Quote:
Originally Posted by afa
So I got the nook last night. I actually got home late, so didn't get to play around with it a lot, but looking forward to it when I get home from work. It looks quite good, and the e-Ink screen is actually a lot better than I expected. Clear, sharp, and not agonisingly slow. Ditto for the LCD. My sister-in-law just got an iPad the other day, and I spent the whole day playing with it and then started to get worried that the nook's touchscreen would irritate me after the fluidity of the iPad. But it didn't! Sure, it's nowhere near iPad/iPhone level, but it's quite good...
Anyway, I have a couple of questions for those familiar with the nook. In fact, preferably those who actually own one, though anyone who has knowledge of the product is, of course, free to reply.
- Downloading books from B&N - I did the whole VPN thing, and bought a few books from B&N (well, not bought per se; they were free). The 'purchase' went without a hitch, and the books are now in my B&N Library online. They also show up in my nook's library (via Wi-Fi), but when I click on Download to get them on the nook, it gives me some error. I don't have the device with me right now, so I don't remember the exact message, but it was something like "Unable to process request. Please call 1-800-blah-blah". Anyone know why that is? Can I only transfer my books through the PC, and not Wi-Fi? Does it check my location when I'm downloading, as well? I though that was only when you buy...
- Calibre - I downloaded one of the aforementioned books on my PC, and added them to my Calibre library. But when I try to read it via Calibre (by clicking on 'View') it gives me some error message about container something or the other. Does Calibre not recognise B&N books? Is it because of the DRM?
- Charging - I played a little with my device last night, with the charger plugged in, before leaving it on charge overnight. When I woke up this morning (after about 6 hours), I noticed that the charging light was still on, when it should be off after it's fully charged. I checked the nook, and the battery was still showing as 89% charge, which is almost the same level as it was last night. Did it not charge? I didn't switch it off because I know it won't charge; it was only in sleep mode (which I assume is when the screensaver is on?), and yet the battery is not full. It's supposed to charge in 3.5 hours, and yet my nook didn't manage it in six hours. Seven, if you include the time I played with it while plugged in.
- Softrooting - Now, I haven't softrooted my nook. I wanted to know from those who've done it - is it really worth it? What goodies does the softroot add? The nook already comes with a browser and some games (which it didn't initially). I know softrooting will allow me to add Android apps, but I'm not sure why I would want to. So far, the only advantage I can think of for softrooting is the fact that it apparently allows me to Cover Flow my sideloaded content, too, which would be nice. Any other reason why softroot is worth it?
Any info would be much appreciated.
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Concerning VPN: You only need it for purchasing. For downloading, B&N doesn't check your IP. I'm doing this from Germany all the time.
Concerning calibre: Calibre doesn't handle DRMed files per se. You either have to strip them from DRM before adding them to calibre. Or you can integrate the very same Python scripts you need for stripping directly into calibre.
Personally, I strip my eBooks from DRM right after purchasing. So I don't have to bother about the stupid ADE licensing (I've got too many readers and permanently run out of activations).
Concerning softrooting: Biggest advantage in my opinion was the option, to exchange the original AT&T SIM and replace by your own. So I've been able to use my German SIM. I don't need this anymore, since I've got MiFi because of my WiFi-only iPad. But it was great while I've done it.
Many users have stated, the biggest advantage to them was handling sideloaded content. Personally, I don't use nook for sideloaded content anymore, just for the original B&N books.