I just came back from NYC, took me about 80-90 mins both ways and I got my Nook!!!!! I got it from the Union Square store which had loads of them! The one on Lexington also has Nooks but that's it for the B&N stores which stock Nooks. The sales girl told me the reason why the 2 NYC stores have the Nooks in stock is because they are flagship stores and B&N wanted to probably see how well they sold in NYC first before rolling them out to the rest of the USA.
The girl was so very nice, she opened up the Nook packaging, she was joking about how hard it is to open and she even put on my grapefruit silicon case. She said the B&N workers got NO discount on the Nook which surprised me and annoyed her. She said she can't afford her own Nook but anyway, she showed me a little how to tour of the Nook. I hit a snag when she tried to put Free books on my Nook, my debit card had 3 charges I didn't know about today and that was why it said "unable to connect" when I tried to buy a free ebook despite having a gift card on there too. Later on when I added money to my debit card, I could easily buy free ebooks or any ebook. I was afraid my Nook was defective but all is well.
Btw, is there a specific section where all Free ebooks are since she never did show me how to get to them??? I assume there is or do I have to search for each free ebook?
I had already briefly seen a Nook in person at my local B&N but it was very quick since they were closing. Seeing it again, I can honestly say it's the best e-ink display I have ever seen. The background is almost white, def lighter than the Kindle's light grey background. It's WAY lighter than the Sony Daily Edition and makes me wonder how people can even read it. I know some are used to the dark grey on the Sony touch readers but seeing the VERY crisp dark fonts against an almost white background on the Nook is like night and day. There is NO glare! Reading books is heavenly. I could easily read on the bus, even when it was low light I could still read whereas it would be impossible on the Sony touch reader or the Kindle 2. When the bus went through the holland tunnel, I def couldn't read though but the color touchscreen was bright.
I love the color screen! I don't think it's a "gadget" at all like some do. When you are browsing the B&N store and you turn on the covers, it's like browsing through a bookshelf in the store. It's very cool to see the covers but I won't always be doing that since it takes up battery life. I have my touchscreen set on 16% brightness. When the salesgirl set it up for me, it also automatically downloaded the newest update which she was excited about. There isn't much lag for me when I go through the color touchscreen, the lag that I saw on youtube videos is def not on my Nook. Things didn't move as fast as an iphone or ipod touch coverflow but still pretty speedy.
The Nook feels good in my hands, I like the grapefruit silicon cover to protect it. It's not hard to operate or get used to for me. I find it a delightful device and def my very fav e-reader yet. I remember the RCA ebook readers way back in the day so I appreciate how far e-readers have come. I love that it comes with a wall charger piece that you fit onto the included usb and plug it right into the wall. I prefer charging it this way rather than regular USB because it will charge faster. Although the Kindle 2 is a very good e-reader in it's own right, I really am enjoying the Nook SO much more big time. I LOVE this thing!!!!
I have to say, the Sony Daily Edition has the best style factor, large very nice screen but wayyyyyyyy too dark for me. I couldn't bear to look at that screen now that I have been reading on the Nook with it's much better contrast and reading experience. The Kindle 2 is very nice also but just not for me. I don't mind a 6' screen.
It was well worth traveling the distance from Jersey to NYC!! I'm so happy I don't have to wait for shipping and I got my brand new Nook today! I forgot to say that I love the Wifi!!! I am on Wifi right now and not the At&t network although I can easily get a signal. I got a signal all through NYC and NJ in fact. Thanks to the person who posted they were in fact in NYC in another thread and to Mos from Germany who's videos were a factor in me getting the Nook.