The Nook E-Book Reader Review
Barnes and Noble Nook sprung a surprise package to capitalize on the holiday season. Released on 30th November 2009, the Nook e-book reader takes its place of pride as the first electronic book reader to be based on the Android platform. What catches your attention are ‘Over a million titles to choose from’, ’1000s of free e-books’ ‘Endless shelf space’ ‘Lend e-books to friends’ and so on that compels you to read further. Apparently ripped right out of Amazon Kindle’s master playbook, both are priced at $259, which is more than just a coincidence. The similarities are not restricted to the price tag alone and extend to other features like the off-white plastic frame, the 6-inch E-ink screen, and the same ability to display photos, play music and enjoy free cellular connection to download books. Both are also compatible with iPhone or computers. The areas where the Nook obviously scores are the color touch-sensitive screen for navigation, wireless downloads via AT&T’s 3G Internet or Wi-Fi. The memory can be expanded with the Micro SD expansion slot while the replaceable battery and the ‘Lend Me’ feature obviously have the consumers swaying towards the Nook. The gadget worth being excited about has been designed with the consumer in mind. Excitedly christened as ‘the king of connectivity and content’, the new kid on the block reserves the winner’s place for itself. It has been said that an early Christmas shopper, who has smartly saved the receipt for his Kindle 2, may just opt for the equally affordable option hitting the shelves, and would have plenty of reason to do so. Perhaps the biggest edge that Nook has up its sleeve in the e-reader marketplace is its in-the-store support. With over 700 retailers, as many as 40,000 retail advisers, and a site that is counted among the top 20 on the Internet, Nook surely is in an enviable position to reach its prospective customers. All you have to do is to take a Nook into a Barnes& Noble and you have access to tailored content via Wi-Fi. What’s more, you will also have access to the entire text of each of the books in the firm’s eBook store – albeit for only the duration that you are in the store. As company sources believe, the bookstore has an extremely crucial role to play and is going to be a catalyst for demand generation. In fact, as the world’s largest bookstore, this surely is an enormous edge. Customers will not really be up to downloading the E-Books, but will actually stream them employing a technology that the company is not too eager to talk about as yet. If you are wondering whether you’ll have to buy your e-books at Barnes and Noble, let this be put to rest. Nook supports ePub and so you are free to use e-books from multiple vendors. For all those who think that Nook was rushed just to steal some of Kindle DX’s holiday cheer, well they sure have their reasons to be the devil’s advocate. To begin with, the touch screen is at times non-responsive, and tries the patience of the user. Its screen is achingly slower than that of Kindle 2 and takes 3 seconds to turn a page, which is 3 times longer than its competitor. In case you are in the middle of a sentence, even 3 seconds can prove disruptive. You got to give it to Nook for adding the city-library feature of lending books. Yes, like most friends do, you can actually lend a book from your Nook to another Nook owner for a period of two weeks. It is here that the fine print cannot be overlooked. This ‘Lend Me’ feature can be used only with others using Barnes and Noble application software, after the publisher okays it. The book disappears from your Nook while your friend is reading it in his. The built-in Wi-Fi of Nook at times fails to notify the owner of actually being in a hot spot. The Kindle appears to many, as being faster, thinner and lighter than the Nook. Yet with the Nook, you are allowed to judge a book by its cover, thanks to designers like Jack Spade, Kate Spade and Jonathan Adler. William Lynch, president of Barnes and Noble, sums the Nook up by touting its most transportable ePub compatibility, allowing the reader to buy any book, at any time, and at any place. This should give you a clear idea of the Nook, though for any other queries that you may have, turn to e-reader blog. Or for the latest from the world of e-readers, log on to e-reader forum.
Tags: cvers, eBook, Nook, nook book reader, nook book reader covers, nook covers, nook ereader, nook reader, nook reader covers, Reader, Review
