Barnes & Noble Nook discussion
Nook - Your Personal eReader
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Why did you choose the Nook?
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Raggedyann
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Sep 07, 2010 08:39AM
Out of all the ereaders available, why did you choose to buy the Nook? Because of it's design? Price? You like B&N? Lend Me? Another reason?
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Last month, I wrote up a review of the nook detailing the biggest reasons I chose the nook over the Kindle. I'll just copy it here from the site it was originally posted! :]I had the chance to check out both the nook and the Kindle before I bought my e-reader in May of this year. I decided to purchase the nook not only because I like its sleek design, but because I love that I can expand the memory, get quick customer service (take the nook to a B&N store instead of being placed on hold or waiting ages for an e-mail response), replace the battery myself (it doesn't need to be replaced often, but when it does, I want to do it myself and be back to reading within a few hours!), and turn pages by swiping across the touch screen (rather than pressing a button). I couldn't do any of those with the Kindle. There are other features that I don't use often but are still fantastic, like listening to music/audiobooks, and the games - Sudoku and Chess. The internet works well, and though I haven't used it on the Kindle, I feel like it is probably easier to use on the nook because of the touch screen. On top of all that, I feel like B&N is less likely to release a nook2, nook3, nook654543... because the nook runs on Android OS and they release updates rather than making you pay for the newest version. Because of the updates, even if there is a nook2, I doubt it will be so advanced that people regret buying a nook before the nook2 was released.
I compared. I was able to view the Sony ereader at a local Borders store; I thought it looked okay. I actually wanted to go with a Kindle but I saw it at a Target and thought it looked cheaply made, and I didn't like that the keyboard (which I would hardly use) took up half the device. I also didn't like that Amazon has its own ebook format that you couldn't use on other devices. So I went with the Nook because I liked the idea of being able to walk into a store and talk to someone face-to-face if I had a problem. And I thought it looked nicer than the other devices.
After comparing a lot of the ereaders (more than just Sony, Kindle, and nook) it just turned out to be the best device. The design and ease of use is one thing, the upgradeable memory, battery you can change yourself, ability to buy books from anywhere, cusomter support... there were just a lot of things that got me into the device. The memory and battery issue were a HUGE thing for me though. I do not want a device that I have to send in just to change the battery, that's ridiculous and should not be an issue in this day and age.
One feature I really loved on the Nook was the touch screen, the other ereaders did not have it. I usually go to B&N for my book needs and found it convenient that they also marketed an ereader. I loved the sleek design and the ability to add memory if I need it...I knew that I wouldn't have issues dealing with customer service if the need arises, due to my previous experience with them. I went back and forth for a little bit deciding whether I wanted a Kindle or a Nook but I don't regret my final choice. I love my Nook!
Probably because I had a $60 gift certificate from christmas that I could use towards it also I was getting $50 one back. Even though I had around 40 books (free) on my ipod touch on a kindle appt and with a group of online friends I've had for years all had kindles and talked about them alot. I liked the idea of being able to go into a store and buying it and talking f2f with someone in the store on it. There are alot of reasons and I'm still happy with it.
The biggest point for me was I didn't want to get locked into only shopping from Amazon. Not only do I prefer B&N as a company, but I love being able to buy eBooks from other places and use them on my Nook. Also, being able to check eBooks out from the library and read them on my Nook is huge for me.Being able to put in a micro SD card if I ever run out of space was a bit one for me, as well as the ability to swap out the batteries--I think it's pretty bad design on Kindle's part to not have a changeable battery, since those things don't have an infinite life span and will eventually degrade. Also, the fact that so much space on the Kindle is wasted by a virtually useless keyboard was a major turnoff--I prefer the small touchscreen by far, and actually use that to turn pages 95% of the time, rather than the buttons themselves.
There is the issue of sales tax to consider. Amazon doesn't have physical stores, so I don't think they charge sales tax. B&N does have brick & mortar stores, so they have to charge sales tax. It's not much. but it adds up. I do like the touch screen on the Nook and the ability to add memory.
I played with my Nook at the store and it was just so much fun. This was before Amazon had Kindles at Target, and I didn't like the idea of making such a big purchase without trying one out.I love the Nook (especially the color covers), but I'll probably end up purchasing a K3 later in the year as well. Sometimes Amazon has a free book that Nook doesn't have, or a cheaper book, etc. It will be nice to have both ereaders for the flexibility.
... are the random free books and slight price differences enough to offset the cost of buying the device itself?
I read enough that if I use both devices for at least a few years, I'll get my money's worth just from usage alone. $149 for the wi-fi only isn't a bad deal for a device that won't be upgraded for at least a couple of years. We have wireless at the house, so I don't need the 3g purchasing.It won't hurt having a second ereader anyway, so if my husband wants to purchase some books himself for the Nook, it will enable him to use it if I have a backup device to use.
Choosing the nook over other e-readers really came down to 3 main factors for me: aesthetics, brand loyalty, and format. Aesthetics
The prices were comparable regardless so it wasn't much of a decision maker\breaker. First, I just liked the way the nook looked better. I wasn't a huge fan of the Kindle's keyboard across the bottom and I liked the pretty touch screen better. Not the most practical criteria but I knew I'd be looking at it a lot, so looks were a factor.
Brand Loyalty
Second, I am a Barnes & Noble junkie. If I can get the books I want there at a comparable price, B&N will always be my first choice. I've always had good experiences with B&N so I'm a loyal customer as much as possible. I'm also a big fan of Google and the nook runs on Google's Android operating system.
Format
The last (and probably most important) decision factor for me was format. The nook uses ePub, pdb, and pdf. These are free and open formats, basically letting anyone create files. For books, that meant I could get books from other sources beside B&N when I found them cheaper (www.fictionwise.com, www.ereader.com, etc.) and it also meant that I could check out eBooks from the library depending on the publisher. The LendMe feature was also a nice perk. It lets you lend an eBook to a friend by email. During the time it's "borrowed", you cannot open the book on your nook - just like if you lend the physical book to your friend. Unfortunately, it's still pretty limited (can only lend each eBook to one person once), but the restriction is coming from publishers and it will take a while to get the legal details figured out. It's basically the same thing that happened with the music industry and we just need to wait for everyone to start playing nice with each other.
I did a bit of research before I purchased my nook. One of the big decision winners was the supported file types. Most other ereaders seem to have specific types while nook supports pdf an epub, which majority of the ebooks/ezines/enewspapers use. Even if something were to happen to B&N, there is going to be plenty of material to fill the nooks expandable memory, meaning the nook is going to be useful for quite a while. This was a big deal for me, because I like to dl books from a wide variety of sources.Aesthetics was second place for me, but the Kindle's keyboard thing is pretty gaudy and cumbersome. I don't want to see that when I'm trying to read my book. Thumbs down.
As soon as I had the money I ran to the nearest B&N (which wasn't very near at all, should have went to Best Buy) and bought it up. Have NOT regretted it.
Things I've found after purchase:
-B&N has crazy amounts of free ebooks. I now have 78 from them. All readable.
-With a little work I can get manga to turn out good on it.
-"In-store" is awesome!
If I had to do it all over, I would actually have spent more money to get the 3g version. I'm not super tech savvy and getting the wifi to work from my laptop is proving difficult for me. Also, the closest B&N is like 10 miles away, and the amount of usable wifi networks in my area is pretty slim for some reason.
Amazon, like most online sellers, charges sales tax. It doesn't have anything to do with whether or not a company has physical stores, but rather with the law. Technically, before companies were charging sales tax, each individual was supposed to be saving every last receipt form online purchases and reporting those as "not paid" tax-wise, and paying them come tax season. Since not many people knew this, or didn't bother reporting this information, the government wised up and has the online sellers actually charging tax. For a while there, it was the most common form of tax fraud. Most sellers charge the tax now for the convenience of the customer, although some don't but you are still supposed to pay sales tax on them.This law is different, of course, depending on your state, since some states do not have sales tax. For most, though, you are legally obligated to pay sales tax.
So, long story short: tax isn't a factor in which eBook reader you're looking to buy.
From Amazon's website:Items sold by Amazon.com LLC, or its subsidiaries, and shipped to destinations in the states of Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, or Washington are subject to tax.
Amazon Help
Sales taxes aren't very much. My accountant keeps up with the various rules and handles that. All I can comment on is what I see on my receipts.
I purchased 7 readers (new and used) on eBay over a two month period and settled on the Nook and Cybook Opus. I actually prefer the Opus as it's lighter, but it doesn't have connectivity.My top priorities for the readers I kept were (in priority order):
1. lightweight and easy to use one-handed with a nursing baby in the other arm (Nook is a compromise because of the easel cases)
2. silent buttons (Nook touchswipe wins, Opus has creaky buttons)
3. Calibre-compatible
4. Mac-compatible
5. a nice medium sans-serif font (Opus has custom fonts in 12 sizes)
6. book organization (Opus wins this one, with custom folders)
7. connectivity to store (Nook wins)
8. touchscreen (Nook wins, but is lame compared to Sony)
So I kept both the Nook and Opus because I get everything I want in two devices. But I'm watching for a Nook 2, or Sony and Bookeen's new releases to see if I can consolidate to one. It's a pain having to track which book is on which device.
I sent my Nook in for replacement because of the cracked buttons and have used the Opus exclusively in the meantime. I miss connection to the store, but that's it. The benefit of book organization outweighs the ability to buy books on impulse, both for ease of use and because it's easier on my pocketbook. :)
I got the replacement back but haven't opened it - I may not be a Nook owner much longer...
The Opus is expensive compared to the Nook. I think part of the reason I dislike the Kindle so much is I'm spoiled by iPad's touchscreen. I hope the Nook will be a comfortable transition.
Raggedyann wrote: "The Opus is expensive compared to the Nook. If you buy it new. They're selling on eBay for around $100 or even less, because they're not a "known" brand. It's been worth every penny I paid. If it had WiFi connection to a store, I'd be happy.
I loved everyone's responses! Thank you!! Please continue to post your thoughts about the Nook vs other ereaders.
You really can't go wrong with a Nook. I can't really find anything to complain about. Even though I'd like to own a K3 as well, I have never been dissatisfied with my Nook. It's a great product.Plus, it's just fun. When I first got mine, I remember (window?) shopping for hours, just browsing books by cover. It's so much fun to look at the covers in color. I found a lot of interesting books that way, from the different types of covers. Using the touch screen to slide through the lists of covers makes for a fun shopping experience. Then, selecting a book from the list and getting to view the reader reviews is like icing on the cake.
My ewish list on the Nook has so many books on it...
Forgot to mention that the book formats on the nook was a huge point as well. I really don't like that you have to buy all of your books from Amazon with the Kindle. Being restricted to one store is not fun.
Does anyone thing it would be worth it to take the class on the nook at B&N. I saying I'll do it but It's at night and it's a 45 minute ride to get there and I know I should have did it in the summer because I hate driving at night. They just had it this past week. I did buy the Using Nook book this week. I tried to get the hard copy but they only sell it digital. I looked at it twice in store and it did look like something worth it. And I spoke to one of the guys that worth there that said he was reading it a few times in the store and it's more that what on the info that comes with the nook. Which I only read some of.
Donnajo wrote: "Does anyone thing it would be worth it to take the class on the nook at B&N. I saying I'll do it but It's at night and it's a 45 minute ride to get there and I know I should have did it in the sum..."One of my co-workers, who bought a Nook the week before me, has taken the class twice. She's enjoyed it. She wishes they had a class for her new smartphone :)
When I bought my mac I took a year's worth of classes at the apple store. I only took 17 but to me it was worth it. I could have gone more but didn't. It taught me alot. So I should take it. I know it's free so it can't hurt to take it. They have a beginner and one after that too. so I guess they do teach alot for two different classes.
It's great that they offer classes. Maybe we should suggest that they put them on YouTube.
That would be great. I'm not crazy that you need to tell them if you are going. I rather just go and not plan ahead. I might get me there sooner.
I love it.I seen the kindle and the nook.I wanted something I did not have to always hook up the the USB adaptor.It was very reasonable(and before the new kindles came out).I love the touch screen and how we can see the books(covers).I enjoy that I can also build my library (documents) with calibre as well as B&N and I can use my library card and download free ebooks to borrow.As nice as the Kindle is,I do not like too much when a company ties you in to buying just "kindle" books.
Add it all up..Nook is what I fell for:) I do not regret this decision one iota!
I just got my Nook Monday and I love it! My criteria were as follows:battery life
size/weight
e-ink
ease of borrowing books
The Nook has far worse battery life but it's plenty sufficient for my needs. The size and weight were similar enough that it was a toss-up and I went to other criteria. E-ink was a deal killer- no iPad or nookcolor- I want it to look like a book. But the deal killer for me was really book borrowing. It's very easy to share books with friends on my Nook (although I understand you can now do the same with a Kindle) but the Kindle doesn't allow me to borrow books from the library. That is unacceptable to me. I don't buy books very often- I either borrow them from friends or go to the library. I'm not shelling out $10 (or whatever) for a book because my device won't let me borrow one for free, like a paper book. I'll never consider a Kindle until this changes.
Mod
I actually never really researched. I only really knew about the Kindle and the Nook. I love Barnes and Noble. I didn't like the keyboard on the kindle and I wanted to be able to borrow from the library so... I went with the nook. In the future I may change to something else however I just want something to read books nothing more. The Nook works great and have no reason to switch right now.
There were very few factors in choosing an ereader for me but they were highly important.Book availability - i wanted to be able to get books from multiple locations without stripping DRM.
Lending - My library system went live on Overdrive over the summer i constantly watched how the collection grew and now its over 600 e-pub titles.
in store features - I live really close to a B&N store. i have finished 2 books just with the read in store feature.
I only ever considered a nook, sony ereader or a kindle. the sony i found not pleasing tot he eye, it was vetoed purely for visual purposes, the kindle i almost got but the 3 features i listed none are kindle features, that was what sold me.
I got my Nook after Thanksgiving when I talked to my daughter-in-law about it. I love everything about it, but I also have had an issue with the battery life. I am only getting 2 days when they tell me it should be much better. They have sent me a new battery and that didn't help so they are sending me a new Nook. It should be here Tuesday. If your battery charge is not holding for several days, call the help desk and see what they will do for you!
I am interested in getting the nook color..... Is this the right thread???
I have the white nook right now... I love it but I was thinking to give it to a friend and get a new color nook.
Is it worth it?
Also I have two little black spots on the face of my nook. it doesn't interfere with my reading but i don't know what it is from and is it going to get worse?
I have the white nook right now... I love it but I was thinking to give it to a friend and get a new color nook.
Is it worth it?
Also I have two little black spots on the face of my nook. it doesn't interfere with my reading but i don't know what it is from and is it going to get worse?
The black spots sound like dead pixels. I can't say that for sure without seeing it, but that'd be my guess.As for a NookColor. Well that boils down to preference. Why'd you purchase a Nook? Solely because it was an ereader? Do you like e-ink? With a NookColor, you lose the e-ink, you get back-lit screen, all touch screen and shoddy video quality until a software update for that is done...it has nice potential but needs work. I got one and played with it for a week and took it back. I like my e-ink and reading without a light on was nifty but I have a lamp next to my chair and bed for reading so it's not like I'd break my arm to turn them on or off.
It all boils down to personal preference. Honestly if you are unsure, play with one in store. Still not sold? Buy one, you then have 2 weeks to play with it and decide.
Also if you're under warranty on your Nook I'd be sticker enough to want them to replace it because of the spots.
I have the nook regular cause iv love it!!!Now for tablet, I'm whiting on notions coming this summer,t
Thinking regardless off nook color, or the last pocket book
Color touch screen tablet, ebook.
What turns me off on it is I can't show my n
Nook library..
Ipad uss another choice..so I'm still debating but the regular
N iook love hands down!!! Its they perfect eteader!!7
I had ti get the 3g version....wifi ies hit or miss ijit in the world..lol
Wow with the battery!!i keep mine always normal and irtIs charged once a week.
I read a novel every two days on average....
Tta, definitely call about battery issues, I'm going to doAirplane mode except for thursday nights...so I can get my
Free fridays:)
I love love the Nook Color.... and am so glad I wanted for Color!
I chose a Nook over the Kindle as my library does not offer ebooks compatible with the Kindle. there are long waiting lists for a lot of new releases on ebooks but that isn't different than getting hardbacks from the library.I looked up a NookBook on the BN website today. I was surprised that the ebook was more expensive than the mass market paperback.
JackieK wrote: "I chose a Nook over the Kindle as my library does not offer ebooks compatible with the Kindle. there are long waiting lists for a lot of new releases on ebooks but that isn't different than gettin..."that was one of my main deciding factors for getting the Nook as well. I vowed I wouldn't spend any money on ebooks but then I got a gift card so I have been trying to be very select.
In my opinion there is no reason why an ebook should be the same price as a DTB let alone more expensive and when that happens I have refused to buy it. I'll wait for the library copy to free up. :)
I had been focused on the Kindle for awhile, but then at Christmas 2009 got to play with my sister's Nook.To me, it came down to the physical touch. Having never had access to a Kindle to try it out, I wasn't comfortable buying blind (which is why I had never committed). Having been able to handle and "test run" a Nook, I was very happy with the experience.
I got the Nook, because I like the options. I am not really a Amazon shopper, so for me I was not drawn to the Kindle. I love being able to go to the B&N bookstore and reading a book for free in the store, the fact of being able to download library books, the customer service from B&N, if you have a question, just swing by and they always have someone who can help you.
A) I liked the combo ereader/mini tablet.B) I liked the option of getting library books.
C) I liked the open epub format.
D) I liked the fact that the B&N staff were knowledgable and helpful and patient when I was shopping. And I pestered them with a lot of questions!
E) I disliked that the Target and Staples and Best Buy staff knew as much about the Kindle they were selling as I know about supersymmetric quantum mechanics.
F) I disliked the arrogance behind Amazon's proprietary AZW file format.
