Classic Is the Nook your second ebook reader?

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Kolenka

I'll chime in as someone else who has issues with the touch screen. There are still a pretty annoying number of missed gestures and the like with the screen. After using an iPhone for awhile, this sort of stuff can get on your nerves and shows as unpolished with the product.

It has gotten better since 1.0.0, but it still has a long way to go to be as reliable as other touch screens out there.

I agree, the swipe is far less intuitive and "reproduceable" than on iPhone.
But I've gotten used to it.
I can't do it with my index finger. It's not convenient, to lift my entire right hand to do so. And it only works about half the time.
I do it with my right thumb. Just a very brief swipe. Works about 95% for me. But only this very specific gesture.

[stangri]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Vast majority of the features you describe has been available on iRex iLiad since summer of 2007

I meant progress in the mass-market devices (which for North America started with PRS-50x if I'm not mistaken). iLiad with its price/distribution was never a mass product (unlike PRS, Kindle, nook). But that's how it works in the world, if you look at the cars for example, some features which are initially only available in the bigger and more expensive cars over time make it into the regular cars as well. That's what we're seeing in the readers and it is progress.

There's a number of obvious factors contributing to the lack of innovation in the niche e-ink products, still you can't blame Sony, Amazon and B&N for that (you can start blaming Apple in a few months tho).

PS. AFAIK, Kindle still was the first reader with the free 3G for books/browsing.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by stangri

I meant progress in the mass-market devices (which for North America started with PRS-50x if I'm not mistaken). iLiad with its price/distribution was never a mass product (unlike PRS, Kindle, nook). But that's how it works in the world, if you look at the cars for example, some features which are initially only available in the bigger and more expensive cars over time make it into the regular cars as well. That's what we're seeing in the readers and it is progress.

There's a number of obvious factors contributing to the lack of innovation in the niche e-ink products, still you can't blame Sony, Amazon and B&N for that (you can start blaming Apple in a few months tho).

PS. AFAIK, Kindle still was the first reader with the free 3G for books/browsing.

Well, it's all about semantics...
To me, progress doesn't mean I get the very same as before - but cheaper and cheaper every time.
To me, progress means I get something entirely new/improved. Then it's up to me, whether I want to be an early adopter and pay the premium or wait some time until I can afford it.
I totally understand about the complexity of global business and country-specific licensing models. But most of my "complaints" aren't about content, but hardware specific.
Just some examples:
- About 1/3 of my legally purchased books has incorrect metadata (silly author's names like "24/7" or "some company" or all in capital letters or switching author's first and last name or .....). On iRex iLiad I've been able to change that. On the fly, without "calibre" or other PC based tools. Can't do this on most readers.
- Cheapest PDAs 8 years ago have had some kind of data management, i. e. copying files within folders. On our readers, we can be glad if we even have folders, but usually we can't move files inbetween.
-The very definition of PDFs always was, keeping the layout intact. Lots of readers don't have any zoom, so you have to use reflow.

[kilmar]

I came from a Sony PRS-700 and was tired of the issues the touchscreen was causing. I lived with the glare, even though it was fairly annoying as it defeat the purpose of e-ink. It no longer felt like reading ink on paper. The last straw was the insane amount of dust that collected under the touchscreen. At first there was one tiny almost unnoticeable dust spot. Then a few more throughout the months. After more than a year, there were more dust spots than I could count.

Overall, I am happy with purchasing the nook and have very little complaints other than the semi-sluggish OS. It doesn't bother me because I actually use the nook to read eBooks, not move around the OS. Once I am in a book, there's absolutely no problems.