nook

OK.

Maybe you saw how sad I was over the bike. I decided that a little bit of retail therapy was in order. So I decided to combine this retail therapy with my love for gadgets and being green.

I read.A lot.

I can read a paperback cover to cover over the course of a domestic flight. Yes, I have done this. So I figured that I would look into e-readers.

Why not?

The idea of 1500 books in a form factor that is similar to a book is appealing. But few current offerings have some of the things that I am looking for.

Browser?

Spring Design's Alex or the ipad would both have browsers. While the ipad is beautiful, and the e-reader animation is stunning, the glare and backlighting don't do it for me. If it could truly replace my laptop, I might reconsider. And I'm generally a Windows kind of guy, so for me to say that is a credit to the ipad. But it can't replace my laptop, so scratch getting an ipad for now (maybe in the 2nd or 3rd generation).

So that leaves me with an e-reader.

Kindle? Nah. I've seen them, and they seem good, but I'm looking for a little bit more.

Spring Design Alex? Sounds great on paper with a robust browser, a decent form factor, with a secondary color screen on the bottom half. It's a shame that there was such a tough time getting one. With delayed delivery dates and the ordering site pulling aHoudini move, I really felt that it narrowed my choices to two.

Sony and Nook.

I had a chance to play with the Sony. It's not bad, it's just not for me.

Enter the nook. Browser? Check (to be fair, it's a beta and needs some work). A secondary touch screen? Check (yes it's small - the Alex' screen is much bigger). Open source OS? Double check!

I like the fact that the nook runs Android. It leaves a lot of room for growth, whether it's games or an app store. Adding google's touch based search feature (when development is done) would be nice. Hint Hint. The nook also supported more formats, at least at the time I did my research. *Update* - all tied up on this front.

I find the form factor a little bit more elegant on the nook. I didn't like the keyboard on the Kindle. However, as a Pre owner, it was a form factor that I was comfortable with. And the touchscreen keyboard on the nook is easy for me to fat-finger with my sausage like hands. With a little bit of practice, I was able to enter my WPA passkey with no problems.
While we are talking about passkeys, I was unable to connect to the wi-fi hotspot on the train. I know that this requires some combination of using the browser and UI, but I just haven't mastered it yet. *Update* - I managed to connect on the train, however I am now unable to connect in the hotel lobby. B&N needs to work on that for the next release.

Speaking of the UI, it definitely takes some getting used to. I think that it makes sense, but then again, I think putting olive oil and sea salt on ice cream makes sense. The UI certainly isn't intuitive. Then again, I am by no means a UI design expert.

Once getting wi-fi up and initially connecting to my laptop, I was able to sync my adobe digital editions library with the nook straight away. I was also able to go to my public library website and pull down a few e-books and audio books to take for my trip this week. The audio books required the Overdrive Media console.

I've already ripped through the first book that I downloaded last night. reading on the e-ink display is eerily reminiscent of paperbacks. And swiping across the bottom screen turns the page. No, it's not like reading a real book. Nor is it as beautiful as the page turning animation of the ipad. A lot has been made of the sluggish performance of the nook. I installed the update for 1.3, and most issues seem to be resolved. Plus they added sodoku. Here's a link to all of the things included in release 1.3.

Given the wi-fi connectivity, free 3G, and performance improvements, I'll give the nook a B+/A-. Room for improvement, but a very solid offering.