Nook Color drawing in female readers

[corona]

Well, iPads are a guy thing, apparently, and the Nook Color is a surprise hit with women's magazine readers, says the NYT.

[J. Strnad]

I've suspected that Nooks appeal more strongly to women than Kindles, but I've lacked any kind of statistical evidence.

[OtterBooks]

"magazine readers" explains it pretty well.

[MsCG1]

Not going to lie, magazine reading is the top reason I bought the Nookcolor, followed by comic books and blogging sites with tablet friendly articles. And then reading at night.

I thought I would use it for cookbooks, but I'm just terrified of propping it up on a book stand and swiping at it while cooking, so that's out.

Reading magazines and newspapers on the NC is the most joyous reading experience ever. Especially for me, because I literally could not stand the smell of newspapers and magazines. I even take time to look at the ads.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

It's a strange comparison they make, considering the iPad isn't used just for reading, and the NC is primarily a book reader. The article also reads as slightly sexist to me:

Some women, at least, seem to prefer their electronic reading devices to be simpler, something they can read on. Tablets with Rock Band, GT Racing and high-res cameras? That’s guy stuff.

But it does make clear that women read three times more than men, and since they read magazines as well as books, why not buy a device that handles both? (That's why I got an NC.)

I've said for some time that magazines are the unsung product of publishing; but they're flashy, they're targeted, they come out periodically, and they encourage enthusiasts to basically preorder them through discounted subscriptions... the ideal publications product. Any device that made it easy to consume periodical content was going to do well.

[sakura-panda]

How can they compare the sales of a $250 standalone device to one that is at least $500 and requires a computer with iTunes installed? There are too many other variables besides "Rock Band, GT Racing and high-res cameras" to make the claims that article does. (It is true that my iPad has none of those. I bought it for photo display and video playback. Not books or magazines!)

I suspect that since the Nook is a sales outlet for bookseller, magazines are probably right up front and easy to browse and buy. (I don't have one, so I am only speculating.) On the iPad, I have no idea what I would have to do to get a magazine, which ones are available, or anything like that. To me they are devices for completely different markets.

They could say that women's magazines outsell men's magazines, but to flat out say that the Nook is more appealing to women than the iPad, or to even say that women prefer the Nook over the iPad for magazine purchases, is a rather large leap. I'm sure there are lots of women who have iPads that don't read magazines on them and that there are lots of men with Nook Colors that don't read magazines either.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by sakura-panda

I'm sure there are lots of women who have iPads that don't read magazines on them and that there are lots of men with Nook Colors that don't read magazines either.

I'd agree, more or less: I don't know why many men (or women) would buy the NC if it wasn't for magazine reading (the only real reason you need that color). And we know the iPad does a lot more than read magazines, so the fact that someone has an iPad and doesn't use it for magazines isn't at all significant.

And it sounds to me like the female mags took off because they were among the first to show up in a device marketed mostly to females. Things may change if more men's (and male-favored content) magazines turn up in the B&N store, and advertisement shifts to a male-focus.

[ATDrake]

Maybe some of the appeal is due in part to practical reasons, e.g. the Nook Color fits better into most purses.

I know my dad would like an iPad but at a smaller size that he can read on the bus and be less afraid of breakage from random jostling. He says that somewhere around the NC's size seems just about right to him.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Maybe some of the appeal is due in part to practical reasons, e.g. the Nook Color fits better into most purses.

Sexist!

Wait... OK, not really. In fact, one of the best things about my NC is the way it fits into my gear bag going to work.

(What? I said "gear bag," not purse. Just what are you implying?...)

Originally Posted by ATDrake

I know my dad would like an iPad but at a smaller size that he can read on the bus and be less afraid of breakage from random jostling. He says that somewhere around the NC's size seems just about right to him.

Yeah, he should look into an NC. Does he get jostled that much?

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

(What? I said "gear bag," not purse. Just what are you implying?...)

I've always had a certain fondness for the term "manbag". Though now that I think about it, that does sound like a single entendre.

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Yeah, he should look into an NC. Does he get jostled that much?

Probably not, but at peak hours the bus is pretty much standing-room only on the popular routes and my dad's kind of paranoid about expensive electronics. Not to mention the iPad does offer more surface area to break, especially if one ends up hanging onto it one-handed while grasping those transit straps.

It's kind of moot, as Nooks of any variety are not officially available to Canada anyway.

[MsCG1]

Not to mention you have Miss Sex and the City herself, Sarah Jessica Parker, doing the voice overs for the Nookcolor TV ads.

Want to be like Carrie Bradshaw? Get a Nookcolor!

[jessicalynn]

what a sexist article!

I iz a lady. Tablets are too manly for my poor little brain to handle....what is a hi res camera anyway??

LOL.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by MsCG1

Not to mention you have Miss Sex and the City herself, Sarah Jessica Parker, doing the voice overs for the Nookcolor TV ads.

Want to be like Carrie Bradshaw? Get a Nookcolor!

I have yet to see an NC ad on TV... I didn't know SJP was voicing the ads, but she would be the logical choice for the "young, professional and hip female" market. I wonder who would be the logical male for the male side of that market? (Maybe Neil Patrick Harris. Or Ashton Kutcher...)

I have seen the set-up video on the NC, and that is narrated by a woman.

[MsCG1]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

I have yet to see an NC ad on TV... I didn't know SJP was voicing the ads, but she would be the logical choice for the "young, professional and hip female" market. I wonder who would be the logical male for the male side of that market? (Maybe Neil Patrick Harris. Or Ashton Kutcher...)

I have seen the set-up video on the NC, and that is narrated by a woman.

Here's the NC ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsZy-pQt0kU

I would say NPH would be great, but I don't know if his voice is recognizable the way SJP's is.

[mlewis78]

What a silly NY Times article. I'm a woman and do not own either of these, but I'd much rather have an ipad. Nook Color is too small for a tablet for me.

B&N has a lot of accessories, including brightly colored covers, for Nook and Nook Color. That's about the only reason I think it might appeal to women in particular.