The Nook WiFi Review
| Contents The Nook Wifi Overview Positives Negatives Bottom Line Nook Wifi Review The Nook Review Nook 3G ReviewNook Color |
If you've been waiting for a $150 eReader, have a look at Barnes & Noble's new device. It's only $149 and has almost as much great stuff as the original dual-screen Nook eReader. The ereader offers book sharing, library book sharing and lending, superb readability, free access to WiFi while inside B&N stores, in-store browsing, web surfing, and dozens more features.
Nook WIFI is a good device for people on the go; even though, it does not offer 3G. It gives you a lot of freedom and flexibility. With this ultra lightweight eReader, you can connect via any AT&T WiFi Hotspot nationwide at no charge.
The first generation Nook and the Nook Wifi share the same feature set. It has a unique dual screen design. The 6" eInk screen is great for reading, while the 3.5" color touch pad navigates the library. It is compact in size measuring 7.7” x 4.9” x 0.5". With 2GB of storage, it can easily accommodate as many as 1500 eBooks or 26 hours of audio.
Here are the peripherals: a headphone jack so you can listen to music, a USB port to side-load content, a microSD slot to allow you to bring along extra books. Many different formats are supported, including BMP, ePub, MP3, PDF and PNG. With the wireless shut down, you can read for approximately 10 days without recharging.
Positives
Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity (no PC required); color touch-screen keypad
for navigation, plus a virtual keyboard for notes and annotations; 2GB
of internal memory (capable of storing 1,500 electronic books) and a
microSD expansion slot for additional memory; adjustable font style and
size; displays image files and plays MP3 music files; compatible with
Windows and Mac machines; battery can be removed and replaced by the
user; permits free browsing of full-text books while within Barnes
& Noble stores; it is possible to lend certain e-books for up
to 14
days free of charge; EPUB format compatibility allows you read free
Google Books and loaner e-books from your local library; page turn
speeds are faster with firmware upgrade.
Negatives
On the downside, there's no protective carrying case provided.
Additionally, the battery life is shorter due to the color LCD. There
are some pretty harsh limits on in-store reading and loaning
capabilities. You can't download books if you aren't in the US. The
device doesn't support TXT or Word files.
Bottom Line
There have been two different configurations available by the Nook Wifi
since this summer. Priced at $199, the unit we tested provides 3G as
well as Wi-Fi connectivity. A version that costs $149 trades in 3G for
a basic WiFi network. Aside from this, the devices are exactly the
same.
It seems a few months can make a huge difference. We have changed our opinion of the Nook from "no, thanks" to "I sure would like to have one". Although we have no major complaints, there are a few features we would like to see, like a 'go to page number' capability. People who enjoy reading periodicals will like the Barnes & Noble Nook. It is very easy to use and lots of fun. It uses an eInk display, which is a very user-friendly choice.
The Nook doesn't do 8.5 x 11 PDF files well, and it really isn't good for note-taking, so it's not really good for business use, but it's still just fine for pleasure. What makes the the Nook Wifi so great? Here are the services it works with: Sony Reader Books, Google Free Books, Hello Library Books, and several others. While on par with Kindle, the shopping feature is less affected by DRM as you will be able to loan books. The newly added web-browser isn't as fast as iPad or smartphones, but it's still nice.
The Nook
WiFi Review
The Nook combines the fantastic online book buying experience,
selection, and price of Amazon's Kindle
with the support for ePub you
find with Sony Reader. You will also enjoy a hint of touch. I think
this is a winning combination.
When it comes to design, we greatly favor Nook's dual-display concept. Nook's standard 6-inch E-Ink screen over a 3.5 x 1-inch LCD makes for a more robust feature set. There is a white plastic 1/2" besel around the 2 displays. It is smooth and thick with a couple of slightly matte areas where you will find the Next/Previous page turn buttons.
The power/sleep button on top of the Nook Wifi is the only other button found on the device. You can use the N found in the middle of the displays as a tool to get back to the home page. Two little speakers stand to either side of the headphone jack and miniUSB port at the bottom. The Nook doesn't slide around on smooth surfaces because its back is a bit rubbery!
The Nook Wifi is sleek and slim, measuring At 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches. Kindle 3G is a little smaller at 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.34 inches. Weighing in at 12.1 ounces, it's significantly heavier than the 8.7 ounce Kindle. Nonetheless, I didn't get wrist fatigue, even after hours of reading.
Nook is essentially the same as it was when it was first released; however, it has experienced some cosmetic changes. This largely follows the Android OS from Google with major modifications. There are 9 icons on the home screen: Settings, Web, Audio, Wi-Fi, Games, Reading Now, Shop, My Library, and The Daily. When this was added, functions that used to take a couple of taps to activate could be activated with just one tap. We definitely like this, especially Reading Now and using the Wi-Fi control features.
Although, we feel the Nook's controlling features could be more intuitive. Moving the cursor to make choices on the electronic paper display and utilizing the LCD touch buttons takes a little getting used to. We couldn't help but look at the LCD when we wanted to be seeing our options on the EPD.
Generally, performance is a lot better and the Nook's interface is discernibly speedier. However, there is one thing that could be quicker: the on-screen keyboard. Though our keystrokes were being recorded, they didn't appear on the screen right away.
The most recent update to the Nook Wifi includes some features that were first released on the Nook Color. Users can organize books into groupings called Shelves when they are in the Library. With Nook, though, the Shelves don't appear by themselves onscreen. Instead, they appear as groupings inside the greater Library list. Users can store both B&N titles and files found in My Documents, but you won't see them in the same place, even though they were put on the same shelf.
This update, unfortunately, lacks any features for social networking. Given the sluggishness of the keyboard and the less-than-optimal notes and highlighting interface, we feel that the majority of Nook users wouldn't have used it much, anyway.
The Nook's 6-inch E Ink Vizplex screen lacks the high contrast found on the Kindle 3, but you can easily do your reading inside and outside without any annoying glare or reflections. It's great that the Next/Last Page buttons can be found on either side of the screen so positioning is easier than it was last time we reviewed this product. Even though we got used to it quickly, we prefer the buttons to fall under one of our thumbs.
You can swipe across the LCD screen to execute page turns; however, this is not as intuitive as it is on some other eReaders such as Nook Color and Sony Reader Touch Edition. The pages won't turn unless the user swipes a part of the screen from one quarter of the way across to one half the way across. Nothing happens when you swipe slowly going from the left side to the right side.
Page turns are a lot quicker than they were in Nook's original shipment, and are even faster than previous software updates. It takes less than a second to turn pages with Nook. This is a lot better than the 2 seconds it used to take and puts it even with Kindle 3G.
There are three font options available for books and five sizes for text, extra small through extra large. The medium size had a good balance of lines on the page and size. We would have liked more font choices and/or more text adjustment options, like margin and spacing control between letters and lines to have been included in the latest version. It's always good to have plenty of user control; however, Nook's default settings are pretty good.
Ecosystem, software and content: There are now over two million free, public domain titles in the B&N catalog. You can get most titles for under $10. This store has 194 out of the 205 top selling items according to the New York Times. Along with a vast selection of eBooks, it also offers over a hundred magazines and newspapers. You will get a 2-week trial subscription with any periodical.
Adobe DRM software is used for reading ePub files. While it is possible to load books from some other eBookstores (e.g. Google eBooks), these books will not sync the same way books you buy from Barnes & Noble will. Books that public library systems loan through ePub will be available for you to read. It also supports both PDF files and PDB format for ebooks. We would like it to support DOC and TXT files like the Kindle, though.
Barnes & Noble LENDME is an excellent service that you can use to loan a book to a friend for as long as 2 weeks. Books under loan can be read with any device that possesses the Nook software or app--provided you have a free B&N account. The loaned book must be accepted within seven days or it will be reverted back to the original purchaser. There are a few disadvantages to Lendme. Fourteen days does not feel like enough time. Also, you are only able to loan each book to one other person.
Media & Surfing the Internet: On a previous update, Barnes & Noble added simple web browsing to the Nook Wifi. The LCD and E-Ink screens both display web pages, though there is more of the page visible on the top. The touch screen can be used to navigate, tap links, scroll a page or enter URLs.
Any time we would scroll away from the visible area or go to a different page, there would be a short lag in the E-Ink display. It isn't the best, but it's alright if you just want to find something on Wikipedia or Google. However, we found the slow speed of the keyboard annoying.
There are also updates to the Games area, with both Chess and Sudoku being added this year. In spite of most of the action happening on the small screen, these two games are a lot more fun than we expected. Both of these are pretty basic but have great designs.
We also liked the way music sounded on the Nook Wifi. It has good, loud volume from built in speakers or from headphones, and you can listen while reading.
In terms of connectivity, Nook uses AT&T's 3G network by default for internet connection, as well as for connection with the online store; however, it has 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, too. One way this is useful is that it lets users network while inside a Barnes and Noble to use the Read In-Store and More In-Store features. AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots are available for the Nook Wifi at no extra charge.
Until the first update was released, Nook's 3G connection wasn't any better than the interface. Downloading Palimpsest, which is 2.4MB required 4 minutes. The Authorized King James Version of The Holy Bible, which is 2.5MB required 6 minutes and 29 seconds.
The Google Books copy of Ulysses by James Joyce, which is 286KB required 57 seconds. There was a major increase in speed once the update was downloaded. It only took 58 seconds (344.8Kbps) to download the Holy Bible English Standard Version (2.5MB). This is similar to Kindle 3G's score of 336.8Kbps on 3G.
Where To Buy The Nook
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Barnes
and Noble NOOK eBook Reader (WiFi only) [ Black & White ]  |
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