My nook arrived - here's my review / comments

[ps56k]

I'd like to see some details on specific logistics - either as a new thread, tacked onto old threads of the same exact topic, or ??

ie -

What is involved in purchasing a book via nook -

Is the process different via WiFi vs Cellular

How is the DRM implemented,

with the whole issue of a CC used for the password

What happens when you plug nook into the USB ?

How does it appear to Windows ?

What about with Adobe Digital Editions & nook ?

How do your old B&N library of books appear ?

Are they actually downloaded to nook,

or do you have to manually checkmark them for download ?

yeah - there are a ton of questions that never really got answered,

and now is a great time to find those previous threads

and update them with the facts - vs just all our guesses.....

[SerenityCat]

jfisher:  I see what you're saying.  That wasn't my intent at all.  I'm very curious about the Nook and how it will stand up against other ereaders.  The reviews from Endgadget and Gizmodo and the like seemed to focus less on actual user experience and more on, "this doesn't move as fast as I wanted it to move"...which, to me, doesn't tell me much.  I'm really interested in hearing from Nook owners once they have settled in to it and started using it, especially all the features that were touted.

Nowhere did I state people should not write anything at all, (one thread I said, "I want people to write they have their tracking numbers, the next day that they have their Nooks and then silence for a day or two as they play with their new device and learn all about it"...yes, but again, that was not a demand.  It was more a dramatized hope that everyone would get the Nook soon and be so busy playing with it and being happy with it that they wouldn't even be here but then would come back and write reviews on what they've learned), and if it was taken that way, please know it's not how I meant that to come across.

Yes, again, I'm a Kindle owner but that doesn't stop me from having interest in other ereaders.  I know that some Kindle owners think the whole fiasco was funny.  I'm not one of them and I really don't like being lumped in to that category.  I sincerely want you all, (and again, by "you all" I mean, all of you who have ordered the Nook), to get the Nook and to be happy with it.

As I've said in a few threads, I don't care what ereader you get, I just want you to get them because in the end, the more ereaders that are out there, the more we all benefit.  It does not benefit anyone to have an ereader come out and not be successful.  The publishers already don't like ereaders and electronic books much and some have been stating that ebooks should be held back for six months for release; they blame ereaders for the slow death of the publishing industry.  It's not ereaders.  But the point is, the more people who get ereaders and are happy with them, the better it will be for all of us no matter the device we have.

I think some have seen only a thread or two I've written and/or have a bad taste in their mouths from some who have other devices making a mockery of them...but just as I don't think all those on this board are rude just because some are, I'd appreciate a little more give as well.

Nonetheless, I can see what you are saying and again, that is definitely not what I meant.  Thank you for taking the time to respond and allowing me to try and clear up that misunderstanding.

[WestOf8th]

Got my Nook!  Some initial thoughts..

The packaging is superb.  Besides protecting the device, it's a lot of fun to take the device out of its package.  Giftees are definitely in for a treat.

The Nook itself feels very strudy and well engineered.  Great materials.  Nothing about it feels cheap.  it's a little heavier than I expected.  Fits perfectly in the cover I also bought.

The screen savers with illustrations of famous authors that activate when the Nook falls asleep are really nice.  So nice, that I probably won't load my own photos (at least for now.)

I couldn't register the device, when I first turned on my device (Poor cell reception?)  Once I connected to my home WiFi network, it registered in a breeze.  The free books I previously registered for on b&n.com were instantly available on the Nook.

I loaded a bunch of my own PDF's ontot he device, some with hundreds of pages.  No issue there. No delays in formatting.  Because there is a lot of content on each PDF page, it takes a few page clicks on the Nook until you actually progress to the next page. The Nook formats the text nicely for you, so obviously there's no horizontal scrolling necessary.

Other files, such as Txt, Doc, Html were not displayed by the Nook, so I couldn't even attempt to read them.  Not a big deal since I can convert anything to PDF.  There was one PDF that I generated out of an HTML page - and some of the text was displayed upside down.  This is probablly an Adobe issue and nothing to do with the Nook.

There is a lag between pressing buttons on the lower screen and seeing movement on the eInk, but it's not so bad.  I haven't encountered so far an unreasonably lengthy "Formatting..." pop-up that others have reported.  I actually expected quite a bit more "formatting" when reading scanned Google books.  But in my experience, the scanned Sherlock Holmes book (available for free download) open right up with no delays.

The external speakers are better than I expected.  They work and sound fine in a quiet room.

I copied several folders of documents and music to the Nook.  While the files are in folders, the Nook displays them in a flat list.  B&N already explained this and I think we can expect enhancements in this area.

On the down side: In my taste, the page turn buttons are too stiff and require some force to press.  It's a little difficult to tell without reading and turning pages for two hours.  But the buttons on my blackberry seem way easier on the thumbs.

As others have mentioned, the lower screen UI is not that sharp.  But I'm sure that will be enhanced over the next year.  The Nook is also begging for a Pandora app over WiFi..

Overall - great gadget.  Looks and feel more expensive than what it cost.  Can't compare it to the Kindle, since I never used one.

[SV-Guenevere]

Got my Nook yesterday. We live aboard a small sail boat so we use e-readers! I just posted our first view and a side by side. You can read it on our web pages. A direct link to it (with photos) at:

http://www.svguenevere.com/grr/ereader/readers.html

Greg

[steve10]

Answers to some questions:

- "What is involved in purchasing a book via nook - Is the process different via WiFi vs Cellular?"

Same interface with both, and not all that different from doing it via computer albeit through a smore simplified interface.  There's a simple menu with some categories of types of books (eBooks, Magazines, Newspapers, etc).  You drill into the one you want, browse categories or search for what you're looking for, open it to get a summary, read a sample, click buy if you like it.  The book automatically downloads into your library.

- "How is the DRM implemented, with the whole issue of a CC used for the password?"

Not sure what you mean.

- "What happens when you plug nook into the USB ? How does it appear to Windows ?"

It looks like another drive, just like plugging in a USB falshstick, camera, etc.

- "What about with Adobe Digital Editions & nook ?

Haven't tried.

- How do your old B&N library of books appear ?  Are they actually downloaded to nook,

or do you have to manually checkmark them for download ?

They download when you connect to B&N.

[BigHal]

Got mine today and I'll start out by saying I've never had to read the instructions for opening a box before.  Once I got it unpacked it was easy enough to plug in and get going on the tutorial and register my account.  I was surprised by the amount of force it took to operate the page buttons and the touch screen but I got used to it fairly easily.  There is a fair amount of lag during page turns and when the nook is in the cover the buttons on the left side might as well not be there since it is extremely awkward to reach them. Not a real problem for me but my lefty wife will be annoyed.

[BartleyR7]

My apologies if I just overlooked this, but do any of you who have your nook have any battery life tests/numbers you'd like to share?

[nfdg03]

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BigHal wrote:

Got mine today and I'll start out by saying I've never had to read the instructions for opening a box before.  Once I got it unpacked it was easy enough to plug in and get going on the tutorial and register my account.  I was surprised by the amount of force it took to operate the page buttons and the touch screen but I got used to it fairly easily.  There is a fair amount of lag during page turns and when the nook is in the cover the buttons on the left side might as well not be there since it is extremely awkward to reach them. Not a real problem for me but my lefty wife will be annoyed.

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I have a lefty in my family as well - I never thought of the point you mentioned above - quick question - if you put the nook in the cover upside down, does that inhibit any of the buttons / etc. - maybe a "poor man's solution" to a lefty using the nook while it is in a cover. 

[WCK123]

Happy to report that I received my nook this morning and spent of the day using it.  I'm also happy to add that so far I haven't experienced any issues.  Registered without issue, bought, downloaded, and read multiple chapters without issue. No connection issues - either with 3G or WiFi.  So far I'm very happy with it. The UI takes a little getting used to, but after some use I don't mind it in it's current form but do look forward to future improvements.  Thanks B&N - I'm happy to have a good eReader with so much potential to be a great gadget!

[MaxP]

I purchased a sony reader to and was pretty ok with it but I hated the user interface.  So far I love my nook.  My nook seems faster and more responsive than the demo that was in the store. I'm confident that any issues will be cleared up with over the air updates. 

[BigHal]

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nfdg03 wrote:

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I have a lefty in my family as well - I never thought of the point you mentioned above - quick question - if you put the nook in the cover upside down, does that inhibit any of the buttons / etc. - maybe a "poor man's solution" to a lefty using the nook while it is in a cover. 

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The page forward and back buttons are on both sides of the nook so there's no need to flip it, but only the ones on the right side are easily accessible when the nook is in its cover.

[nfdg03]

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BigHal wrote:

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nfdg03 wrote:

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I have a lefty in my family as well - I never thought of the point you mentioned above - quick question - if you put the nook in the cover upside down, does that inhibit any of the buttons / etc. - maybe a "poor man's solution" to a lefty using the nook while it is in a cover. 

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The page forward and back buttons are on both sides of the nook so there's no need to flip it, but only the ones on the right side are easily accessible when the nook is in its cover.

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Yes, I do understand that there are buttons on both sides of the nook for page turning, but what I was asking is if a lefty was using the nook in its cover and wanted to use the left side buttons for page turning (per the comment above that stated the left side buttons are not as easily accessible when the nook is in its cover), couldn't they put the nook in the cover upside down and still hold the nook in its cover (and hold the nook like an actual book) and have easier access to the left buttons.  I cannot remember from my initial trial with the nook if there was anything preventing this due to how the nook attached to the cover.

[BigHal]

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nfdg03 wrote:

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Yes, I do understand that there are buttons on both sides of the nook for page turning, but what I was asking is if a lefty was using the nook in its cover and wanted to use the left side buttons for page turning (per the comment above that stated the left side buttons are not as easily accessible when the nook is in its cover), couldn't they put the nook in the cover upside down and still hold the nook in its cover (and hold the nook like an actual book) and have easier access to the left buttons.  I cannot remember from my initial trial with the nook if there was anything preventing this due to how the nook attached to the cover.

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Sorry, I was missing what you were going for.  I tried it on my cover and it is possible to flip it over.  about the only problem with doing it that way is that the power button is a little awkward to push when it is flipped as you have slide your finger in through the bottom (now top slot) to reach it.

This is the cover I'm using http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/Bleecker-Cover-in-Tobacco/e/9781615598755/?bnit=H&cds2Pid=30253

[nookfan11]

I have mine, and I love it.  Obviously, it's a 1.0 product, but for buying books, reading books, etc...this thing rocks!

[WestOf8th]

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BigHal wrote:

I was surprised by the amount of force it took to operate the page buttons and the touch screen but I got used to it fairly easily.

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You can actually swipe your finger on the bottom screen when it goes dark to flip pages.  It's not as reliable as the page buttons though.

nfdg03 wrote:

I have a lefty in my family as well - I never thought of the point you mentioned above - quick question - if you put the nook in the cover upside down, does that inhibit any of the buttons / etc. - maybe a "poor man's solution" to a lefty using the nook while it is in a cover. 

Yes - you can flip over the Nook without covering any of the ports..

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[yoav_y]

You can open the document up in Adobe Acrobat, and under "File... Options", you can set the document name to be anything you like.  Then save it.  (I suspect there are free solutions out there to do the same...).  Basically every document has a BUNCH of metadata in it, including what name to display for the document.

  If that field is left empty, the nook displays the filename instead.

[jomar1120]

My nook arrived December 17, registered it and bought 3 books. I started reading a book and turned it off after a couple of chapters. When I turned it on again to continue reading, the book returned to the cover. I hit go to furthest read point and does not work. I have to turn the pages manually to get back to the page that I'm reading. Tried doing bookmarking but the same thing happens. Pressing to go to bookmarks does'nt work. Very annoying. I called tech support, tried to deregister and put back the nook to factory settings, register it again and it is still the same thing. B&N sent me a replacement but stll doing the same thing. Just want to know if your nook goes back to the page where you left off which is supposed to be as in the user guide.