Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader (WiFi + 3G)
Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader (WiFi + 3G)
- Barnes and Noble brand new ebook reader-NOOK
- Original packaging and warranty
- Never opened
- Available now
- In stock ready to ship
Choose an eBook using the beautiful color touch screen, then watch it appear instantly on the E Ink® display, where text appears as crisp as a printed page. The 16-level gray scale display offers great contrast with no glare or backlight. Choose from five font sizes so you can read with ease. Rating: 
Price: $ 187.79 Related Barnes & Noble Nook Products
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Review by Connecticut Suppo for Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader (WiFi + 3G)
Rating:
Which is better, the Nook or the Kindle?
I spent much time researching the available e-readers because I knew that once I committed to one that I would be spending a lot of money over time to build a substantial library. Therefore I wanted to be certain that I was investing in the right platform so I wouldn’t have to repurchase books for a new reader if I became unhappy with my current one. I am submitting this review because I want to help those who were in my position not too long ago.
I have owned both the Kindle 1 and Nook, and borrowed a Kindle 2 prior to purchasing my Nook. I started off with the Kindle 1 when it was new, then became a little disenchanted when the Kindle 2 came out. It was then that the Nook had been out for about 6 months, and I decided to purchase it for reasons I will list later in this review.
I have been a long-time Amazon customer, an affiliate, and even a publisher of my own work through CreateSpace. I also admire the CEO’s ambition of converting every book ever printed into electronic format. Amazon is a great company with great vision, so it is disappointing (and a little ironic) for me to conclude that at this time, the Nook is far superior to the Kindle in almost every way except one (which I will also explain). I would have much preferred to stick with the Kindle since I had started building a library through Amazon, but my honest assessment is that the Nook is a better reader.
A lot of reviews have already addressed the advantages and disadvantages of both readers, so I will try to only contribute new information here, or reiterate what I think is most important in anyone’s consideration when comparing the two.
I defected from the Kindle for several reasons:
1. I did not like the awkward user interface and hardware. Though the Kindle 2 was an improvement in several ways, it still didn’t feel as comfortable as the Nook. On both the 1 and 2 I had to be careful not to accidentally press the page turn buttons. On the Nook, because of the “hard set” buttons, I have never had this problem. It is much easier and comfortable to hold the Nook. On a less important note, the Nook’s minimalist design simply looks better.
2. I was growing tired of being tied to the Amazon proprietary platform. I believe the Nook, especially over time, will provide more opportunities for book buying and developing open platform applications.
3. The Nook has a changeable battery and SD slot for additional memory. The Kindle 2 dropped both features. These two factors alone were enough to drive me away from the Kindle 2. Who wants to ship off their reader to have a battery changed? This is a hassle and also considerably more expensive. As for the memory slot, I prefer to be able to organize my content without having to go online. Unit Director for the Kindle, Charlie Tritschler, was quoted in COMPUTERWORLD as stating: “That’s room for 1,500 books,” Tritschler said, noting that any book a Kindle user buys is backed up on Amazon’s servers — and is available to the reader at any time. “There’s no need for additional storage.”
What? No need for additional storage? That is an opinion and not a fact. I found this comment to be quite condescending and narrow-minded. Mr. Tritschler made the common mistake of considering only his viewpoint and totally ignored the desire of many consumers, including myself. For example, [...] (which is owned by Amazon) sells audio books online. Should a person have a penchant for buying audio books, that built-in 2GB is going to fill up quickly. As someone who travels frequently, I don’t always have the time or resources to go back online and redesign my library. Also, as many travelers know, you do not always know what you will be in the mood for, so it would be nice if you could simply take your memory cards with you. And yes, Mr. Tritschler, even without audio books, there will be those of us who will actually own more than 1500 books eventually.
When I purchased the Nook, it had been out for about 6 months already, so I started with firmware version 1.3 and did not have to suffer all of the issues the early purchasers experienced. One thing I do not understand is that you can walk into a physical B&N store and purchase the Nook for [...], so why is it being sold on Amazon by a third party for [...]? Caveat Emptor.
My experience with the Nook has been far superior to that of the Kindle. I have not had any of the problems expressed by others in their reviews, mainly due to the updated firmware, no doubt. The Nook is comfortable to hold, easy to navigate, turns pages quickly and easily, has a clear display, and the battery life has not been an issue (about 5-7 days without recharging but also without going online, which I only do with my computer).
I agree with the reviewer who complained there was no way to really organize the content, but that will probably be addressed in time. I think it is important to keep in mind that Nook has only been out for a few months, so patience will be a virtue. However, one feature on the Nook that I did not notice on the Kindle was the ability to “archive” books. So if you have a few dozen or hundreds of books, you could actually archive all of them except the one or more you are reading so that your library screen is not cluttered with books. This alone is a big advantage over the Kindle.
The one advantage that the Kindle has at this time (and this will likely change over time) is its selection of books, especially through Mobile Reference (which I believe is owned by Amazon in addition to [...]. All ebook manufacturers are throwing around some big numbers when it comes to book availability. What exactly does it mean to have over a million books available? I find these numbers misleading because most of these books are not, in my opinion, feasible to download. For example, when I tried to download a free “classic” from Google books, it had a very poor presentation, as the books was simply scanned with defects and all (including the book owner’s scribbled margin notes!) The links of course were not functional (and probably were not meant to be), and several pages were corrupted so that there were many strange and illegible characters in the text. You get what you pay for. Personally, I would rather spend 99 cents or two dollars for a version of a classic that has been formatted for the Nook, or epub format, that has working links and clean text, especially considering that theoretically, thanks to the digital age, I will only have to purchase these books once in my lifetime.
What I miss on the Nook are the complete collections of classic authors (and again, this may change over time). For example, I would love to have the complete works of Jack London, Henry James, etc which are easily purchased on Amazon but not on the Nook (yet). This was the only issue causing me concern about switching to the Nook. I strongly believe that if the Kindle was just like the Nook in design and firmware, Amazon would be unbeatable. The Nook’s aesthetic and practical structure combined with Amazon’s vision and content would make it a no-brainer for me personally. Unfortunately, I believe Amazon underestimated the important of memory cards and changeable batteries, in addition to having probably the worst physical design on the market. And its closed format does not help either.
Overall, I would have to recommend the Nook far and above the Kindle. Up until now I have been a die-hard Amazon acolyte, but the Nook was good enough to convert me.
6/25/2010 UPDATE
It has been about 4 weeks since I initially posted this review. I hope that it has been helpful to those trying to make a decision. Since the initial posting, firmware version 1.4 was released, which added another font size, faster page turns, and the conspicuously absent GO TO PAGE option. Also, I have noticed that more and more books are being converted to the nook, especially from Mobile Reference where I have historically purchased my classic collections. My one prior concern about the nook over the Kindle has now been removed. I have been able to purchase the complete works of such authors as Jack London, James Joyce, O. Henry, Sinclair Lewis, and E.R. Burroughs. Still waiting on Dickens and a few others, but I am sure it is just a matter of time as I see the trend of an increasing selection for the nook.
With the recent firmware update and the dramatic price drop (probably in anticipation of the nook 2 supposedly to be released this year), the nook is even more preferable now than before. I understand that reviews are by nature subjective, but I am perplexed by the recent negative reviews. I can certainly understand the complaints of the owners who purchased the nook with the initial bugs and issues before the firmware updates, but the nook is certainly not worthless or junk at this point. I have been through many e-readers over the past twenty years and the nook is the best I have seen. Some of the reviews are critical of the nook’s operating system, for example, claiming it to be clunky or inefficient, yet offering no alternatives or detailing how it could be improved.
In further response to these “negative” reviews, I would also like to point out that at this time, based on my admittedly limited technical understanding, that e-ink technology cannot be integrated with back-lighting, which is why it is not offered on e-readers with e-ink technology. I believe it has to do with the opacity of the screen itself, which does not allow light to penetrate. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this change in the future, but I don’t think it should be considered a valid criticism at this time due to the limits of currently available technology.
I hope the nook hardware remains unchanged with the newer version to be released. I would prefer that the reading window not be a touch screen since I prefer not to see my fingerprints while I read, or have to constantly wipe off the screen. Touch screens tend to interfere with the clarity of the reading screen, and may not be helpful to the e-ink technology as well. I am referring specifically to the larger screen here which is where most of the viewing is done.
Also, after having used the nook daily now for several more weeks, I have not had any mechanical or software problems. I have also had no issues with the B&N website. And due to some billing questions I had, I have even called the toll-free customer service line twice and each time the phone was answered quickly and my issues were resolved courteously.
One of the great advantages not frequently commented upon to date is the ability to go into a B&N store and read e-books for free. This was not initially a selling point for me since I never stopped to fully appreciate the advantages of this benefit. But since my initial post, I have had several opportunities to go to a B&N store, use a nook coupon to obtain a discounted beverage, and browse the e-books through their wi-fi network. This one benefit has saved me money already since I was able to preview books that looked good online, but upon closer inspection turned out to be not so great. This perk allows you access to the entire book, not just selections. You are allowed to read a book for up to one hour per day before the nook “times out.” But that limitation is per book per day, not simply one hour per day in total. Thanks to this feature I have read a few books that were mildly interesting, but ones that I am glad I didn’t spend money on since I knew I would never read them again or use them as a reference, unlike many of the classics which of course have a high re-use value.
My experiences so far with the store staff have been positive. Though not officially advertised, the staff will not only answer questions about the nook, but help you with installing the memory card or changing out the battery without charging for the service itself. I don’t think that kind of personalized, informal service exists for the Kindle.
It looks like the nook is continually improving. It is my wish to see more people appreciate and use the nook so that more support will be given to producing compatible e-books for its growing library.
7/30/2010 Update
Although I realize this post is running long, I felt compelled to update it due to the most recent reviews posted here, some of which I find grossly misleading. My understanding is that the purpose of reviews is to help others determine if the product in question is worth purchasing. Reviews, both critical and positive, that provide erroneous or incomplete information only add to the confusion of a potential buyer, especially when there are widely conflicting conclusions. It appears that some reviewers cannot differentiate between facts and opinions. And when it comes to technical issues, it is sometimes difficult to tell if the actual problem is with the product or the tech-challenged user.
There was a helpful post on 7/12/10 that encouraged owners to read the manual and charge the battery. This may explain some of the technical issues of some nook owners.
One reviewer described the nook as having “no frills.” There was no elaboration, so it is difficult to know what her definition of “frill” was. However, I would consider a frill for an e-reader to be anything in addition to the very basics of reading a book, such as a screen and page turning. The nook has an open Android platform subject to future app development, a web browser, two games (Sudoku and Chess), a lending feature, downloadable coupons for the books and the coffee shop, the ability to download books from certain libraries, daily information blogs from B&N, customizable screensavers and wallpaper, MP3 capability for audio books and music, improved sorting and archiving options, a dictionary, highlighting options, and the ability to read entire e-books while in the B&N store. These certainly seem like quite a few “frills” to me. I point this out to those who are still trying to decide on an e-reader because I find such posts cavalier in their brevity and factually misleading.
There was another post that claimed only 135 B&N e-books are lendable, and that customers are getting “ripped off” because you cannot tell if a book is lendable until after its purchase. I have about 450 books on my nook now, and most of them are lendable, so I am not sure where this number was obtained since the poster did not cite a source or did not claim to have actually examined all one million books available. Also, if you go to the B&N website and look at the e-books, you can tell if it is lendable before purchasing because there will be a large button right under the book graphic that is labeled “LEND ME.”
There are some shortcomings that were accurately reported in some of the posts, however. The PDF features are limited to the point of being useless. Amazon has addressed this issue with their latest Kindle by adding zoom features, highlighting, etc. Hopefully B&N will do the same. Also, the web browser is still “experimental” and does not usually function well (at least in my experience). Again, this is a relatively new device so things should improve as long as the demand for the nook remains strong.
There was another post that claimed most of the e-readers available are all practically the same and had no major differences. First, this reviewer apparently never owned other readers and therefore did not become intimately aware of each one’s shortcomings or virtues. Second, there are SIGNIFICANT differences between the nook and Kindle, many of which have already been discussed in this post. For example, just the choice of supported formats alone shows the rift between the nook and Kindle. The Kindle’s platform is restricted and proprietary, while the nook’s Android platform is open to allow for third party applications and development, and the epub format allows for far more buying, lending and borrowing (from libraries) options. The nook’s epub format and operating system should not be considered minor differences from the Kindle’s format.
In summary, I wanted to clarify some of the errors and misconceptions that were being posted so that those still researching their options did not become more confused or misled. Regardless of which e-reader you choose, it is always nice to be able to separate fact from opinion, and truth from falsehood.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Review by Deborah A. Woehr for Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader (WiFi + 3G)
Rating:
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.
September 2nd, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Review by Mahlers2nd for Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader (WiFi + 3G)
Rating:
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]
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Review by Gary R. Gordon for Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader (WiFi + 3G)
Rating:
First let me start by saying this is not my first E-Reader. I had a Sony PRS-505 that I sold on E-Bay in anticipation of loving the Nook. It was great, a few years old and I loved the possibilities of the Nook. From the bullet list of its “features” it is the ultimate device, reality is much different. After the 1.1.1 patch was installed, a patch that promised great improvements, here are my observations:
The Bad:
1. Battery life is grossly, I mean grossly overstated. They say 10 days in “Airplane mode”, I’m going to be generous and say maybe, maybe two days– if and only if you shorten the color display blank time, change pages by the button instead of swiping the touch screen, etc. as recommended for “hypermiling” the device. If you leave the wi-fi and wireless on and use the other default settings for blanking the display, the battery will deplete quickly enough that the battery display reads like an animation. It reminds me of an old 1968 four-barrel Cadillac Eldorado that gets 5 miles per gallon. You barely use it and it needs to be filled up again.
2. The color screen used for navigation has tiny selection buttons that will cause you often to choose the wrong menu item. Also, some features that would have been better on a button or multi-directional switch require that you wake up the color screen and use it for navigation. For example, scroll up and down.
3. The form factor was thick and clunky. Almost entirely made of plastic.
4. Buggy software crashed and misbehaved, OFTEN.
5. Free preview download of books often would not format correctly— missing characters, centered text on one page, justified on another. Complete sentences cut off or missing, pages missing. Note: If you buy the book it would be formatted perfectly.
6. Touch screen comes on and wastes battery if you accidentally touch it while reading
7. Poster boy for frustration packaging.
The Good:
1. The E-Ink display on my Nook was higher contrast than my Sony PRS-505 and Kindle readers I have seen. Having said that, they all use the same manufacturer and screen and the screens vary widely from even one unit to another of the same brand and model. You never know what you’ll get til you fire one up.
2. The E-Pub format from Adobe rather than a proprietary format.
3. Elegant, clean look (design)
4. Lending option
5. 6 font sizes, two fonts
6. Clear, nice reading screen
7. Normal page numbers vs. Kindle’s “Location” nonsense
8. Expandable via Micro SD
9. Changeable battery (You’ll need it!!)
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Review by Eddie E. Hicks for Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader (WiFi + 3G)
Rating:
I purchased a Kindle for my wife last Christmas. She loves it and uses it more than any other gift I ever purchased her. She was having so much fun with it I decided to get an ereader for myself but I was drawn more toward the Nook. I read so many bad reviews about the Nook I wasn’t sure if I should get it or a Kindle or maybe something different with a touch screen and wireless connection. I thought about it for a few weeks and noticed that the reviews started getting better. I decided to go for it. I ordered it last Wednesday from B&N and received it 2 days later. I am so happy I did. I didn’t experience any of the the negatives I read about with exception that battery could stay charged longer. Talking about the battery, it’s nice to know that you can change it yourself and at a much lessor expense than with a Kindle. I’ll probably never need it but it’s also nice to be able to add a memory card to hold more content. And the Nook just looks nicer in my opinion.
The new update was released the same day I received my Nook and I updated the firmware the second day I had it and it runs even more smoother. I have been a gadget man all my life but this is my first touch screen device. I had no problems what-so-ever navigating the menus and the menus changed fast enough for me.
My wife still loves her Kindle but I think she is a little jealous. She asked me why I didn’t get her a Nook for Christmas.
I was completely in the dark about ereaders until just 2 months ago. I know during my research I found people that were experiencing problems and were unhappy with every reader I checked into. If you were putting off getting a Nook because of bad reviews, I would give them another look. There has been 2 firmware updates already that probably addressed many of the earlier concerns. That’s not bad for a device that was only released a short while ago. I’m sure there will be further updates as time goes on and it will get only better.
~eddie