Touch Nook STR: Issues, Bugs, Annoyances, and Petty Quibbles

[spedinfargo]

Here is my list so far. Feel free to reply to this thread and I'll update the original post.

- You can't select a hyphenated word that spans two lines. This means that you can't look it up in the dictionary. Workaround: temporarily change the font settings to force the word to not be hyphenated.

- Can't open the dictionary and type in a word to look up. Can only touch a word on the screen and look it up in the dictionary.

- Ghosting due to page performing full flash every six page turns. I personally do NOT see this when reading. The only place it seems to turn up for me is when shopping, browsing library, etc. Note: This is more prevalent in direct sunlight. May be able to be fixed or tweaked by B&N in a firmware update.

- I miss the "back" button from the Nook Original with respect to following links. This is especially a problem when navigating newspapers, etc. downloaded from Calibre recipes. For short footnotes, this is not a problem, but if you're 3 pages into a 10 page article and want to get back to your TOC, it's a pain. Note: on the first page after a link there is a "back" button at the top of the page. This goes away after the first page turn.

- While browsing library or shopping, if there is a paged list (1 of 14), you should be able to wrap around with the page buttons (go back from page 1 to page 14, go forward from page 14 to page 1).

- Any time there is a close button (while shopping or when hitting the "more" button while reading, having to click in the upper-right is awkward and not very one-hand friendly. Would be nice if the side buttons could also dismiss.

- The main menu (home, library, shop, search, settings) should also include a "reading now" button. When I go into the Settings menu when reading a book, I can't get back to what I'm reading without going to "home" and then "reading now" (ok, that's pretty picky). Note: The open book icon that appears on the top left corner of any screen takes you back to the last book you were reading.

- Should be settings to turn off page turns by touching or swiping.

- Should be a setting to turn off "swipe to unlock"

- Basic file management would be nice (delete, rename, move).

- No support of multi-level Table of Contents.

- Side-loaded books cannot use sharing functions.

- Syncing of Last Page Read is not consistent with other Nook devices and apps. Lots of improvements could be made here.


Updated 2011-06-05

[negris123]

Originally Posted by spedinfargo

- You can't select a hyphenated word that spans two lines. This means that you can't look it up in the dictionary.

This is annoying, but one way to get around it is to change the font size which usually shifts the words on a line so that the word that was hyphenated is not anymore and you can select it

- Can't open the dictionary and type in a word to look up. Can only touch a word on the screen and look it up in the dictionary.

That would be nice and I agree it should be an option, considering the original nook allowed for this

- I miss the "back" button from the Nook Original with respect to following links. This is especially a problem when navigating newspapers, etc. downloaded from Calibre recipes. For short footnotes, this is not a problem, but if you're 3 pages into a 10 page article and want to get back to your TOC, it's a pain.

This works for me within epubs. I click on a link in the TOC and the "back" button shows up on top of the page until I turn the page

- The main menu (home, library, shop, search, settings) should also include a "reading now" button. When I go into the Settings menu when reading a book, I can't get back to what I'm reading without going to "home" and then "reading now" (ok, that's pretty picky).

The open book icon that appears on the top left corner of any screen takes you back to the last book you were reading. This icon appears also on the settings screen as well

[ncguy68]

I persnoally wish they would offer the option to turn hypenation off entirely. The latest software update for the Nook Color also added hypenation and it can be very annoying when you have a lot of hypenated words. The Nook Color seems to average 4-8 per screen....too many.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by ncguy68

I persnoally wish they would offer the option to turn hypenation off entirely. The latest software update for the Nook Color also added hypenation and it can be very annoying when you have a lot of hypenated words. The Nook Color seems to average 4-8 per screen....too many.

See this thread link regarding hyphenation on the NC. It explains why the latest firmware update added more hyphenation and the code to fix it if you want to alter your files.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=131028

Originally Posted by spedinfargo

You can't select a hyphenated word that spans two lines. This means that you can't look it up in the dictionary.

On the nookcolor you cannot select a word with a diacritical mark or an umlaut, etc. I find that unacceptable as other readers and reader apps have no problem with such words. Does the Nook STR also have this problem? I suspect it does as it seems to be plagued by many of the NC's firmware shortcomings.

[SCION]

Someone posted this in the BN.com NOOK forum:

If I wanted to share my reading status, the nook forces me to say "I am through 60% of the A Game of Thrones..." What is the "the" doing in there? It is an awkward enough sentence as it is. Is there a way to edit this?

That's terrible! The word "the" shouldn't even be there. Wow, can't believe that was overlooked. It's embarrassing.

Why does it not say something like "I've read 60% of ..."? Short and sweet.

[EldRick]

Let's not even talk about how nearly useless the PDF support is. No Pan, no Zoom, no Landscape, and it's buggier than an ant-hill. There are very few PDF files that could actually be usefully viewed using this support.

Plainly, the Product manager checked the Requirements box for PDF support, and didn't bother to notice that what he got is offal (sic).

Oh, well, it's only a 1.0.0 release, and rushed to shipment at that - hopefully it improves...

Originally Posted by EldRick

Oh, well, it's only a 1.0.0 release, and rushed to shipment at that - hopefully it improves...

Yes and No. The STR follows the path of its older sibling the nookcolor which was released in November. For 6 months NC customers have complained about many of the same issues that now plague the STR, yet B&N has made little attempt to really listen to and address these complaints. If they won't be bothered with customer requests for the twice as expensive NC, what chance do STR owners have?

[SCION]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Yes and No. The STR follows the path of its older sibling the nookcolor which was released in November. For 6 months NC customers have complained about many of the same issues that now plague the STR, yet B&N has made little attempt to really listen to and address these complaints. If they won't be bothered with customer requests for the twice as expensive NC, what chance do STR owners have?

Yep. They just used the NOOKcolor template for the Touch. You can't delete anything. Need to hook up to a computer to do so. I'm not expecting a file management system on an eink device, but give me the ability to delete content. The NOOK Android app allows this.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by SCION

Yep. They just used the NOOKcolor template for the Touch. You can't delete anything. Need to hook up to a computer to do so. I'm not expecting a file management system on an eink device, but give me the ability to delete content. The NOOK Android app allows this.

There's really no reason not to expect a reasonable file management system on an eInk device. Many do have them: Bookeen, Pocketbook, and BeBook/Onyx among them. On all these devices you can create and delete folders, copy, move, and delete files, etc. It's always slightly irritated me that the "big name" devices don't provide these facilities. The Kindle and Sony allow you to delete files, but that's it.

Originally Posted by HarryT

There's really no reason not to expect a reasonable file management system on an eInk device. Many do have them: Bookeen, Pocketbook, and BeBook/Onyx among them. On all these devices you can create and delete folders, copy, move, and delete files, etc. It's always slightly irritated me that the "big name" devices don't provide these facilities. The Kindle and Sony allow you to delete files, but that's it.

I agree. It is also irritating that the big name devices are connected to book stores run by companies interested is selling books but not in giving reader customers the functionality they want. They apparently have the view that we should only get the bare minimum!

[EldRick]

The Home page on the Nook is a great example of publisher greed - more than half the page is devoted to getting you to buy more books from B&N.

[Zoshka]

1) My main quibble: I don't have mine. It's been sitting in an "Argix facility" since 6/1, which is evidently a fancy name for pony express. Once the ponies get free from their kid ride duty at the carnival, they might carry the package across the street to a post office and then trust those efficient workers to get it here sometime after 6/10. Amazon, Borders: free 2-day shipping for ereaders.

2) "My Nook Touch is Here!" thread really set off my shill-dar. If you're going to write a BN-paid 100% positive review regurgitating BN marketing points, don't start off by saying it's your first and last post on here.

3) I realize it's tough competing with Amazon, but don't make 75% of a device's memory just for your books and don't barrage me with 'read this!' ads on my reading device. That doesn't make it feel like I'm reading a book, it feels like I'm on the internet. It makes me irritated enough not to buy your books (or Nooks) on principle.

Not very technical quibbles, just general things that really turn me off, along with the disappointment when every new, not-ready-for-primetime Nook appears (having bought and returned 3 Nook Colors).

I sold my K3, so I'm considering the new Kobo touch now, despite the lack of physical page buttons and shorter battery life. I had the wifi version, but as a lefty I couldn't handle the right-side D-pad. The feel was the best ever on an ereader, with the plush quilted back, the touch version is lighter than the Nook Touch, and of course not as boxy-looking. Other things that appeal to me:
1) Choice of colors, front and back.
2) More format choices, apparently better .pdf support, which I have to use on occasion with library ebooks.
2) Main font is Georgia, my fave. Doesn't have Caecilia, my least fave, like Nook/Kindle.
3) Uncluttered front screen, no ads, just last 5 books read, tiled in a cool way.
4) Dropdown menu link to free books in Kobo store on front screen, don't have to go hunting for them.
5) Reader awards section--my reading has fallen off with all the tablet temptations (cue cackling angry birds), this takes me back to third grade, getting gold stars for finishing books, and all the reading achievement stats would give me motivation, I hope.
6) They're a small Canadian company, so I feel like I'm supporting a cool underdog, not a big soulless corporation relentlessly trying to market books and fancy covers and eink games (ugh) and social networking garbage. Okay, naive, I know, but impressions (and customer service) are important in the difficult book market.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by Zoshka

1) ...I don't have mine. It's been sitting in an "Argix facility" since 6/1, which is evidently a fancy name for pony express....

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by SCION

Yep. They just used the NOOKcolor template for the Touch. You can't delete anything. Need to hook up to a computer to do so. I'm not expecting a file management system on an eink device, but give me the ability to delete content. The NOOK Android app allows this.

I would expect them to use similar templates for both the NC & STR for user convenience but was hoping they'd make a few updates of common complaints. They also probably haven't fixed my irritation with the lack of multi-level TOC on the NC. I assume the STR has this issue as well.