I held one in my hands!

[ChipPM]

I stopped off at the B&N store on my way home from work again. It is on the road I take and half way between work and home so it calls to me as I pass it

They had one demo unit of the N2E. It had the security cord attached to it but no stand for it to be attached to. I think they just got it in.

The nook lady let me play with it as much as I wanted to. She loves it and I fell in love with it too. I jokingly asked her if I could take it home.

She said they should get units in for sale tomorrow or Saturday and they had a few covers but will get more in.

Hopefully I get the call that they are in tomorrow and I can pick it up on the way home.

[creebee]

I have been stopping by B&N on my way home from work for the past two days too...but no demo yet.  I pre-ordered in-store and can't wait to see one in person, even more so to take mine home!  I have had Kindles for a year and a half and love my K3 (no dissin' my other child now , but when I got the announcement email from B&N about the new nook I fell in love with it too.  Can't even begin to guess how many times I watched the video lol.  I am excited to soon have the best of both worlds in ereaders IMHO, and am looking forward to joining my sister in the nook world, as well as the extras B&N extends to their nook customers.

ANYWAY, I too am hoping for that email that I can pick my new baby up.  Originally when they were expected to be in stores Friday June 10th I was planning on scheduling a vac day off work.  I have already ordered it's cover...the neoprene sleeve in marine.  Unfortunately it is not scheduled to ship until 7/1 (sigh).

can'twaitcan'twaitcan'twait

[ChipPM]

We must be leading parallel lives or something!

I was going to take June 10 off, too. (Good thing I hadn't asked yet!) I also pre-ordered a cover, the Lewis Quote Cover in Indigo.

I just got an email that the cover has shipped. It is neck and neck to see what I will get first, the Nook from the store or the cover by mail.

[Plucknbach]

I too was able to handle one first hand.  Also stopped by on my way home from work at our local B&N.  I brought my N1e with me to compare. 

the N2e is small. About as wide as the N1e and less the touch screen of the N1e.  Squarish I'd say.  It is light.  I did see the difference between the screens where the N2e is definitely brighter with more contrast.  There are certainly more font size options and many more font styles. 

What I liked is the new spacing options where you can have the page displayed either single, double, or tripple spaced between lines.  You also have options of narrow, medium, or wide margins (left & right) of the page you are reading.

No Web browser of course but you can shop and review new books. 

No Mp3.  I kind of like the idea with my N1e but I can live without it.  My cellphone has a better mp3 player. 

I'm still on the fence about trading in my 2 day old N1e for an additional $20 to get the new N2e.  I have 12 more days to decide.  I believe I'll wait for more hands on reviews before I makea decision to keep or trade. 

[mpclemens]

Plucknbach said:

I'm still on the fence about trading in my 2 day old N1e for an additional $20 to get the new N2e.  I have 12 more days to decide.  I believe I'll wait for more hands on reviews before I makea decision to keep or trade. 

Unless that $20 is dear to you, I'd say go ahead and trade up. The N1E is end-of-life'd, and although there's a lot of speculation around about its future, I think it's fair to say that the bulk of B&N's efforts will be in supporting the NC and N2E.

My wife has a N1E -- that's what led me down this path in the first place -- and all the things I dislike about it have been "fixed" for the N2E. Hands-on reviews from the various tech web sites seem to concur: the N2E is currently the best reader available, besting the Kindle in size, battery, and navigation. I have yet to see an unflattering report, and I've been looking.

My two cents, of course, but if it were me, I'd hotfoot it back to B&N with receipt in hand.

[VWolf]

I, too, was able to check out the N2E today.  It is an absolute winner!  The size and weight are incredible and it is very comfortable to hold.  The touch is responsive and you can turn the pages from the frame very easily.  I am still considering the Nook Color which felt like a brick after handling the N2E.  Just trying to decide if I will really use the additional features of the NC.  Here in DC, they are expecting N2E inventory to sell by Saturday.  I did not ask about accessories.

[LectorGS]

I went this afternoon to my local store and had the opportunity to play with it.  It's very light and much smaller than the N1E.  It's going to be a while before I get used to the new color of the device and to the fact that there is no color screen.  However, it is quite faster and responsive.  It has a very unassuming appearance but, based on my first personal encounter with the new device, I think it's going to deliver great reading moments for the avid readers.

[JA_Bal]

I held one too today and I was disappointed. 

A battery life of 2 months sounds wonderful, but I don't like everything else.

1. It felt like a toy.  Same reason I didn't go for the Kindle was the fact that it felt too light and fragile.

2. The touch screen is pressure sensitive so a finger nail will work just as well as a finger pad.  That means any bump will change things.  Also the screen had a delay when I selected things and before I knew it I selected something else by mistake.  Some of the things you're meant to touch are actually very tiny - like the Share option below the "Reading Now" display.  The screen flashes less but it still does flash as it's changing so I don't think it was improved enough.

3. Social sharing is limited to NookFriends and Facebook.  Twitter people are at a loss.

I don't think the battery life is worth the upgrade.  I like being able to read tweets and email occasionally.  I also use google rss reader to keep up with blogs and I love it that I can see all that on a very easy to read screen.

I think the lack of browser is a killer.  If you're going to take the browser away then make an email client, rss gatherer, and don't skimp out on Twitter if you're going to offer Facebook.

That's just my opinion.  I love the original and I'm still VERY happy with it.

[Arestelle]

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JA_Bal wrote:

2. The touch screen is pressure sensitive so a finger nail will work just as well as a finger pad.  That means any bump will change things.

---

It's true that a fingernail (or a stylus, a gloved finger, whatever) will work. It is not true that it's pressure sensitive - the infrared grid located just above the screen senses when and where your finger (or a stylus or whatever) crosses it (the grid). Pressing harder doesn't make it sense more clearly; "pressure sensitive" describes resistive touch screens.

Valid concern, though, which is just the way IR touch screens will behave, as far as I'm aware. If you are likely to bump the screen a lot accidentally, it's something to consider.

Also, reviews indicate that you can share via Facebook or Twitter. Where did you get that there isn't functionality for Twitter?

Edited to add link to ZDNet photo of 'sharing' settings screen: here.

[tattooedmommie]

I guess now I'll have to go to my local B&N tomorrow at lunch - great, they thought they had gotten rid of me at least until the 10th! LOL

[mpclemens]

JA_Bal:

1. It felt like a toy.  Same reason I didn't go for the Kindle was the fact that it felt too light and fragile.

[...]

I think the lack of browser is a killer.  If you're going to take the browser away then make an email client, rss gatherer, and don't skimp out on Twitter if you're going to offer Facebook.

---

This may be the first review I've seen where it's been deemed too light. :-) I personally don't see this as a negative (especially as I struggle to hold up the dead-tree version of Mark Twain's autobiography: what a monster!) This makes me think of some of the junky plastic cameras that I own which include a lump of metal glued inside to make them feel more substantial and "serious." (It doesn't help.)

Other threads have addressed the browser concern: I can see how reading RSS feeds would be handy, since they're pretty low-tech already, and don't require the full software experience as a web site does. I'm curious what features the Google integration offers, however. Is this gmail? Or perhaps access to Google Reader? If it's the latter, I will be very excited, since I have an abundance of feeds set up there. That may just be false optimism (the ZDNet screen shot referenced above just shows "Import contacts.")

Whatever the feature set, though, there must be some form of "browser" hiding in there, albeit one with limited user-access. The wi-fi access point authentication pages are an HTML page, after all, or some mobile-friendly variant. Ditto for Facebook and Twitter.

[Arestelle]

I haven't seen anything about Google books, but people have mentioned connecting to Gmail, so I think it's pretty much just a feature to connect to friends via email (as part of the recommendations thing??), and so you can email quotes or notes/suggestions about books straight from the reader.

But who knows, I haven't got mine yet, so I could be wrong. Still, I doubt a bookseller would be eager to provide such a direct link to so much free reading material.

[Wootini]

I was at B&N tonight... and no new Nooks.     (They come through Kansas on stagecoaches here to Colorado, methinks!)

They said that they would probably be out on display tomorrow.  (So heck, what does that mean?  They are already in the backroom but some manager probably wants to do the unpacking him/herself?)

[Arestelle]

---

Wootini wrote:

I was at B&N tonight... and no new Nooks.     (They come through Kansas on stagecoaches here to Colorado, methinks!)

They said that they would probably be out on display tomorrow.  (So heck, what does that mean?  They are already in the backroom but some manager probably wants to do the unpacking him/herself?)

---

And they got distracted by all the incredible sights along the way, right?

You in the Denver metro, too? I haven't been by my store yet but was thinking of going tomorrow or Saturday. Hope they've got demo units set up by then! And covers...I want to look at covers.

[Sarah3973]

Someone posted Wednesday evening on ClubNOOK that stores may have NE2 inventory on Thurs.  Naturally, I was at my local Brick & Mortar about 15 minutes after they opened because I wanted to see one.  I had been unsure about the shape and how it would feel in my hands.  

I'm definintely on the bandwagon now!  The new nook is amazing.  It's so light and you can hold it in your palm- which is a big selling point to me.  It doesn't look at all like it looks in the pictures.  At least to me it doesn't.  It's super light and the page turning is amazing.  There is almost no ghosting except for a little bit in the library where the book covers are.  Now, if I can only figure out a way to justify the expense............

To sum up, I'm going to quote Sir Mix-a-Lot:  I'm hooked and I can't stop staring! 

[sublimestars]

---

Sarah3973 wrote:

Someone posted Wednesday evening on ClubNOOK that stores may have NE2 inventory on Thurs.  Naturally, I was at my local Brick & Mortar about 15 minutes after they opened because I wanted to see one.  I had been unsure about the shape and how it would feel in my hands.  

I'm definintely on the bandwagon now!  The new nook is amazing.  It's so light and you can hold it in your palm- which is a big selling point to me.  It doesn't look at all like it looks in the pictures.  At least to me it doesn't.  It's super light and the page turning is amazing.  There is almost no ghosting except for a little bit in the library where the book covers are.  Now, if I can only figure out a way to justify the expense............

To sum up, I'm going to quote Sir Mix-a-Lot:  I'm hooked and I can't stop staring! 

---

The fact that you just quoted Sir Mix-a-Lot completely made my morning!

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

---

Arestelle wrote:

---

Wootini wrote:

I was at B&N tonight... and no new Nooks.     (They come through Kansas on stagecoaches here to Colorado, methinks!)

They said that they would probably be out on display tomorrow.  (So heck, what does that mean?  They are already in the backroom but some manager probably wants to do the unpacking him/herself?)

---

And they got distracted by all the incredible sights along the way, right?

You in the Denver metro, too? I haven't been by my store yet but was thinking of going tomorrow or Saturday. Hope they've got demo units set up by then! And covers...I want to look at covers.

---

My N2E is supposed to be delivered byt tomorrow morning.  I'll probably be over at the B&N at Southlands or at Park Meadows on Saturday to see if they have any covers in that I like. 

[Arestelle]

---

Nallia wrote:

My N2E is supposed to be delivered byt tomorrow morning.  I'll probably be over at the B&N at Southlands or at Park Meadows on Saturday to see if they have any covers in that I like. 

---

Should've had mine delivered to my house instead of the office - bet I'd get mine tomorrow too. But my office is near the tech center, where tax is lower...I'm such a pennypincher! Anyway, Park Meadows is a pretty high-traffic (and, if it's kosher to say, moneyed) shopping area, so I'd think that one would try to get stock asap. I'll have to go to one of the stores in the city this weekend so I can get properly psyched up.

[keriflur]

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mpclemens wrote:

Whatever the feature set, though, there must be some form of "browser" hiding in there, albeit one with limited user-access

---

The N2E is built on an Android  platform, so surely someone will root it and post instructions online as to how to access or install a  browser.  I'm willing to bet that the reason this feature wasn't included standard has to do with battery life.

Has anyone been able to confirm Twitter sharing, or airplane mode?  One of the reviews I read said that there was no airplane mode - what do you do if you're on an airplane then?

[Rose_Bee]

I had a look through the User Guide - there's no specific "airplane mode", but you can easily go into settings and turn off the wifi.