Quote:
Originally Posted by chas0039
Good points. As you say, I was also a devoted Nook customer. I had three.
They lost me because they ignored the problems that I and many other people repeatablt pointed out. The software crashes with more than 1275 titles making the 32gb of potential storage space a joke. Also, as they changed the hardware to make it less rootable, I found more hack support for Kindle with the larger user base.
They may be able to get users with some of their features, I just see nothing for me and I doubt that their $140 price will compete with the Kindle at the same $140 or the KSO at $114. They will especially have a problem with the thousands of "refurbished" WiFi & 3G versions at $99 with full warranty. The Nook I finally kept was one of those and it is virtually new.
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Valid points when you mention software updates and brand loyalty (and the loss of such).
We have 3 Nooks in the household - 4, if you count the one my step-daughter got after using mine. I started out as a STRONG B&N cheerleader and would pimp their brand to anyone who would listen. I even had little printout cards explaining what made the device unique (because people kept asking me "Is that a Kindle?" and I would give them my pretty FAQ card and go back to reading.
).
I made B&N my single-source bookseller and was seriously happy with them for a time - ESPECIALLY after the first Nook update came out and it was so responsive to the customer needs/complaints. (Faster page turns, especially.)
And then........ fast forward a few months, and I feel like B&N is resting on its heels. The Nook Color update (the one that mattered) took forever to come out and was "stealth announced" by the Home Shopping Network of all things. Ick. The update didn't fix the serious customer concerns that a lot of people had - and that I myself had written in.
The point wasn't so much that Christmas didn't come with the new update, but rather that B&N is being so secretive about the update process and there's no real way to weigh in on an official "to-do" list and +1 say, better PDF support. That makes the customer feel isolated from the company.
In the meantime, I've bought several extremely low-quality books and in one case was on hold for over 4 hours total (1 hour call plus 1 hour call plus a TWO HOUR CALL) just to get my refund on a book that was crashing my Nook Color AND my Nook for PC app.
Now I have a PB360 and I'm fairly happy with it, but a touchscreen interface would be nice for looking up words and the like. Since the SD card slot is so accessible with this device, I can see myself pulling my SD card from my PB360 when I get home (I carry my PB everywhere), slapping it into the N2, and picking up reading where I left off.
But if it doesn't support the folder system, then I won't be able to do that. And I no longer have confidence that B&N will address these issues in a further update.
Brand loyalty is a tricky thing to cultivate and a fickle thing to maintain. I'm not sure where I stand with B&N anymore. I find that a little sad.
ALL THIS IS MY SUBJECTIVE OPINION; SERIOUSLY NOT TRYING TO START A FLAMEWAR HERE.