Nook Newbie questions before I purchase

[Sarsnake]

Hi everyone

I am looking at purchasing Nook, but I want to make sure it will do what I need it to do.

Can Nook open files from USB flash memory that were not purchased from B&N? Say I have a book in ePub format, can read it using Nook, without having to crack or root the device?

Or is Nook only intended to read books purchased from B&N?

Thanks in advance and thank you for your time.

[keriflur]

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Sarsnake wrote:

Hi everyone

I am looking at purchasing Nook, but I want to make sure it will do what I need it to do.

Can Nook open files from USB flash memory that were not purchased from B&N? Say I have a book in ePub format, can read it using Nook, without having to crack or root the device?

Or is Nook only intended to read books purchased from B&N?

Thanks in advance and thank you for your time.

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Yes, the nook can read .epub files from other vendors, as long as the file uses Adobe Adept DRM (you will need to initialize the device with Adobe Digital Editions software the first time you load an Adobe DRM'd book), or does not have DRM.  You cannot read .epub files from Apple as they use a proprietary DRM, and the nook will not read kindle books (files ending in .amz).

So basically the nook can display any books bought from any vendor that sells .epub format, except Apple.

[RHWright]

Also, AFAIK, you can not just plug in a USB flash drive, but it will accept a microSD card.

The easiest method for getting files onto the NST and make sure they work is commonly called "sideloading." Search for that and you will find many helpful threads around, including more details on the whole ADE thing and when you do and do not need to use it.

[Byteguy]

It will accept a MicroSD up to 32GB.  Though, honestly, that's a HUGE amount of storage.  I used a spare 2GB I had handy and I figure I can store about 500 books on it at one time.  eBay has tons of dirt cheap SD cards if you don't have one.  There is also some limited storage reserved for you IN the NST already so you don't even need a card to sideload.

Sideloading works well.  Almost all my books are epubs loaded onto the SD.  I like them there because, heaven forbid, if something ever happens to my NST I can just pull the card and still have all my books ready to slap into a new NST.

[Sarsnake]

Thanks for the info. Very useful...so USB is only for charging then?Too bad, if so...I had illusions of just moving my books over to Nook from my USB hard drive and reading them. I guess I will have to look into sideloading.

What is ADE?

[roxmysoxGA]

ADE is Adobe Digital Editions. Here is a good thread on what it is and how to use it.

You CAN use your usb cable to transfer books to your Nook. Just transfer the books from your usb drive to your PC/laptop then hook up your Nook. If your books are DRM free, you don't need ADE to transfer them.  You can drag and drop from Windows Explorer or use a free program called Calibre.

HTH

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[keriflur]

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Sarsnake wrote:

Thanks for the info. Very useful...so USB is only for charging then?Too bad, if so...I had illusions of just moving my books over to Nook from my USB hard drive and reading them. I guess I will have to look into sideloading.

What is ADE?

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Sideloading is transferring files from a computer via a USB cable.  If you have ebooks on a USB hard drive you would connect that to your computer, then connect the nook to your computer and transfer the files.  You may need to initialize your deice with ADE if you're moving books from say, a Sony or Kobo device, or that you've bought from Sony, Kobo, or Google.

ADE = Adobe Digital Editions, software that's use to manage the DRM from vendors such as Sony, Kobo, and Google.

[Sarsnake]

gotcha. Not from USB flash but from PC using USB cable. Trying to avoid purchasing more stuff such as memory card as i already have 500Gig storage.

[h2oskierc]

I think has been said, but there is already a lot of storage on the nook itself.  I would be surprised if you couldn't get at least 500 books on there...

The only other things to buy would be a warranty (if you desire), like the ones from SquareTrade, a cover if you want one, and possibly the wall adapter.  I know that my wife and I both got them with our Nook Simple Touch with Glowlights (NSTG), but I may have heard that the regular Nook Simple Touch (NST) does not.  They are not needed, but if you can plug your nook into a wall to charge it, instead of the computer it is a lot nicer, in my opinion.

[Byteguy]

Here's how it works.  USB is for charging and for loading.

Hook up your Nook and you will see the 205MBs of internal memory reservered for books you add as a drive.  There is also 750MBs of memory that the Nook keeps for books you buy from BN and download over WiFi but you can't see that.

If you add a MicroSD card to the nook, that will appear as ANOTHER drive.  Once you put that card in, leave it in and use the USB cable to talk to your Nook.  You don't want (or need) to keep taking the card out because it's tiny and a bit tough to deal with.

Then, just copy your unencrypted epubs to either the internal memory drive or the SD card drive.  That's it.

Some people have had to reboot their Nook after doing that.  It only takes a minute.

If you deal with encryped books, you need Adobe Digital Edition.  There are lots of guides on how to set that up.

[DebA12]

the quick reply is yes, it can open those files. I download from smashwords all the time in epub format.

[msmoonlite]

Downloading the Calibre program to your desktop also makes it easier to convert different formats.

[smith_melissar]

I just got a Nook for my birthday, I love it and you can add me! smith_melissar@hotmail.com  Melissa Smith  None of my friends have a nook. Thanks