Barnes & Noble Nook Unveiled

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/20/barnes-and-noble-officially-launches-nook-e-reader-259-pre-orde/' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/20/...r-259-pre-orde/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Looks like all those whispers were true -- the "Android-based" nook is alive and well, and it's calling itself the planet's "most advanced e-book reader." Measuring 7.7- x 4.9- x 0.5-inches and weighing 11.2 ounces, the device includes a top e-ink display from Vizplex and a color touchscreen (3.5-inches) below, which supports one-touch control and swipe-to-browse books with full-color covers."</em></p><p><em><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1256077400.usr10.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></em></p><p>Meh, the color seems like a gimmick just to say they have a color screen. &nbsp;For the details posted thus far, it does not seem that useful. &nbsp;Considering that they are using Android, they could have a browser or at least some Internet enabled widgets. &nbsp;I guess even a video player would be possible, but again, just a gimmick. &nbsp;I think they'd be a lot better off cutting the color screen and dropping the price to make it compelling for the casual reader. &nbsp;Using myself as an example, I'm pretty happy using the Kindle reader on my iPod touch; but, I'd probably pay $100 for a 5 inch e-ink display with Wi-fi only. &nbsp;</p>

[Felix Torres]

At this point, the Nook ereader looks to be more of a wait-n-see product.
It has an interesting checklist of features but most come with fine print...
- Wi-fi? Only in-store, not at home or roaming.
- Lending ebooks for up to 14-days? Only if the publisher allows it. (Kinda like Kindle's TTS). No TTS, btw, so its a trade-off, not a net gain, of publisher-regulated features.
- MicroSD support is great, but with 2GB onboard it's a bit less than compelling.
- native pdf support is great on paper but with a 6" screen less useful than expected
- Android-based? Yes, but no SDK and no third-party support in place or announced. They're going to "wait and see".
- Lots of books available? If you count the half-million Google crapscans. Otherwise they run about 200,000 commercial books vs Amazons 300,000 or so
- $9.99 ebook pricing? Yes, on "hundreds of NYT bestsellers", quoting from the launch of their ebook store a couple months back. At the time, most of their books ran 20% and more above Amazon prices. No word to date on whether they intend to match Amazon prices or stay within the Adobe Server publisher-mandated pricing envelope.
- color touch screen? yes, but there doesn't appear to be a way to shut it off so it's both a distraction while reafing and a power drain; might explain why it's thicker, heavier than Kindle, yet gets roughly a third less life out of its battery (user replaceable, though; yay!) 10 days vs two weeks.
- it supports ADE and the Adobe epub, the darlings of the ABA (anything-but amazon) crowd outside the US, but there is no international distribution or support and it requires an update to the in-use versions of the Adobe software and server that won't be available to non-B&N sources until 2010.

The funny thing is that for all of the talk about the Nook ereader being a Kindle killer, the product line it most directly impacts is Sony, which has been relying on B&N ebookstore support while updating their own, less-than-appealing store. The Nook offers most of the features of the wireless Sony for $140 less and out-features the $300 model.

Bottom line: its a first-gen product. Needs work.
Last year it would've been an industry leader.
This year? Competitive but not compelling.
And since it doesn't arrive until late november it's really a 2010 product.
And 2010 is going to bring a *lot* of new ereaders.
Wait and see, folks.

[doogald]

I think that the color touchscreen is a great way to interact with the device. Trying to navigate the Kindle's e-ink display is pretty awkward by comparison. And, yes, according to B&N, the color control panel blanks out while you are not using it - it will not be a distraction while you are reading.

And, of course, this is version 1, the initial release. WiFi may be limited to B&N stores for now, but that restriction can be lifted. There may be no apps now, but that doesn't mean that there cannot be any in the future. B&N said, "We're going to blow you away with what we've got in store in the future." It'll be interesting to see where this goes. If I'm Amazon, I may be sweating a bit today. At least with the nook, I can actually try it before I buy it. Maybe Amazon will partner with a retailer or two going forward so that people can hold and try before they buy it.

[Felix Torres]

Competition is good and the Nook probably will evolve into something special (by today's standards).
Just bear in mind there is more to ebook readers than the Kindle; there is literally a dozen other perfectly fine products out there that are *not* version 1.0.
There's Astaks and iRexs (Best Buy is now carrying one with an 8" touch screen and wireless that connects to B&N) and Bookeens and Pocketbooks and Jetbooks and Sonys all over. And there's iPod and iPhones and Android phones and Windows Mobile phones; there's Nokia tablets and Archos Tablets, and assorted UMPCs; there's the mythical Apple tablet (if it ever appears) and the Microsoft mystery Courier. Fujitsu has a pricey color reader running off WinCE and Brother a large format B&W model. Samsung, iRiver, and Asus are all in the market in Asia and coming west. Asus has a dual-pane tft color ereader built off netbook tech coming late this year and a dirt-cheap b&w model built off eink. Plastic logic has the long-hyped large format QUE and the Readius folding display isn't quite dead; the germans have the gorgeous Textr incubating and even the Ukrainians are getting into the act.
There is an entire wave of next-gen readers using plastic screens, next year, and another wave with color by 2011.

Amazon has far more to worry about that simply a fasionably late first effort by a B&M store.

Let's not get caught up in the hype, it's very early in the ebook reader industry; so far, all Amazon has done is stir a hornets' nest by proving there is "gold in them thar hills". They've set a marker that everybody can aim for; doesn't mean they can or will stand still. Or matter much in a year or two.

Ebooks are now where media players where ten years ago and by the time the dust settles, most of the current gadgets are going to look awfully crude and quaint.

Unless you're an active reader and know *exactly* what you want, this is a good time to sit back, wait, and watch the fireworks.
The game is just getting started.

[Jason Dunn]

I for one think the colour screen is a *great* idea - it's a brilliant way to allow browsing of book covers!

[Chris Gohlke]

Sure it is nice for that, but how much time do you spend browsing book covers. Also, not clear from materials, but is it only allowing you to browse the covers in your library or is the interface shown for browsing their book store? I just don't see the point of the extra screen if all it is doing is allowing you to browse book covers, there needs to be something more compelling than that to make me thing it is more than a gimmick.

[doogald]

Sure it is nice for that, but how much time do you spend browsing book covers. Also, not clear from materials, but is it only allowing you to browse the covers in your library or is the interface shown for browsing their book store? I just don't see the point of the extra screen if all it is doing is allowing you to browse book covers, there needs to be something more compelling than that to make me thing it is more than a gimmick.


It's both. Watch the three minute video on their site that introduces the product and it shows you how what the color screen does. It's pretty clear. You can browse books with the color display, and it's integrated with the eink display to give more information about the title, etc. The color panel browses your library, changes settings, accesses the book store, sets bookmarks and annotations, and access daily newspaper/magazine content.

[Rob Alexander]

More DRM-protected ebooks so they can collected hundred or thousands of my dollars before going out of business and shutting down their authentication servers? I'll pass. I'm sticking with DRM-free books on my Windows Phone.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

International PLZKTHXBAI

[Jason Dunn]

More DRM-protected ebooks so they can collected hundred or thousands of my dollars before going out of business and shutting down their authentication servers? I'll pass. I'm sticking with DRM-free books on my Windows Phone.

Indeed. I'm even more of a Luddite - I'm not interested in any eBook system that relies on DRM. I'll stick to paper books...and, honestly, since I rarely if ever bring more than one book with me when travelling, I wouldn't find much benefit from owning an eBook reader anyway.

[doogald]

Indeed. I'm even more of a Luddite

When it comes to books, I am as well. That said, I don't give a crap about DRM on ebooks, as the great majority of the books that I have owned or read have been read only once. There are so many great books out there that I have never read (and there are more coming) that I rarely find a book so compelling that I need to read it a second time. (That is the significant difference between DRM on music and on books - I can imagine that in ten years I'll have listened to my purchased music dozens of times, and will still want to listen to most of it, so a DRM failure would be angering; while any purchased books I'll likely not be all that concerned about if I lose rights to read it again, if I've already read it.)

[Felix Torres]

More details have been filtering out over the last day or so, including this little nugget:
ebook lending, if allowed by the publisher, is a one-time-only proposition.

Going to have to read a lot of fine print before I spring for one of those.

[Phillip Dyson]

I guess I don't see the benefit of a dedicated ebook reader. If I had a screen the size of an iPod Touch or a Zune HD (hear me Microsoft? Add ePub support!) That would be fine for reading a book.

And its the device that I have with me. I guess if I carried a purse (which I don't) it would have more of an appeal.

What's the big deal with eInk. I think LCD is good enough. And it suports color.

[Jason Dunn]

When it comes to books, I am as well. That said, I don't give a crap about DRM on ebooks, as the great majority of the books that I have owned or read have been read only once. There are so many great books out there that I have never read (and there are more coming) that I rarely find a book so compelling that I need to read it a second time.

I come from the opposite school of thought: I collect books. When I buy a book, I add it to my collection, and some books I do read more than once. So the DRM thing is a big scary monster to me. ;)

[Jason Dunn]

What's the big deal with eInk. I think LCD is good enough. And it suports color.

Power consumption is the big deal - once the screen is refreshed, my understanding is that it uses zero power. Ziltch. That's a pretty big deal, wouldn't you say? :D Also, the PPI value is quite high I think...meaning the text is very easy on the eyes.