e-reader - Nook Color

fenris

Deciding between a kindle and sony 650 was difficult enough, I was tending towards the sony for the card support, touch screen and lack of amazon remote deletion. Matters became more complicated when the new Nook Color was announced.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/index.asp

Didn't think too much about it at first as I was of the "not e-ink, not an e-reader" frame of mind and the fact that battery life was short. However the more I though about what I want rather than the current tech trends, the more the nook sounded like the answer.

+ Touch screen (at the moment I read on my iphone so touchscreen is perfect)
+ colour screen
+ memory card support
+ wifi
+ PDF handling
+ EPUB
+ LCD screen, wasn't sure about this at first but it does away with the need for a separate book light and I have no problem looking at LCD's for extended periods
- battery life, 8 hours, not great but I do charge the rest of my stuff every night or so.

The fact that it runs android is neutral for the moment, will be a positive when it gets jailbroken. The primary function will be as an ereader not as a tablet even though it can do video and audio and some applications. The screen resolution (1024*600) is better than most of the tablet/slate type devices available at that price point (€249).

Any opinions?

Dortilolma

It's funny, for some time it has seemed that the Kindle was pretty much the only game in town - even though it wasn't really available in Ireland.

I've been doing some research into this and have to say I'm beginning to be pretty taken with the the Sony 650. Though the price is what would put me off the most. I wouldn't want to be spending much more than €150 on an ereader.

I didn't realise that the Nook was available in Ireland. I'm still leaning towards Sony 650, but it's an interesting possibility. Where would it be avaialable?

wildefalcon

Whatever e-reader I end up buying HAS to have a back light, how can I read in the dark, otherwise?

After that high resolution, and the ability to read a format that I can translate into is a must.

Battery life isn't too much of an issue - I'm not planning on travelling the world soon.

In fact having a shorter life may be better as then I'll be able to get work done!!

fenris

A friend picked one up for me in the US when he was over there.

It is a very nice piece of kit, the B&N store does not work for ebooks in Ireland but that is more than balanced by the fact that a 5 minute almost fully automatic jailbreak means that you can load up whatever android app you like including the Kindle app.

I have no problem viewing my Kindle books and I just use Calibre for the rest.

Battery life has not been an issue to date, I just plug it in every couple of days. Browsing the web or watching video will use the battery up more quickly as it to be expected.

Handbrake using the apple universal setting is grand for converting video.

ACV is a good freebie comic viewer that works very well for graphic novels and PDF viewing is good as the screen resolution is quite high (1024 * 600 I think)
No problems with eyestrain, even at night and the touch screen make page turning very comfortable.

Size wise it fits very nicely into a suit jacket inner pocket and does not stand out, sometimes people look a bit confused when you pull it out in a cafe as it looks too big to have fit in a pocket!

I am a very happy customer, but to get the most out of the Nook Color you really should jailbreak/root it, the process seems to get easier every few weeks!

DarraghOSull

fenris, or anyone else who knows!
Looking at Nook Colour vs Kindle 3. Want it for reading - a lot of colour pdfs (textbooks etc) - and some browsing (no interest in a smartphone). So:

How is the Nook Colour for browsing in Ireland? Am I right there's no 3g?

What limitations are there for use in Ireland (if imported from USA)? What about charger/voltage problems?

Other pros/cons? Would you still recommend it?

Thanks.

fenris

The Nook Color is wifi only so no 3G, but my android phone can act as a hotspot so no worries there.

The screen is fantastic, perfect for colour PDF's etc.

You will be better off rooting it as soon as you get it, the process is practically automated at this stage, just make sure that you have an external SD card installed as most rooting processes need it.
I tend to bounce between Phiremod and Cyanogen with the occassional foray into MIUI. ROM Manager is a great app and worth it's weight in gold as you can just let it off when you want to try a new ROM and come back a while later and it is done.

B&N store will not work in Ireland so don't even bother trying.

I use FBreader, Aldiko, Cool reader - whatever else catches my fancy for reading ebooks, but mostly come back to FBreader and Cool Reader.

Power is not an issue as the charger is dual voltage and all you need is a 2 to 3 pin converter, the cable is the important bit as it has some extra pins to allow for faster charging, this also works from a standard USB charger.
You can charge from a standard cable but it is much slower.

DarraghOSull

Thanks fenris,

So sounds like it's a good option. Where, then, can you get books etc from? Or is it easier to ask where you can't? Without B&N or Amazon store available, is there still a big selection out there? New to all this!
I know nothing about rooting. Is that essentially turning it into a tablet?? Pardon my ignorance. Sounds like it doesn't take much technical know-how anyway?
What are FBreader etc? Never heard of them...
Thanks again, appreciate it. Just weighing up getting a Kindle 3 easily or getting a Nook sent over.

Ajen2012

Just got a Nook simple touch, was delighted and excited to use it but can't register payment method to buy off the store, I bought it in Argos so wondering why dey would sell in ireland if it doesn't work. Anyone have any idea r solutions to using dis in Ireland cause I can't figure it out

Ajen2012

fenris wrote: »

A friend picked one up for me in the US when he was over there.

It is a very nice piece of kit, the B&N store does not work for ebooks in Ireland but that is more than balanced by the fact that a 5 minute almost fully automatic jailbreak means that you can load up whatever android app you like including the Kindle app.

I have no problem viewing my Kindle books and I just use Calibre for the rest.

Battery life has not been an issue to date, I just plug it in every couple of days. Browsing the web or watching video will use the battery up more quickly as it to be expected.

Handbrake using the apple universal setting is grand for converting video.

ACV is a good freebie comic viewer that works very well for graphic novels and PDF viewing is good as the screen resolution is quite high (1024 * 600 I think)
No problems with eyestrain, even at night and the touch screen make page turning very comfortable.

Size wise it fits very nicely into a suit jacket inner pocket and does not stand out, sometimes people look a bit confused when you pull it out in a cafe as it looks too big to have fit in a pocket!

I am a very happy customer, but to get the most out of the Nook Color you really should jailbreak/root it, the process seems to get easier every few weeks!

Just bought nook in Ireland but can't use the bloody thing at all, does it not work here without jail breaking, it won't take payment details without uk/us address. Is it worth jail breaking and how do I go about doing that?? R will I just bring it back
Help.....please

dancingqueen

Thread revival - just purchased a Nook for a seriously cheap price on Littlewoods website - do they still have to be rooted and how the heck am I gonna do that?