Barnes & Noble Nook (3G/Wi-Fi)

Pros: Easy to read
Easy to read
Easy to read

Cons: Page turn delay? Not really...just look below, sorry.

Summary: I'm not going to talk about ordering, preordering, waiting, lack of information or any of that as it's been beaten to death elsewhere already. I've had my nook now for 2 days and this is what I have to say about it as an eReader.

I really do enjoy it! I was worried at first when I opened it up, I thought it was a tad small, but now I realize it's not that bad at all. In other words, I just got engrossed in the book I was reading. Let me repeat myself. I got lost in what I read.

I emphasize that because it was the biggest concern I had. I am an avid reader. I started reading a lot in the 7th grade and haven't stopped since then. I was worried that my eyes would start to hurt, or that I couldn't get into an eBook the same way I can into an actual book. Well, to my pleasant surprise, I found myself completely into what I was reading. Again, in my eyes at least, the whole point of an eReader is to replace a book. As someone who loves the feel of a book and bookstores themselves, this was key for me.

At first, the page turn delay (while the screen refreshes itself) was irritating, but I soon forgot about it. It usually takes me a second to turn a page and start again anyways, what's another .5 seconds? (gross numbers, I'm just generalizing here) Like I said, I eventually got into the story and forgot about it. I'm sure future editions, or even a firmware upgrade, will take care of it. And as far as I know, all other eReaders have the same "problem".

As far as the screen goes, I like it. While my fiancé feels it's a little dark, I think it's just right. I DO NOT want a color screen-when was the last time you read a book that was in color? I also am pleased that BN didn't bother with a web browser, I just want to read my books, that's it. Is it a niche device that way? You bet your dollar it is. I want something to replace the 6-7 books I take with me on a vacation. I don't want to take a laptop-that's why I have a smartphone!

I haven't noticed any problems yet with it-getting a book from my library was easily done, and very fast on my home wireless network. I loaded up some PDFs from Harrison's (medical book, the online version-thank god) and ran into a hitch. If you're going to be doing something similar, try to just stick with a text only version. Obviously graphics are no good, but I found the tables really screwed up the formatting. After I tried a text only version of the same chapter, it worked like a charm.

I do find it a bit odd that the nook constantly has to reformat a book/pdf that you have already read. The first time I can understand, but repeatedly? What I mean by this is that when you load a book up, it says "Formatting" for roughly 5-7 seconds, maybe less. I haven't really timed it. Like I said, makes sense the first time, but repeatedly? I can only imagine there isn't any flash memory on the processor to store it...or something like that. Oh, and when loading the PDFs, I just plugged it into my Mac and looked in the drive, there were already folders there all nice and neat waiting for me.

I haven't tried buying a book via the nook yet, but will sometime soon. I haven't had a problem with the battery, but I've only used it for 2 days now obviously. If anyone has any questions, reply and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

On a side note, the "user guide/welcome to the nook" parody on the nook is absolutely hysterical!! Nice touch BN!

The color screen is cool, I could do without it. I went with the nook for BN and PDF support, and I love physical stores. So the color is an added bonus I suppose. I have it set to turn off after the shortest time of sitting there idle (10 sec I believe it is) so it doesn't work the battery. And also, I really don't have a problem with charging my nook every few days-it's not catastrophic for me that it doesn't last the gazillion days that the Kindle does.

Oh, and the screen is pretty responsive to me. Again, I'm not expecting it to be lightening fast on an eReader like I would on a phone or laptop, but I'm sure that firmware/version2 will improve on it.

I got the Alice cover for it, and it fits and looks great in it. I'm almost thinking of just using it without the cover, but I'd rather not destroy it. Anyways, that's my review for now. For those of you who are waiting, I hope you get yours soon! Happy Holidays!

Updated on Dec 15, 2009

I have updated my review of the nook. I still love the machine! The full text of it is on the BN forum. Please don't jump to conclusions, I am not a fanboy. I am registered there because it makes sense-I bought a nook, not a Kindle!

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/eBooks-Help-Board/I-m-sure-there-will-be-more-but-here-are-my-impressions/m-p/424681#U424681