Barnes & Noble’s Nook: More Than the Basics

DON’T WRITE OFF Barnes
& Noble’s Nook (bn.com) as
just another e-reader. @is is
no thoughtlessly slappedtogether
oEering—it’s the
bookseller’s attempt to capitalize
on all the mistakes it
believes Amazon has made
with the Kindle, in the form
of a better product at the
exact same price.
In the Nook, all of the
things you’d expect—Wi-Fi,
an online bookstore, the
ability to mark notes—are
paired with unusual features,
such as a touchscreen, a color
navigation display, and a way
to lend e-books to friends.
Its $259 price is important
at a time when e-readers are
trying to break into the
mainstream. @ough Amazon
popularized e-readers,
rivals such as iRex, Plastic
Logic, and Sony are trying
to muscle in. Sony oEers
three diEerent models, with
progressively better features
and larger screens. @e other
two companies are vying for
customers with deep pockets,
oEering a magazine-style
experience on screens the
size of computer paper.
In contrast, the Nook is
geared toward the average
user. It isn’t a high-priced
business tool, and it isn’t
feature-deXcient, either. But
it does give the e-reader
market a kick in the pants.
Here are just a few of its
most intriguing features।
Big Battery, Decent Storage
BARNES & NOBLE claims that the Nook lasts ten days on a charge.
It’s not clear how the company arrived at that calculation and whether
Wi-Fi was on for the duration, but it’s safe to say that you could
take this device on a long flight. As for storage, the Nook’s 2GB can
carry up 1500 e-books, same as the Kindle.
Powering the Nook is Android 1.5. Users can stop reading on the
device and then resume on select BlackBerry and Motorola phones
with a free Barnes & Noble e-reader application. I also like the ability
to load photos onto the Nook to serve as screensavers.
Touchscreen Navigation
NOT ALL OF the Nook’s screen
is touchable. The top portion is
a regular E-Ink display, but the
bottom part is like the touchscreen
of a smartphone, allowing
you to navigate menus and
giving you a virtual keyboard for
typing in your notes.
By including a color touchscreen,
the Nook stands out
next to the bland gray hues of
other e-readers. When you
browse through your library,
the e-books scroll by in a way
reminiscent of the iPod’s Cover
Flow feature. The Nook also
works as an MP3 player.
The Form
THE NOOK MEASURES 7.7 by
4.9 by 0.5 inches, giving it similar
dimensions to the Kindle
(Amazon’s product is a little
taller and wider, but slightly
thinner). The actual screen real
estate, however, is the same 6
inches after you account for the
navigation touchscreen.
Accessorize!
IT’S NOT UNHEARD of to throw a
cover on an e-reader to make it more
book-like, but the Nook is getting
fancy with contributions from Kate
Spade New York, Jack Spade, Tahari,
and Jonathan Adler (pictured). With
Nook in hand, you just might become
part of the newest fashion trend.