There & Back again. A short journey to understanding.

[bugeyed]

There & Back Again
With apologies to Bilbo Baggins

My observations along the way,

Earlier this year I had the urge/need for a new high tech gadget & eBook readers were just beginning their first downward price adjustment. The Nook WiFi had recently been released & was available at the B&N kiosk, making it ripe for impulse picking. Well, I picked. This was my first exposure to a handheld device other than a PDA or phone & I was initially attracted to the Nook's features beyond just reading eBooks. I soon found the on-line functions to be somewhat cumbersome & not really much fun. Two days into my relationship with the Nook, a friend mentioned that he had a Sony eReader & was very pleased with it. I was intrigued with the functionality afforded by the Sony's full touchscreen & impressed with its robust build quality. I made the switch from Nook to Sony & settled into this new relationship. As the honeymoon waned & the frequent occasions that the Sony's low-light screen legibility let me down, my eye started to wander back to the retail displays of eInk readers. That's when the Pandigital Novel made it's debut at a substantial discount. I was seduced by the possibilities of rooting the Novel & having an inexpensive, reasonably proportioned *Pad/eReader. Over the next couple of weeks, I became somewhat disillusioned with LCD readability in daylight & continued to use my Sony in some environments. Soon, the maintenance of a hacked Android "eReader/Tablet" started to get a bit tedious, with all it's bugs & quirks & technical work-arounds. I went back to my Sony & thought my wanderlust had been satisfied until I saw a Kobo display at the local Wallyworld. Price was right & I again strayed. I was happy with the screen, but not the user interface. For what it offers, the Kobo is a good product, but I want more navigation tools & I didn't like the placement of the page turn buttons. Side by side with the Nook, the Kobo text looked a bit lighter or less bold than the Nook with the best font match I could find. I exchanged the Kobo for a Nook of all things! Having come full circle, I can be much more objective in my critique of the Nook. My earlier impression of the LCD UI was that it was a full touchscreen wannabe, but now I can see beyond its limitations & understand how much it brings to the game. Without compromising screen legibility, the LCD touchscreen adds that element of control & multi-tasking, that I missed with the Kobo & enjoyed with the Sony. At this point, I appreciate the quality of the Nook's eInk display & the LCD touchpad lets me interact with the unit in a way that doesn't make me pine for the Sony's full touchscreen. By the way, I did consider the new Sony 650, but it's expensive & none of the accessories that I have will work, covers, charger etc. That last fact irritated me enough that I didn't give it a second look. In the end, or at least for now, the Nook is my go-to eReader & I am very happy with it. I am looking forward to the next firmware update & hopefully Nook will continue to improve in a few areas. Oh, I never seriously considered the Kindle because of the Amazon-only format & I don't much like the look of the Kindle with its keyboard. The Nook has a much better feel in my hand than the Kindle, Kobo & maybe even the Sony, although I still like the materials used in the latter. I will be adding an Android tablet in the next year & it will have it's place next to the Nook because, with the current offerings, I don't see a good do-it-all product on the market.

Cheers,
kev

[boswd]

very nice story

I have found that to be a fairly common trend among different boards and such. When people first get the nook they feel it's a bit cumbersome and such. Then after they get the hang of it, they end up loving it.

I'm still thank my wife she brought hers home just days before I was going to order a Kindle.
I'm coming form an iPhone so I got the hang of it very very quickly and have loved it ever since.

by the way I'm a huge LOTR and Hobbit fan, loved the title

[ProfCrash]

Then they try a Kindle and go "Ohhhh this is what I have been missing."

(ducks)

[boswd]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Then they try a Kindle and go "Ohhhh this is what I have been missing."

(ducks)

naw I still have my coleco Electronic Quaterback game I had when I was a kid in the 70 and 80's I can dig out of the attic when I want to feel all nostalgia like the kindle's UI and navigation

*ducks from Prof. shoe*

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by boswd

naw I still have my coleco Electronic Quaterback game I had when I was a kid in the 70 and 80's I can dig out of the attic when I want to feel all nostalgia like the kindle's UI and navigation

*ducks from Prof. shoe*

Shoes are for wussies. I throw cast iron tea pots thank you very much.

[bugeyed]

Originally Posted by boswd

naw I still have my coleco Electronic Quaterback game I had when I was a kid in the 70 and 80's I can dig out of the attic when I want to feel all nostalgia like the kindle's UI and navigation

*ducks from Prof. shoe*

Intellivision for me!
The Nook's touchscreen adds functionality that I have come to appreciate over menu driven devices that I have used.
Cheers,
kev