Review of Barnes and Noble NOOK ebook reader

UPDATE: 12/27/2009

Some will say that I am "premature" in putting this review out because I should be giving Barnes and Noble the chance to fix their device -- which they diligently appear to be trying to do. However, anyone contemplating the sale of the nook has a right to know how this reader operates NOW unless they are willing to spend 260 on promises of a eReader that does not do some of the simplest tasks (bookmarks) at the time of purchase. As improvements are made, I will continue to update the review.

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I love Barnes and Noble so was very excited to see them enter the ereader market.

Barnes and Noble was hoping that the shiny and colorful package would keep people from realizing that they rushed their reader to market without proper testing.

There have been so many problems with the Nook that they are already on their 3rd firmware update even though the first set of readers were only shipped 2 weeks ago. This, itself, is a problem because such frequent updates can cause additional quality issues -- break broken functionality (for example, bookmarks), and leaves nook owners in the position of having to beta test their 260 dollar reader.

After putting a nook through its paces at my local Barnes and Noble repeatedly (i.e. prior to the firmware updates and after firmware updates), the problems I found were many:

1. SLOOOOW -- page turns were much slower than ANY reader on the market.
2. SLOOOOW -- the navigation using the color LCD touchscreen is so laggy that you keep touching it thinking it hasn't accepted your input.
3. Bookmarks -- being able to save where you left off in the book is seriously flawed and only works a small percentage of the time -- if at all (introduced with the latest version 1.1.1 of the firmware)
4. User Interface -- something that would take you just a few button clicks on a Sony or a Kindle will take you 4-5 on the nook. This wouldn't be such a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that the user interface was so SLOOOOW
5. Battery drain -- the battery will drain after just 3-4 days -- as opposed to 12-14 for a Kindle and even longer for a Sony... and that is with the Wireless turned off and the LCD panel dimmed.
6. Device frequently freezes and needs to be rebooted -- which is a problem when your bookmarks don't work.
7. Frequent firmware upgrades (with inadequate testing) which has the potential to cause further instability (such as the bookmark issue which was just introduced in version 1.1.1) which turns all nook owners into nook volunteer beta testers.

Advantages of the nook:
1. It's great looking -- though I find the LCD portion of the screen basically useless Eye Candy that doesn't add to the overall functionality of the screen.
2. Ability to "lend" a book -- however, this is a severely limited capability which many publishers are fighting and may not be available on many books. You can lend a book to only once to 1 person for 14 days -- but only if the publisher allows it. Like Kindle's text-to-speech "feature", most publishers are insisting that this feature be disabled.
3. Supports SD cards -- a major flaw in the Kindle in my humble opinion -- if for no other reason than it allows you to organize your files.
4. User-replaceable battery -- You'll need this considering the currently battery drain and need to recharge often associated with the current power management scheme. But at least you can have a spare on hand and not have to send it into be done for you -- another disadvantage of the Kindle.

The screen on the nook is very good but it uses the same manufacturer for its eInk screen that Kindle, Sony, Cybook and the rest of the eReader market currently uses so you would expect that to be pretty comparable.

To Barnes and Nobles' credit, they appear to be frantically trying to address many of these issues with firmware updates. The page-turn performance issues have already improved. However, at the pace that firmware updates are being made (at least 2 in one week) -- are you really interested in being a beta tester or do you just want to read books?

While the firmware updates have addressed some of the performance issues. However, I have been back to the Barnes and Noble store (It is one of my favorite haunts!) -- even checked that the firmware update there was present (it was) and still there were issues in terms of reliability, speed, and even ability to download books from within the store.

In fact, version 1.1.1 -- the current version as of this writing -- is actually a step BACKWARDS in terms of critical reading functionality:

1. The nook does not remember the last page that was read. This means every time one re-opens a book to continue reading, you must page forward one page at a time to get to where you left off reading.

2. Bookmarks only last until you open a new book or leave the book you placed the bookmark in. This makes the bookmarks worse than useless.

My review is intended to highlight some issues that buyers of an ebook reader should be aware of if they are considering the nook. Once the issues have been corrected, then I will update my review and increase the star rating.

[NCJAR]

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Product Description:
Sample eBooks for free just about anywhere you are, on us. Browse eBooks, magazines and newspapers on AT&T's 3G Wireless Network or on Wi-Fi. And every Barnes & Noble has free Wi-Fi, so you can connect at lightning-fast speeds.Share favorite eBooks with your friends or family. Most eBooks can be lent for up to 14 days at a time. Just choose the eBook you want to share and send it to your friend's nook  or to any PC or Mac OS® or any iPhoneTM or iPod touch® with the free Barnes & Noble eReader software downloaded on it. *BlackBerry® & other smartphones will be coming in early 2010.With 2GB of memory, nook stores up to 1,500 books, newspapers and magazines. Need even more space? Just add a memory card. An entire library light enough to take with you everywhere, so you'll never be without your favorites. Shop for eBooks from the world's largest bookseller. Browse eBooks, magazines, newspapers on AT&T's 3G Wireless network. And connect to Wi-Fi in the store for lightning fast downloads.

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