Step3 Prophet: New Nook e-reader!

I'm a big fan of moving things over to digital (music, paperwork, business transactions, etc) but up until now I haven't really been satisfied with digital books. I've read a few on the PC, but that was usually because I couldn't get them anywhere else. The advent of the kindle caused me great excitement, since finally a major book distributor was supporting an e-reader, but I felt the device itself was lacking and the price point of $9.99 a tad high since I mostly buy paperbacks.

Fast forward to 2010. I've sold the majority of my paperbacks(for space reasons mostly, plus extra cash is nice), and while I'm always buying more, space has been a big issue since now I travel more as well. Barnes and Noble book sellers has come out with a product that compares favorably to the kindle, and is better in many, probably most, areas.

I ordered my Nook in early January. It was back ordered at the time, so the estimated shipping date was Feb 12th. Thankfully, it shipped sooner than that and I actually received it on the 12th. I would have received it sooner, but they don't ship to FPO AP addresses so I had to go through a trusted agent in the States. The Nook is not supported in anyway shape or form outside the physical United States. I knew this going in, but I am still surprised at the lengths B&N will go to in frustrating people outside the US.

I opened it up and set the Nook to charging. After it was fully charged (it took about an hour), I started the setup. One of the big features that I like is that Nook works with both 3G and wifi. Since I'm not in the U.S. , I can use my local wireless router to transfer files and download books. *I thought I would be able too, but this is incorrect since I can't register my nook. It recognized my wifi network after a short wait, and I was able to enter the WEP key with no problems. It was a little disconcerting entering the 16 digit key because there is a noticeable lag from when you press a button until the Nook responds, and I had to keep switching back and forth between the text and number touch screens. I think B&N recognized the lag and put in a feature where the password block displays the character you just entered before masking it on screen.

After I got some books on the nook, I went to my library.They didn't show up at first, but when I pressed check for new content, it found the 7 new books I had downloaded from my PC.

The good:

The user interface is fairly intuitive, which is good because the manuals that come with it are pretty light. However, you can download a 177 page users guide from the B&N website.
My windows vista PC recognized the nook right away, and the nook realized it was plugged into a PC.
Wall charging adapter included, which makes for faster and more convenient charging.
Easy right and left hand page turn buttons.
Several different power saving modes. Once an image or text is on the main screen, it consumes no power.
Ability to lend books to friends for two weeks at a time.
Easy to replace battery
You can name your device. Hello "The Readinator'
I found a software update on the B&N website. Download and install to my Nook manually was a snap.

Buying and downloading ebooks is extremely quick, once you get around the limitations of the store. (See using the nook outside the US below)

The bad:

Removing the nook for the hard plastic holder was incredibly difficult to do gently. There were actually instructions hidden behind my receipt that must have been late packing addition. Too bad I didn't see them first, although I ended up doing exactly what they said anyway.
I checked out the settings and found that of the "2GB" of storage space, 1.28GB is actually usable.
My first attempts at registering the Nook failed. This may be user error, or it may require 3G.
Prognosis is lack of 3G connectivity. See Using Nook outside the U.S. below
Long boot time and lagging input recognition time. This makes browsing annoying, but should be fine for just reading.
*I figured out that the touch lag is partially because Nook won't complete a touch action until you remove your finger.
Pre-Ordering and Purchasing books with an FPO address is not allowed. Luckily, I also have addresses in the U.S.
Scrolling on the touch screen sucks. The graphic is poorly made, and the touch response poor as well. It's still usable though.
*After reading the manual, I discovered that the scroll bar really is just for show. You can touch anywhere on the screen and scroll, which is why it highlights a selection first. Once you start scrolling the item is deselected.
The Nook is not waterproof, so no reading in the rain. Thank you users guide.
You can only lend an Ebook one time(unaccepted lending offers don't count). That really pisses me off. I can lend a hardcopy book as many times as I went, why not ebooks!
The DRM content stores you credit card number inside each book you buy! It's used to verify your purchases if your nook is unregistered for whatever reason, but this is pretty outrageous to me. I bet the files are not that hard for potential thieves to crack.

The neutral:

I can't locate the external microSD card slot. Not a problem now, but maybe later. Considering the limited number of inputs and out puts, this should be pretty easy...
*After reading the manual, I figured out you have to remove the back cover to get to the SD card slot, the battery, and the sim card see pic below.
B&N already has a software update. Looks like its mostly bug fixes, but hopefully future updates will add more functionality. On the plus side, you can update manually with a PC or over the air with 3G.
The Nook button is not actually a button, so the manual that keeps telling me to push it really should give you warning not to push it. It's a capacitive only sensor.
Dave Barry (the writer/columnist) has his own user guide in "The Daily" section of the nook. Meh. He's done much better work.

Special section on using Nook outside the United States(or how Barnes and Noble makes it really hard for me to give them my money).

You cannot register Nook except with 3G connectivity in the physical United States. Overseas just does not work. You either have to have someone in the States register it for you, or live with it unregistered. I will live with the limitations for another 6 months until I go back home. Being unregistered doesn't really seem to limit the stand alone usage of the device, it just means you can't used the store from your device.
You can't buy ebooks from the store if your IP address is not in the United States. It doesn't matter if your shipping and credit card info are in the US, digital downloads require an US IP address as well. I got around that using a proxy server with an IP address in the US.
I was able to open my DRM purchased content on my nook without it being registered. Thankfully B&N had the foresight to realize there would be situations where you don't have your nook registered 100% of the time. You just have to enter first and last name, and the credit card you used to purchase the book. Entering it one time will unlock all other books on that card as well.

It seems that the back is actually a false back. Getting the cover off the first time was not too difficult with help form the User guide, and safely reattaching it was easy as well with the UG.

Comments

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Interesting to read about the different pros & cons of the Nook. My friend has a Kindle; it would be interesting to get them physically side by side and compare usability.

Posted by: Mel | February 15, 2010 at 02:14 PM