I bought a Nook and regret it. The B&N website has the worst search function I've seen on such a site. I've had nothing but issues with simply downloading books I've purchased to the extent I've had to wait upwards of two weeks to download a book I paid for. Almost reversed the charge with my CC company that time and since then have not purchased another title for the thing.

The device itself is nice and comfortable to hold with no physical keyboard to accidentally hit which is the reason I chose it over the Kindle. The e-ink display is far superior for reading than the new Nook's backlit display. However, knowing what I know now about both devices I would definitely choose the Kindle over the Nook. I'll probably be eventually selling my Nook on Craigslist for less than what even Woot is offering. :P

Is nobody bothered by the puny screen size of 3.5"?

I thought woot was acquired by Amazon... why are they selling a nook?

For anyone wondering...

Though the Kindle doesn't read .epub files, you can convert said files to .mobi or any other readable format using Calibre (very easy to use program), thus you CAN read ebooks acquired elsewhere than Amazon on the Kindle.

This was what turned me towards the Kindle over the Nook.

LMFAO, these were just on SlickDeals talking about B&N's ebay sale for $79 with free shipping.

I'd say spend the extra $30 or so and get a Kindle3. My sister did and loves it!

My girlfriend has one of these and carries it with her wherever she goes. It's a great e-reader. She's not jealous of my Nook Color (rooted) at all. I need to sleep on this because I may pick one up specifically for reading.

erospack wrote:Sorry in laman's terms what is the difference between to wifi version and the 3g? Do I have to pay for the internet usuage through AT&T (I think someone mentioned) if so how much and could I just use my own internet if I wanted if I do have to pay?

No, you don't have to pay for 3g access but it's limited to ordering books through B&N (and a few other sites like Wikipedia). Don't expect to use Skype or websurf. The Wifi version requires that you be near a Wifi source whereas 3g is available anywhere cellphone service is available. I personally have never had such an urgent need to buy a book that I couldn't wait until I get home. But if you plan to spend a lot of your time reading on a yacht or on the beach, I suppose 3g can be helpful.

EDIT: I could be wrong about the 3g access. According to the description, you may be able to browse the entire Internet (with limited features, i.e. no Flash):

"Explore the Web using NOOK’s basic web browser, check email, send a note, or do a quick Google® search using the virtual keyboard on the color touch navigation panel"

I heard that you can use the 3g to browse wikipedia, is this correct or am I totally wrong?

I got mine a few weeks ago from a *different* daily sale site (ahem!) for the same price.

I LOVE IT. Uncategorically. There is nothing I don't love about it. I thought long and hard and weighed Nook vs. Kindle for months and months. The thing that won it for me was the Nook's ability to handle ePub books - allows me to get books from the library. I love the touch screen. I love the structure of the back (swells a bit on either side, which gives a very comfortable hand hold.

3G worked from the moment I first turned it on. I have never had to register with AT&T. It just works. Connection to my WiFi at home was flawless. The eInk is so crisp and slick and my eyes never get tired reading it.

In my opinion, the BEST e-reader out there.

bvbooks wrote:Yes, it renders PDFs well. I like mine a bunch. E-ink is the way to go.

While I agree with your second statement (I love reading with e-ink), I'm not sure I can agree with you on the PDF comment.

If the PDF has multi-column text, or any other kind of non-trivial formatting, you have to view it at the most zoomed-out level, which often leaves the text too small to read. This is because the Nook's method of zooming is to reflow the text in a larger font.

The Nook Color doesn't have that problem: it renders the PDF exactly as it would show up on your computer, and can zoom to arbitrary levels.

E-ink freaking rules. I love making my own custom screen savers (which of course are "on" even when the Nook is off.

HandsomeRuss wrote:For anyone wondering...

Though the Kindle doesn't read .epub files, you can convert said files to .mobi or any other readable format using Calibre (very easy to use program), thus you CAN read ebooks acquired elsewhere than Amazon on the Kindle.

This was what turned me towards the Kindle over the Nook.

Thank you for this info. My birthday's coming up Saturday and my plan was to get a pre-ordered $115 Kindle (Don't care about the ads, they don't interrupt reading and reading is how I'll spend the majority of my time on the device) and then this had to pop up on Woot throwing the entire plan into disarray.

To compound the matter, I see people talking about file formats and things and I'd hate to be on the wrong end of a file format war (ATRAC, anyone?).

This puts my mind at ease and I believe I'll simply wait for the Kindle.

I have the Nook color and absolutely love it. I like that it is backlit as I can take it to bed and use it without any additional lighting. I fall asleep reading and it turns off. I can get online too but never use it for that at home. We have WiFi at work and I have used it there to check ebay, etc. B&N has alot of free books. For people with little kids, it now has cute read aloud color books.

liu208 wrote:Is nobody bothered by the puny screen size of 3.5"?

That's the size of the little color touchscreen at the bottom. The e-ink reading screen is, I think, 6 or 7 inches - about the size of a standard paperback.

I just want to toss in some support for this thing. It is great. I travel all the time for work, and I wouldn't know what to do without it now.

e-Ink > Color for reading, in a big way.

Battery life is awesome.

I never use the Wi-Fi or 3G, web surfing with it is a pain.

I haven't seen many comments on music. I have an 8GB card in it full of tunes, and it doesn't drain the battery very bad at all. You can listen and read easily, although it is no iPod.

Really, at this price just buy it if you like to read, you will not be sorry.

chaley0803 wrote:Anyone know if a rooted NOOK COLOR can have apps installed on it? Angry Birds!

Yes. That's the joy of rooting. But, on the flip side, rumor is that BN is coming out with their own app store soon.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20046909-1.html

Just to head it off at the pass, yes this works with a Mac: http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/The-Old-eBooks-Help-Board/Connecting-nook-to-a-Mac/td-p/437413

Or you can just connect it to any computer and drag your ePub files over. Too bad it doesn't seem to let you sort your library when you do that though.

I'm in for 1.

peachegg wrote:I bought a Nook and regret it. The B&N website has the worst search function I've seen on such a site. I've had nothing but issues with simply downloading books I've purchased to the extent I've had to wait upwards of two weeks to download a book I paid for. Almost reversed the charge with my CC company that time and since then have not purchased another title for the thing.

The device itself is nice and comfortable to hold with no physical keyboard to accidentally hit which is the reason I chose it over the Kindle. The e-ink display is far superior for reading than the new Nook's backlit display. However, knowing what I know now about both devices I would definitely choose the Kindle over the Nook. I'll probably be eventually selling my Nook on Craigslist for less than what even Woot is offering. :P

Hmmm, how much will you want for it?

ikeray wrote:@for the people talking about the library epub

if your library participates in overdrive (most do, but have small-ish collections), you visit the website, put books in your cart (like online shopping), click to download. they get transferred to the Adobe reader and from there you can transfer them to your nook via USB cable. they automatically expire after two weeks. if you have cards for different library systems, you can use all of them.

the nook is the best thing to happen to reading since the gutenberg press. it sucks for anything else though. your internet or gaming experience will be better on your computer/phone/digital watch/tamagotchi.

some other thoughts:
- you can buy books from any seller supporting epub
- you can convert books from other formats (like pdf) to epub using the open source calibre software and load them via usb
- internet access is only needed when actually downloading or purchasing books from the device itself (which you can also do via wifi), so 3G is basically just a drain on battery life unless you're planning to shop for new books while on an epic train or boat voyage. you can turn off 3G/Wifi very easily (two clicks), though they call it "airplane mode."
- memory is expandable to more books than you could read in a lifetime.
- i don't know what that battery life guy was talking about, charging the thing takes around an hour or so; so again, this is only an issue on an epic boat journey. i read whenever i have free time and charge it maybe once a week. you can also use it while plugged in.
- subscriptions are kind of a racket, in that they cost more than print versions.
- likewise, if you're new to ebooks, lending is kind of a nonfunctional gimmick, and ebooks are typically priced on track with paperbacks- used print books will always be a better deal (personally, i think the convenience, access to thousands of free public domain classics, PDF functionality, and savings on bookshelves make it more than worth it).
- as of the last firmware update, page turns are faster on the nook than a physical book. also it will automatically sleep to conserve battery life if you just put it down without turning it off.
- you can turn the pages by moving your finger across the lower touch screen when it is not lit up, mimicking the turn of a physical page. this is AWESOME and a huge sales point over other ereaders for me.
- I can honestly say this gadget, unlike most of the many I own, has significantly impacted my life for the better. It's not about stats or buttons or 3g or whatever, the reviews always focus on that nonsense- it's about being able to have a pleasurable reading experience anywhere that feels "unplugged" but is cheaper, more pleasant, and offers a panoply of choices over the traditional approach.
- Also you can read books you're a little embarrassed about having without other people seeing the covers. Interestingly most of the top sellers at BN are romance novels. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but personally it's nice to sit in a courthouse or meet someone at a firm and, while waiting, catch up on a childhood favorite.

Is this the nook you can hack into an android tablet? If so, I would consider this.

Yet another review...

http://codexmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/06/why-i-returned-nook.html

Still...very tempting at this price.

I'm an average reader who until recently didn't think to look much into e-readers, but now, with the new Kindle+ads for $114 and this nook, I'm a seriously considering it. Should I spend the extra 15 bucks for the kindle? it seems many of you like the nook, I'm just worried it would get phased out or is lacking features compared to the kindle. Any input??

I have had this same one since last August, and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! My husband jokes that I would save it from a burning building before I saved the dogs...he may be right :-)
I have actually only bought one book through B&N, and it was 0.89, so no biggie. I have well over 600 freebie books from B&N alone, along with probably another 100 or so from other sites. I have checked out about 20 e-library books since last September when I got a card to a library that offers it, and haven't typically had a huge wait for anything except for 2 bestsellers that had like 100 people on the waiting list. Most books I've been able to get in 1-3 weeks from putting them on hold.
My battery life tends to be 4-5 days, and I probably read 3-4 hours a day. I do keep it in airplane mode about 99% of the time, only connecting to wifi or 3G to download new books once a week or so. I have such a backlog at this point I will never get through them all.
Anyhow, I would SO recommend this to anyone, even the Amazon overlords, ha ha!

Thanks just bought my first Woot! I've been wanting one of these since I first picked one up late last year and looked it over at B&N. I didn't want Kindle since it is a closed system. I can use this with the library and any books I buy from Borders (which tends to be cheap.)

After just having moved a couple tons of books, I vow to go the e-route from now on!

A heads up to the techies out there: This is not the e-reader you are looking for.

I bought one of these last Black Friday at Best Buy (for $99, incidentally). While it's great for a lot of things, tech manuals and administrator companions aren't amongst them. Since it's not in colour, it's impossible to divine some of what's going on in a lot of the drawings and schematics provided in things like Cisco books. Plus that, when you order a digital copy of a book, you don't get the CD compendum addon with the labs and other assorted things, which negates any value it provides.

A couple of people asked about hacking it: there are several methods for hacking this nook and it is based on Android. At the end of the day the OS lives on a micro-SIM card, so if you are determined and even if every software hack fails, you can always read the SIM card. While there is a hacking community of sorts, I was not very impressed with what the hacks on this device allow you to do, but if that's what you want, it's possible.

We had one of these and I thought it was very readable and worked well. The under interface is a tad clunky, but so long as you don't start expecting it to be a laptop, it's fine. Getting your own material onto the thing is easy with any kind of computer.

OK, tons of posts already but I did want to toss a few comments in myself.

I own this but only in the wi fi only version. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. so much I got one for my wife

I would say have NO FEARS about it being a cerfitfied pre owned. The one I bought my wife was pre owned and it was fully inspected, looked brand new, works great, it really looked and acts brand new IMO.

One thing that has not been mentioned is the TONS of free books B&N has at different times. I am not talking about the older books, but instead free ones B&N offers to maybe get to you read an author or whatever. If you get one visit the bn.com site and find your way over to the nook forums and in the nookbook one there is a huge thread about free books that is very well maintained.

I have been picky about the ones I download and even then I have found about 30 -35 quality books in just the 4-5 months I have had my nook.

FINALLY the library thing is very easy. takes 2-3 weeks at times so sit on a wait list for a book, but goes fast and it is free.

ps- 3g is NOT for web browsing, just downloading books, but for $100 you are buying an ereader, not a tablet anyway

tesla33 wrote:How do you connect via AT&T? Do you need to already have an account with them, or does it just connect through them regardless...?

You'd connect to your Barnes and Noble account automatically. You have no login necessary to use AT&T's network.

alexmg2420 wrote:Oh, wow, this is a hella good deal! Bought mine refurb'd a couple months ago for $120 and I was convinced it wouldn't go any lower than that. I have to say, I love love LOVE it! Just note that there is no web browsing over 3G, it's for book-purchasing only. However, it's still a fantastic eBook reader and is definitely worth owning.

Barnes & Nobles sells it (refurbed) on eBay for $99 monthly, with no s/h. The Wifi only version goes for $79.

If you're a reader, once you get an e-reader and read on an e-Ink screen, you never go back to printed books (or LCD for reading).

That being said, the Kindle 3 is a full generation ahead of the Nook Classic. The K3 screen (e-Ink Pearl) is significantly better than that used on the Nook and K2 (side-by-side pics here). The K3 is also smaller, lighter, faster, and the battery lasts much longer. It includes more features, like text-to-speech and web browsing over 3G (although no e-Ink e-reader is great for web surfing).

That being said, $99 is a pretty darn good price, even for a refurb. If you've been looking for an e-reader with 3G, this is a good deal and you'll probably be quite happy. Personally, I'd spend $40 more for a new K3, or find a dirt cheap Kobo at a closing Borders (if you have to have library e-books -- but check to see if your library even offers them).

If you want to read books, this is the device to get. The Nook color is better if you want tablet functionality, but without e-ink reading books isn't as easy on the eyes.

Most of the major libraries will allow you to check out books via your browser. I know the big library in New York has tons and it works great. You can also 'loan' your books to a friend who has a Nook. There's a timer in both cases, think it might be 20 days, and then the book will disappear.

Can't recommend this strongly enough.

skywarrior3 wrote:Oh the irony! An Amazon company sells Nooks. Awesome!

You want some irony? I bought a Nook Color off eBay (from the official B&N store) on sale for $200 using points from my Amazon Visa card. Yessiree, Amazon helped me get a free Nook. I *love* the color one, and all my friends who have the B&W one like that one too. Wonderful toys/tools.

There's some good software out there, too, for converting .pdf files to .epub files, and then you can further edit the .epub files with a sweet little program called Sigil. I used it to convert some old .pdf book files I had from many years ago, and it works well.

Also, .epub is also the standard for most libraries for their ebook lending programs.

Haven't seen anyone ask this, so here goes...what might the effect be on getting books or using the Nook should B&N go out of business? Given that Amazon seems to be the current 900 pound gorilla, would a Kindle, despite any shortcomings, be the safer bet?

DarkLazer wrote:Is this the nook you can hack into an android tablet? If so, I would consider this.

If you wanted to do that, you'd need the NookColor.

jdorritie wrote:
This puts my mind at ease and I believe I'll simply wait for the Kindle.

Just remember.... kindle deleted purchased books from peoples kindles not so long ago.
(1984 and animal farm)

I don't understand why there would be a waiting list for a download.

Why wouldn't it just keep downloading DRM protected files that lock up after two weeks?

Out of curiosity and the need to confirm that I'm making the right decision, I downloaded and installed the aforementioned software "calibre" for converting and organizing ebooks.

I then found a free .epub book to download (The very first one on the very first site, for posterity's sake), and proceeded to convert it to .mobi format.

There was no discernible difference.

I can't speak to whether this kind of conversion would work with .epub files downloaded from a public library's website, whether there's some kind of DRM in there that "calibre" can't handle, but it will convert totally free .epub files.

UPDATE:
I found a handy link to a blog discussing DRM issues with strict disclaimers about not using this for pirating, but for making full use of ebooks that you own. It details the instructions for using "calibre" to remove DRM from e-book files.

http://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/ebooks-formats-drm-and-you-%E2%80%94-a-guide-for-the-perplexed/

clintone wrote:Haven't seen anyone ask this, so here goes...what might the effect be on getting books or using the Nook should B&N go out of business? Given that Amazon seems to be the current 900 pound gorilla, would a Kindle, despite any shortcomings, be the safer bet?

From what I understand, when you buy an ebook from BN, it's yours. You own it. Forever.

HandsomeRuss wrote:For anyone wondering...

Though the Kindle doesn't read .epub files, you can convert said files to .mobi or any other readable format using Calibre (very easy to use program), thus you CAN read ebooks acquired elsewhere than Amazon on the Kindle.

This was what turned me towards the Kindle over the Nook.

Um, so you picked the Kindle because you wanted to convert the files? Makes no sense.

Curses. I just bought the Nook Wifi from Ebay when it was on sale for 80 bucks plus tax. I would have paid the extra ten for the 3g...