Barnes & Noble's Nook, Reviewed 260
Posted
by
timothy
from the 2d-mover dept.
from the 2d-mover dept.
harrymcc writes "Barnes & Noble's Nook — the most significant e-reader since Amazon's original Kindle — hits B&N's retail stores today. I've published an extensive review of the device, which is also the first e-reader to run Google's Android OS: It's an interesting and capable gadget in many ways, but the interface — which is sluggish and somewhat quirky — isn't polished enough to render it a Kindle killer."
Re:WiFi (Score:5, Informative)
Speaking as someone not living in the US ... and hence out of the AT&T whispernet, the fact that this can work over WiFi is a huge plus.
I live in Norway, and my Kindle works just fine with the cell network here for downloading books etc.
Re:Kindle killer? (Score:4, Informative)
Try clicking on the rather prominent "Live outside the US" link. The Kindle has been available outside the US with international 3G internet support for months now.
Re:To beat Kindle you need better policy (Score:4, Informative)
It was a bad decision on Amazon's part, but it was one they made good on in my opinion:
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/09/04/big-amazon-will-give-you-back-your-copies-if-1984-annotations-wont-be-sent-into-the-chute/ [crunchgear.com]
I'm not keen on buying DRM'd e-books. But the fact is that in this case, Amazon showed itself to be capable of treating customers right, and of making the right reparations when standards slip.
A Kindle killer:? (Score:3, Informative)
The whole phrasse Kindle killer evokes some epic struggle to knock off the top dog in the market. Right now the iPhone/iPod touch appears to be the number 1 ebook reader. Meanwhile Amazon is afraid to release sales numbers for the Kindle because it would show it has been a disappointing seller.
I think the Kindle is a good idea, but for a single use device with a very high price it is not going to make any inroads into the market.
While it may not be a "Kindle Killer"... (Score:5, Informative)
The Kindle does have one disadvantage that is making me give the Nook a stronger look.
PDF's.
I buy a lot of Role Playing materials from Steve Jackson Games' "e23" site. They are in very high quality PDF documents and something that can display them without having to lug around a large, heavy, and massively power hungry laptop is a god send.
However, even though I legally own a copy of the PDF, Amazon refused to convert the PDF into a Kindle Ready file due to (as I was informed) copyright issues.
The Nook supports PDF out of the box and the internal file storage as well as the expansion slot gives me the room for all of the PDF's that I have.
So while it might not be a Kindle Killer, it has some features that put it close enough to the Kindle to make it a worthwhile contender.
Re:WiFi (Score:4, Informative)
Sure. And you're paying more for them and getting fewer to pick from.
Oh, and no Wikipedia surfing for you either.
And for all that, you get to pay more than in the US. Yay!
Re:Chinese generic 13" reader? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:wtb more booklike reader (Score:2, Informative)
What I like about e-readers is that I can read multiple books in parallel -- depending on my mood, I just pick one and continue where I left off and switch to something else when I get bored (ADD?). The one thing I'm missing with my reader (its an older model) is a built-in dictionary which I believe Kindle and Nook both have. The newer versions of the Sony Reader have them too along with note taking features. But yeah, its quite a nice gadget and I've done hours of fun reading on it. If you can get your hands on one (borrow?) for a short while, give it a shot. Takes a getting used to but you might be pleasantly surprised.
Kindle PDF Support (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Mandatory AT&T contract? (Score:5, Informative)
The review mentions AT&T 3G, but I couldn't find any mention of whether a new AT&T contract is required to buy the device at the stated price. If it is, then fsck that. If it isn't, then 'meh'. Its still pretty expensive. Wait for v 2.0.
No new contract, no bills at all. The 3G is free, just like the Kindle's.
Also, if one plugs its USB in, does it appear as 'USB storage', that one can copy PDF's to and be able to read them? Or is one required to use its proprietary software on a proprietary platform to load only special files with DRM?
No idea how it works with USB as I don't have one yet, but it does read SD cards... So you could always just throw your files on an SD card to avoid whatever software they think you should be using.
It will read PDFs and EPUB documents - both of which are more open than what Barnes & Noble is using now. Barnes & Noble has indicated that they plan to move their entire ebook store over to EPUB eventually.
And how about on wifi? Can one use any sort of standard protocol (ssh, ftp, smb) to copy PDF's in (or out) and/or can it navigate to an arbitrary URL and download a PDF, or does it only support the device accessing company-specified websites to 'buy' books?
Again, I can't say because I don't have one yet... But it sounds like the WiFi is fairly limited at the moment. There is no web browser and I don't believe you can transfer anything wirelessly... Except for maybe accessing the B&N bookstore over WiFi.
Bottom line - Mandatory contract bad. Mandatory proprietary software bad.
The reason I chose a nook instead of a Kindle is the relative openness of the platform. With the SD cards and support for PDF and EPUB format, I figure I can use this thing with basically any content I want - even stuff Barnes & Noble doesn't sell or support. And with the Wi-Fi I can probably maintain my connectivity even if B&N kills the 3G for some reason. And the user-replaceable battery means I don't have to go to great lengths just because the battery is old and flaky - unlike the Kindle.
You should read the review. (Score:3, Informative)
It makes extensive mention of BN's support for epub.
Re:Kindle PDF Support (Score:1, Informative)
Yes, but why would anyone shell out nearly 500 USD for pdf support? The DX might be nice, but at nearly 247 mm it's a lot less portable than the nook or a standard kindle. There's also the fact that Amazon has already shown that it's customers are not as important as it's vendors. Instead of seeking an equitable solution it caved on the claims to the Author Guild, and yes Mr. Blount, despite claiming to hate living in the age of it, you certainly are indeed one.) Let's also not forget the deletion the issue and brouhaha that followed. Fun times, fun times! Why couldn't they have emailed first, before pulling the trigger? Then there's the magical firmware upgrade after the nook was announced. Suddenly there are improvements? We don't have to pay Amazon to get pdf's on the kindle now? I wonder had the nook not been announced if Amazon would have ever (freely) released that update when they could continue to ping their users (who were again holding onto the smelly end of the stick) for conversion charges? Meh, I'll take my chances with the nook.
Re:Kindle PDF Support (Score:1, Informative)
The deletion issue is something to be concerned about, for sure. But the one deletion issue that happened was not pro-Vendor at all. The Vendor in question sold a book he didn't have rights to sell and was canned for it. Amazon was pro-Amazon, not pro-Vendor. They didn't want to be fined or sued, so they un-did the illegal sale. That said, Amazon handled it badly. You can backup your Kindle (I do) in case they get antsy again. You are crazy if you think the Nook doesn't have the same protections in it for B&N.
Re:Don't Need a Kindle Killer, Exactly (Score:5, Informative)
But I'm hopeful. How long did it take before Apple had to allow non-AAC audio files to play on the first-gen iPods? They only did that because other companies started making players that would play the widely available mp3 files.
iPods were released before the iTunes store, so they have been able to play MP3s even longer than protected AACs.
Re:To beat Kindle you need better policy (Score:3, Informative)
If you bought a stolen physical book, that book can be taken back from you. The fact that its unlikely to happen is not relevant to the discussion. Amazon did better than you'd get if you bought stolen goods -- they refunded the money. If you bought virtually any other stolen item, you'd be out the item and your money.
Something else that isn't relevant are comparisons to stolen goods.
These people did NOT buy stolen goods. It would be a stretch to even call them counterfeit goods.
Re:To beat Kindle you need better policy (Score:3, Informative)
Are you sure? Wikipedia disagrees [wikipedia.org]:
Re:Meh (Score:3, Informative)
Do people actually do this? Do folks actually read in the bathtub?
Don't the pages get all weird from the humidity? What if you drop your book in the water? Don't your wet hands mess up the pages?
Short answer: yes people do.
There are obstacles of course, but once you're settled down there are few things as relaxing.
I'm sure everyone has their own routines. One way is to lower oneself into the bath while holding the book, without getting either hand wet. Another is to put the book on a reachable dry surface, then get into the bath, then towel your hands dry, and get the book.
When it's time to stop reading and start washing, toss the book onto a dry surface. I've never found that the temporary humidity did lasting damage to a book. Dropping one in is obviously disastrous.
Best only read light paperbacks or magazines in the bath.
Re:Don't Need a Kindle Killer, Exactly (Score:3, Informative)
Don't forget rounding to a 'round number,' because even if costs plus 20% markup adds up to $242, that isn't going to be the price, they're either going to go with $250 to be competitive (don't want to be seen as cheap) or $225 or $240.
All of that comes down to a self and market study generated number that indicates value. Depending on how the product will be seen compared to the top (most visible) competitor, they can go for 4 images. They can go for cheapest that fills the most basic need, similar utility at a cheaper price, similar utility at the same price, or higher utility at a premium price. Then, based on what the executives and marketers decide is the best price for both immediate and long term market positioning, a price is picked. Pricing is a mix of science and art, and some get it right, and some get it wrong.
Re:Don't Need a Kindle Killer, Exactly (Score:4, Informative)
From what I've read of the Nook, the situation is EXACTLY like it was in the earlier days of the MP3 player, and particularly the iPod.
You can read any ePub book on the Nook... as long as it's not DRMed... just like the iPod and every other MP3 plays unDRMed MP3 files. It also supports PDB and PDF, after a fashion (fully page PDF is generally unreadable on today's relatively low-rez eBook readers). But it also reads DRMed ePub or PRC.
For reference, the very first iPods played non-DRMed MP3s... that was never the problem. They also played non-DRMed AAC.
The problem was that most of the commercially available content was only on AAC files protected with Apple's proprietary DRM. Which is also just the situation today in eBooks. The thing about ePub... it lets any old DRM live inside it. There's a more or less standard DRM from Adobe, and supposedly, the Nook support this... this is also the one used in Sony readers (along with Sony's own proprietary format). But there's also the proprietary B&N DRM, which is based on the Adobe DRM but different in some ways, supposedly. The big problem is that B&N content will presumably only be released in this proprietary format... so it's only readable on the Nook (and whatever PC or PDA based readers B&N decides to release). And some other eBook readers that have content agreements with B&N.
This is similar to what Amazon did with the Kindle. Their AZW format is a customized version of the Mobipocket file format. The Kindle can read AZW, or unprotected Mobipocket books (MOBI, PRC). Oh yeah, and plain old text files. Thus, while you can read a number of free books, anything commerically available is going to be Kindle only right now, in both directions.
Re:Killer (Score:5, Informative)
I'm going to kill my mod points for this discussion to say emphatically that this comment is NOT INSIGHTFUL, and borders on being deceitful. I hate to cite Wikipedia as a source, but look here [wikipedia.org] for the reasons to recycle paper, even if you believe you're doing the environment some good by landfilling your paper refuse:
I'm not even going to bother going into how juvenile it is to assume that throwing a piece of paper in the trash==composting it (or that the other organic bits like banana peels and carrot tops don't do a much better and faster job of it than paper would).
Re:To beat Kindle you need better policy (Score:3, Informative)
And yet they did not issue a firmware update that would remove the easily abused feature.
The fault is the law, not Amazon. The copyright status of this book is confusing enough that an honest mistake was made by a publisher that sold an unlicensed book on Amazon. The extreme penalties associated with this mistake could have killed off the whole kindle product line with a massive judgment.
Patching this "feature" out would be pointless at this point, because it can always be patched back in if they ever want to recall again. The customers were rightfully upset so Amazon had to make a policy. They say they will recall a book for:
1. Fraud(book was never purchased)
2. Malware (book causes system problems)
3. Customer asks for a refund
4. Legal judgment (which means they jumped the gun for 1984)
Any future court case on any future e-reader the publisher will request a remote wipe. Not having the feature would not prevent a judge from ordering it. Judges have made odd computer demands without concern for ability before. Such as a judge ordering the contents of RAM for discovery:
http://ralphlosey.wordpress.com/2007/09/02/judge-affirms-magistrates-decision-in-the-ram-memory-case-no-minimum-storage-time-for-electronic-information-before-it-is-discoverable/ [wordpress.com]
I think Amazon's response was awesome. They acted promptly, kept their customers informed, refunded then ultimately restored without loss of personal annotations and publicly responded to criticism.
If this was Microsoft, opening the book would suddenly start giving generic error messages without any explanation. After a lot of support runaround you'd finally get an explanation. With further customer service complaints you'd be given store credit but each CSR would give varying amounts to customers. Annotations would be permanently lost.