Nook General Questions

[JellyWoo]

I am interested in buying a Nook and this will be my first ebook reader so I have a lot of questions. Thanks.

1. Can you read PDFs?

2. Do you have to pay to use 3G on a Nook 3G/WiFi model?

3. What is the 3G used for?

4. Can you read ebooks you buy on Amazon's ebook store?

5. Is there a built in dictionary or can you download one?

[RedRapier]

yes but it could be improved

no additional fees at all

3g is used to connect when you wish to browse or buy a book from B&N and wiFi is not available, it will not allow use of the browser though

only if converted by a 3rd party software program such as calibre

yes built in

[JellyWoo]

Thanks for the help!

[RedRapier]

youre welcome, and welcome to the boards, this is one of the most helpful and informtive resources you have for all things Nook

[Alley415]

Red, you can not read Amazon ebooks on the nook.  They and Apple ibooks I believe are the two main sources that will not work with nook due to their DRM and/or format. 

[jdarnold]

About 3g - it is free, but it is limited. You can't use the web browser on the 3g network and lots of books can't even be bought / downloaded via 3g, only wifi. Given these limitations, and the fact the 3g model gives you nothing else besides 3g connectivity, I've been saying if you have a wifi at home, you should stick with the wifi-only version.

PDFs work but support is very rudimentary. They are either paged correctly but really small, or, if you make them bigger, the page & line breaks are all wrong.

There is a dictionary but its usage is a bit of a pain and its search function pretty well dissed. Supposedly, there are some ways of adding a different dictionary via "sideloading" (what the nook calls it when you copy new files via the computer USB connection), but I haven't tried them.

Don't know about Amazon eBooks. I have too many books already without worrying about Amazon's!

[JdiennoPSU]

@Red,

Alley is right you can not read Amazon books on the nook unless you lllegally strip the DRM

[sirwillard]

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jdarnold wrote:

About 3g - it is free, but it is limited. You can't use the web browser on the 3g network and lots of books can't even be bought / downloaded via 3g, only wifi.

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This statement is misleading. There's no book from B&N that you can't purchase/download via 3G. I presume you're referring to purchasing/downloading from other sources, but for many people that's not something they'd care about, and worded the way you state it here you could lead them to make a bad decision for themselves, personally. There are reasons to want 3G, even if I agree that many (most?) would be better off saving the $50 and getting the Wi-Fi version. If you travel a lot, 3G is very useful, and many would say indispensible.

[JdiennoPSU]

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sirwillard wrote:

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jdarnold wrote:

About 3g - it is free, but it is limited. You can't use the web browser on the 3g network and lots of books can't even be bought / downloaded via 3g, only wifi.

---

This statement is misleading. There's no book from B&N that you can't purchase/download via 3G. I presume you're referring to purchasing/downloading from other sources, but for many people that's not something they'd care about, and worded the way you state it here you could lead them to make a bad decision for themselves, personally. There are reasons to want 3G, even if I agree that many (most?) would be better off saving the $50 and getting the Wi-Fi version. If you travel a lot, 3G is very useful, and many would say indispensible.

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Actually on page 93 of the User Manual it states "For the NOOK (Wi-Fi + 3G model), downloads of very large eBooks, periodicals, and magazines require a Wi-Fi connection."  So the information is in fact correct!

[LarryOnLI]

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JdiennoPSU wrote:

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sirwillard wrote:

---

jdarnold wrote:

About 3g - it is free, but it is limited. You can't use the web browser on the 3g network and lots of books can't even be bought / downloaded via 3g, only wifi.

---

This statement is misleading. There's no book from B&N that you can't purchase/download via 3G. I presume you're referring to purchasing/downloading from other sources, but for many people that's not something they'd care about, and worded the way you state it here you could lead them to make a bad decision for themselves, personally. There are reasons to want 3G, even if I agree that many (most?) would be better off saving the $50 and getting the Wi-Fi version. If you travel a lot, 3G is very useful, and many would say indispensible.

---

Actually on page 93 of the User Manual it states "For the NOOK (Wi-Fi + 3G model), downloads of very large eBooks, periodicals, and magazines require a Wi-Fi connection."  So the information is in fact correct!

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Actually, until someone identifies a book that an only be downloaded via WiFi (let alone lots of them), it is misleading.

[Jodisims]

re: 3g

I find it indispensible and would not like having only wifi.  If you want to download a book while traveling, you need the 3g.  And by traveling I mean anywhere you are not at home....at the beach, at the pool, at the airport, in the car, at your work etc.   Being limited to wifi at home and coffee houses can be very inconvenient!  I've had an ipod touch for a couple years now and being restricted to only wifi is a daily frustration...

As far as not being able to download certain books or periodicals without wifi?  It sounds like that is a very small percentage of what's available out there - I say spring for the extra $50. imho. 

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

I've been in situations when the "book craving" hit me and I didn't have wi-fi available.  I just downloaded the book I wanted using 3G.  I had the book literally in a few seconds!

I rarely turn wi-fi on.  No reason to waste the battery for the slight increase in speed.

I never use the built-in browser since I have a smart phone with me all the time for that.  

[Jodisims]

Another thing to consider with wifi vs. 3g is that with continued updates to software you may find that the 3g usage become more and more valuable as features are installed.   That's one of the things that drew me to the Nook - software updates without having to purchase a new unit.   Just something else to think about in your decision...