. So for example, in the “My Library” section on the homepage, you will be presented with a scrollable list of options like “search”, “view my documents” or “show covers”. This is all good and well but because each sub-directory offers different options, things can get a little out of hand.
As soon as you think you have the hang of the system, your rhythm is then thrown off by the sluggish response of the reader. While the Kindle and Bebook are not exactly whizzing through pages, the Nook seems to be significantly slower (this can however be attributed to the enormous amount of power used by the LCD screen). Combine that sluggishness with its built-in cellular wireless connection and there will be moments when you’ll look lovingly at your good ole paperback.
Note: On April 23, 2010, Barnes & Noble announced a software update which not only improves the overall speed of the Nook, but also provides Wi-Fi and 3G access for better web browsing. This update is available to download at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/support/
Still, credit must given where credit is due and there are definitely features on the Nook that are worthy of praise. For starters, the Barnes & Noble store options and book browsing are far better than anything out there at the moment. When it comes to looking for a title, being able to actually see the covers of books is a tremendous help and adds to the pleasure of the experience.
The software update offers a beta version of “Read in Store” which will give Nook users free access to Barnes & Noble’s ebook library when in any store for an hour a day.
The Nook supports the securable ePub ebook format, which almost all major booksellers except Amazon use. It also supports PDF, TXT and HTML, plain text, JPG, PNG and GIF file formats. You can load PDF files onto the device from your PC via the USB connector and reflow the text using different fonts and font sizes which is quite handy.
A great and unique feature is the book lending feature called “LendMe”, which allows you to loan a book to a friend who also has a Nook or has Barnes & Noble’s e-reader software for up to 14 days. Just like someone borrowing a real book, it’s removed from your library for the duration of the loan. Smart!
The software update now offers a dictionary as well as chess and Sudoku which you can play against the Nook – brilliant for keeping the brain active.
Battery life
To charge the Nook, you connect the USB cable to your computer or to the included compact AC adapter. Barnes & Noble have acknowledged that the Nook’s battery life isn’t as good as many of its competitors but this is largely due to the inclusion of the colour LCD screen which negatively affects battery life. On average you can use the Nook for about 5 days before having to charge it.
Conclusion
Benefits
When using the Nook, you vacillate between being completely charmed by the aesthetics of the reader, and completely frustrated by the way it actually works. Perks of course include the LendMe feature, the colour screen and the excellent ebook buying experience.
Downfalls
Ultimately, the Nook’s sluggish performance undermines its appearance which is a huge letdown. The dual-screen navigation can be confusing and the design of the sub-directories keeps you guessing. But the Nook is slowly working through its kinks through its upgrades which paves the way for great improvement.
Now (April 23, 2010) that Barnes & Noble have released their latest wave of updates, the sluggishness of the reader is no longer too bad and surfing the net is actually quite pleasurable. For geeks like myself, having chess and Sudoku on hand is always a bonus.
