Initial impressions of Nook

norrisg · 10-01-2010, 12:43 PM

There's probably no perfect eReader for my needs - the Kindle 3 is probably physically closest but has no ePub support - so I ended up choosing a Nook 3g.

I'm quite pleased with it, but with these reservations:
1. Contrast could be a bit better. The glossy white surround doesn't help (I have a darker frame cover on the way). It's great to be able to read it outdoors though!
2. The user interface has some very noticeable and annoying delays in operation sometimes. The main problem here is inconsistency; sometimes it is perfectly adequate, and other times it just sits there with nothing happening for no apparent reason.
3. The lack of organizational abilities, for example user created bookshelves or folders, means that if you have many books or PDFs, they can be very hard to locate. Search is a weak substitute for proper organization.
4. The audio player is hopeless, mainly because it is completely lacking any organization and has no search capability either. (The speakers are rubbish, but you can't expect any better, and headphones are the way you'd most likely want to use it anyway.) I've loaded the complete Hitchhiker's Guide and it is impossible to determine which file is which - useless!
5. PDF handling is very weak. In particular text scaling on pages with diagrams is absent, causing text sizes to change from one page to the next. I know this is a known problem, but allowing the Nook to be used in landscape would at least allow the text (and diagrams) to be a bit larger and left set to the default thereby avoiding the annoying text size changes.
6. The web browser is horribly difficult to use (but really, if you want to browse the web, you'd not use an eReader to do so given any choice at all!)

I also have the Lyra Light Front Cover. This is also quite good, with some caveats.
1. The hinge, which I've seen described as "flimsy" is not what I'd call flimsy. In fact it seems quite well made, but it does flop about. This makes holding the Nook and cover something you actually have to think about while reading, which is not good.
2. The three LEDs produce a lot of glare. I'm experimenting with diffusing the light by putting (removable) sticky take over them, and applying small amounts of silver or white paint to the tape over the LEDs. Each test can be undone by pulling off the tape ready for the next attempt. I'm also going to try white sticky tape. So far (with thin silver paint) this has produced a noticeable improvement. The diffuser supplied needs to do a better job, which would cost nothing extra to manufacture, but would improve usage a lot.

So, several relatively minor issues, the user interface glitches, lack of organization, and PDF handling being the biggest. All of those should be fixable (or at least improved) with software updates. I'd buy it again anyway.

Graham.

happy_terd · 10-01-2010, 02:57 PM

Hello and welcome to MR!!!

Sandra Edwards · 10-01-2010, 04:12 PM

Welcome to MR!

Sandy

MickeyC · 10-01-2010, 08:38 PM

Hi Graham and welcome to MobileRead

GeoffC · 10-02-2010, 05:57 AM

Welcome to mobileread ....

Nice review, you ought to drop it into the Nook Forum, too

.

ImogenRose · 10-02-2010, 10:49 PM

Hello and welcome to MR!

Imogen

Valmore Daniels · 10-03-2010, 02:25 PM

welcome

10-01-2010, 12:43 PM	#1
norrisg Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Nook	Initial impressions of Nook There's probably no perfect eReader for my needs - the Kindle 3 is probably physically closest but has no ePub support - so I ended up choosing a Nook 3g. I'm quite pleased with it, but with these reservations: 1. Contrast could be a bit better. The glossy white surround doesn't help (I have a darker frame cover on the way). It's great to be able to read it outdoors though! 2. The user interface has some very noticeable and annoying delays in operation sometimes. The main problem here is inconsistency; sometimes it is perfectly adequate, and other times it just sits there with nothing happening for no apparent reason. 3. The lack of organizational abilities, for example user created bookshelves or folders, means that if you have many books or PDFs, they can be very hard to locate. Search is a weak substitute for proper organization. 4. The audio player is hopeless, mainly because it is completely lacking any organization and has no search capability either. (The speakers are rubbish, but you can't expect any better, and headphones are the way you'd most likely want to use it anyway.) I've loaded the complete Hitchhiker's Guide and it is impossible to determine which file is which - useless! 5. PDF handling is very weak. In particular text scaling on pages with diagrams is absent, causing text sizes to change from one page to the next. I know this is a known problem, but allowing the Nook to be used in landscape would at least allow the text (and diagrams) to be a bit larger and left set to the default thereby avoiding the annoying text size changes. 6. The web browser is horribly difficult to use (but really, if you want to browse the web, you'd not use an eReader to do so given any choice at all!) I also have the Lyra Light Front Cover. This is also quite good, with some caveats. 1. The hinge, which I've seen described as "flimsy" is not what I'd call flimsy. In fact it seems quite well made, but it does flop about. This makes holding the Nook and cover something you actually have to think about while reading, which is not good. 2. The three LEDs produce a lot of glare. I'm experimenting with diffusing the light by putting (removable) sticky take over them, and applying small amounts of silver or white paint to the tape over the LEDs. Each test can be undone by pulling off the tape ready for the next attempt. I'm also going to try white sticky tape. So far (with thin silver paint) this has produced a noticeable improvement. The diffuser supplied needs to do a better job, which would cost nothing extra to manufacture, but would improve usage a lot. So, several relatively minor issues, the user interface glitches, lack of organization, and PDF handling being the biggest. All of those should be fixable (or at least improved) with software updates. I'd buy it again anyway. Graham.

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10-01-2010, 02:57 PM	#2
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	Hello and welcome to MR!!!

10-01-2010, 04:12 PM	#3
Sandra Edwards Queen of Procrastination Posts: 1,884 Karma: 1802 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nevada Device: K2, K3, Fire	Welcome to MR! Sandy

10-01-2010, 08:38 PM	#4
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi Graham and welcome to MobileRead

10-02-2010, 05:57 AM	#5
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Welcome to mobileread .... Nice review, you ought to drop it into the Nook Forum, too .

10-02-2010, 10:49 PM	#6
ImogenRose PORTAL Posts: 7,204 Karma: 2884640 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle 1, Kindle 3 (3G), iPhone	Hello and welcome to MR! Imogen

10-03-2010, 02:25 PM	#7
Valmore Daniels Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,592 Karma: 2822668 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle	welcome

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