Nook GlowLight Updated

[Tony1988]

Originally Posted by desert dog

I want to buy a nook but B&N is making it tough!

After seeing this thread and viewing all the pics and you tube clips yesterday I was intrigued. Also, to be honest, I feel like a heel browsing through my local B&N and then going home to order Amazon or Kobo books.

So I stopped by my neighborhood store last night with my bank card on fire, ready to be a proud Nook owner.

But to my dismay, the store didn't have a clerk anywhere near the Nook display. I stayed there playing with it for a half hour and not a soul came to sell me. And this on the very day of the big announcement of a new, cool e-reader! I lost any confidence in B&N and any interest in the Nook.

Another e-book fanatic came in and after playing around with the second unit, he too left.

Now, I know this is just one store and a manager who didn't understand how critical it might have been to have a knowledgeable clerk working the display, but still...how am I supposed to react to their indifference?

I will be sticking with my Kindle and Kobo.

Did it ever occur to you to just ask for help? Perhaps they were busy with other customers. I went to my bn to check it out. I was thankful that no one came up and bothered me since i just wanted to look at it. When i am ready to purchase an item at a store i usually ask. Especially when it is something as small and simplistic as a ereader. When you go to a target, kmart, walmart and shop for something like pots and pans, vaccum cleaners etc. do you just stand in the aisle waiting for help?

They probably do not feel its neccessary any longer to have to pay someone to stand by and continually ask if someone wants help with an ereader. They are a pretty common throwaway item now. You're not buying a car.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by FanciFreez

Kobo.. huh.. nice e-reader, screen and sizes are nice, but their service and platform for the home page etc leaves a lot to be desired.. not even close to Kindle (Amazon).. I have the HD, but when I go to the home page, I think, what? get a engineer and some brains to design your system.. what a joke compared to Kindle..

I was referring to the physical design. I don't have a Kindle so I can't really compare. I'm not a big fan of the homepage but it doesn't stop me from my reading so I don't bear a grudge against it!

[llcj]

Originally Posted by FanciFreez

Kobo.. huh.. nice e-reader, screen and sizes are nice, but their service and platform for the home page etc leaves a lot to be desired.. not even close to Kindle (Amazon).. I have the HD, but when I go to the home page, I think, what? get a engineer and some brains to design your system.. what a joke compared to Kindle..

This is truly a matter of taste (not the customer service, of course.) For me, the UI is something that Kobo got right. Kindle, Sony, and now from the looks of it, the B&N offering all have similar looking UIs. To me, all of them are very unattractive and part of the reason I did not chose one of these products.

[ProfCrash]

(clears her throat) I liked the design of the K1. I thought it was cool looking. Just agreeing with the comment that looks are subjective.

When it comes down to it, people will make their decision of what to buy based on what is important to them.

I get that most e-readers are moving to touch screen only, but Nook stood out because of the page buttons. That was something that made a group of people happy. So removing them makes the Nook less desirable to a sub set of folks. I don't see why that is upsetting to people. I held off on upgrading my Kindle because I was worried about finger prints, lack of buttons, and a touch screen only device. I got an iPad and got over that fear. Now I have a PW2 and love it. But it took me a bit of time and adjustment.

So there are folks that prefer buttons, good for them. I understand why they are upset that the Nook no longer has the buttons. Can we let them rant without makign comments like "Who cares, everyone is going to touch screen?" We all know that, I knew that when I didn't buy a Kindle Touch or the PW1, but it didn't change the fact that it annoyed me.

BN seems to have gone out of its way to remove features that made them stand out and that people enjoyed. They made themselves look more like a Kindle or Kobo and alienated customers who didn't want a Kindle or Kobo because they liked certain features on the Nook.

I doubt that those folks are a majority of Nook owners but I get their pain.

[soulfuldog]

Nice to see some common sense Prof, been quite lacking in a lot of this thread!

Hope those who do like the look of the new Nook are happy with it. Despite it's inferior lighting, lack of SD card and most importantly, lack of buttons, I'm sure it's fine....

[John F]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

(clears her throat) I liked the design of the K1. I thought it was cool looking. Just agreeing with the comment that looks are subjective.

When it comes down to it, people will make their decision of what to buy based on what is important to them.

I get that most e-readers are moving to touch screen only, but Nook stood out because of the page buttons. That was something that made a group of people happy. So removing them makes the Nook less desirable to a sub set of folks. I don't see why that is upsetting to people. I held off on upgrading my Kindle because I was worried about finger prints, lack of buttons, and a touch screen only device. I got an iPad and got over that fear. Now I have a PW2 and love it. But it took me a bit of time and adjustment.

So there are folks that prefer buttons, good for them. I understand why they are upset that the Nook no longer has the buttons. Can we let them rant without makign comments like "Who cares, everyone is going to touch screen?" We all know that, I knew that when I didn't buy a Kindle Touch or the PW1, but it didn't change the fact that it annoyed me.

BN seems to have gone out of its way to remove features that made them stand out and that people enjoyed. They made themselves look more like a Kindle or Kobo and alienated customers who didn't want a Kindle or Kobo because they liked certain features on the Nook.

I doubt that those folks are a majority of Nook owners but I get their pain.

It would be interesting to here what BN's thought process was (cutting cost, unable to make durable buttons, wanted to keep the look "clean", ...). The width and height hasn't changed, so why eliminate the buttons; why not provide an option to disable them, if people find them objectionable.

[Tony1988]

Originally Posted by l_macd

Despite it's inferior lighting, lack of SD card and most importantly, lack of buttons, I'm sure it's fine....

You saw the device to make that determination???I saw it and the lignting is on par with the other devices.

[soulfuldog]

No, I took it from someone who seems to have a balanced opinion about e-readers, owns various devices from different manufacturers and is very happy with their new Nook but is objective enough to state:

"It (the light) is better than first generation. More even and less light bleed. Also a little less blue. However, it is more on par with my PW1 regarding the amount of dark shadows. My PW2 is superior."

Bookworm_Girl's post, here in this very thread.

[Tony1988]

Originally Posted by l_macd

No, I took it from someone who seems to have a balanced opinion about e-readers, owns various devices from different manufacturers and is very happy with their new Nook but is objective enough to state:

"It (the light) is better than first generation. More even and less light bleed. Also a little less blue. However, it is more on par with my PW1 regarding the amount of dark shadows. My PW2 is superior."

Bookworm_Girl's post, here in this very thread.

The only hint of shadowing i saw on it was at the very top from the light source. It was so slight and non intrusive it should not be a big deal. The light was even and perfect otherwise. No light holes at all.

You are correct she is one of the few people here who had a balanced opinion. Instead of completely deriding the device she went out and looked at one and purchased it. I suggest others do so as well.(look at it that is)Its not the travesty many are making it to be.

[soulfuldog]

No it's not a travesty but as has been pointed out a number of times already, the things that made the Nook appealing or stand out from the others in the market have been lost.

The Paperwhite has the very latest e-ink display and possibly the best quality light, backed up by Amazon's customer service, and generally it's ease of use. The Kobo Aura has the sleekest design, its the smallest and lightest, and has great font/display customisation. What stands out about the Nook?

I try to be subjective, I own both a Kindle & a Sony and have been considering getting a Kobo Aura. As someone who likes page turn buttons I was quite interested to see what the new Nook would bring to the table, I've never found its wide bevel appealing but might have overlooked that. I can't see anything that makes it attractive to someone like me (and by that I mean not already a Nook owner).

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by l_macd

No it's not a travesty but as has been pointed out a number of times already, the things that made the Nook appealing or stand out from the others in the market have been lost.

What stands out about the Nook?

I can't see anything that makes it attractive to someone like me (and by that I mean not already a Nook owner).

This! I couldn't say it better. I love to have a variety of devices (toys) on hand. And I will definitely make time to get into a store and see the new Nook when I can. But to buy one? No. There's nothing unique to make me want to add it to my collection.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by l_macd

What stands out about the Nook?

Nothing.
In way, the new Nook Glowlight reminds me of the Sony T2: In both cases we have vendors eliminating value-add features that distinguished their previous models, presumably to reduce manufacturing cost, and effectively aiming them primarily at new buyers instead of upgraders.
The problem is that in the US market dedicated reader adoption is leveling off from the peak of 2011. Maintaining hardware sales volume is going to depend on the ability to appeal to upgraders from the 2010-11 hardware cycle.
Whatever the limitations and/or failings of Kindle of Kobo, both have maintained a steady pace of incremental upgrades over earlier models in both hardware and software as a way to differentiate their new models from the old and competitors.
Neither is taking their installed base for granted.

As underwhelmed as I am by the hardware and aesthetics of the new Nook, what really concerns me--in view of their withdrawal of their support for desktop reading apps for Mac and Window--is the effective freeze on their firmware level.
That smacks of short-sighted budgeting and has me wondering if this will be the last Nook reader ever.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by joehunt

Probably the least attractive ereader I've ever seen.

LOL.

Are they SURE that bezel is large enough?

You need some sort of a bezel the width of a thumb to the left and right to be able to hold the thing. Making the corners rounded is a good thing too, but come on... this is overdoing it. The thing is almost round man

Originally Posted by joehunt

I wonder what a dedicated ereader designed by Jonathan Ive would look like? I have no doubt I would be inspired to buy it.

It would look like a 6 inch iPad.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

After the debacle of the Aura screen issues (I never ordered one after following the Kobo threads on here) and the Paperwhite 2 issues (which I experienced, returning 2 as faulty) I had high hopes a new Nook would be an option, but not now.

Going forward I am worried that unless the e-ink screens and the way the devices are put together can be improved (thinking quality control here) in a few years time we will all be reading on tablets. I have a lovely PW1 that right now cannot be improved on by any new device released this year, certainly nothing I'll spend any more money on.

Buying a new iPad instead.

I'm actually thinking to get into Germany at some point next year, and get myself two spare Paperwhite 2's. (Assuming I can look at them in the store.) Then I'll use those readers for 15 years. Along the way I'll get some new/spare batteries.

Think that sounds stupid?

I'm now typing this on a 5 year old Logitech UltraX. First, i had the normal silver version and I liked it; one of the keys broke at some point. It was still on offer, but they also had a limited black version. I bought 5 of those. There are still 4 in the closet.

I'll be typing on UltraX keyboards until I can't connect them to a computer anymore.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

I am going to have to call BS on that statement since many, but not all, paperback books are in aspect ratios similar to HD screens. I have a stack of paperbacks right here in front of me to back up my statement.

A paperback often has a large margin on top and on the bottom of the page, and they are not 10 inch diagonal like a large tablet. Ever tried to read on a 10.1 inch tablet in portrait mode? It's waaaay too long.

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

One of my friend's daughter, who is away at college called. She went with friends to the mall there and looked at the Glowlight. The girls said it was "hot" and "sexy". So I guess others, beside myself, get sick of looking at black electronic items.

Women and technology

My sister is looking for a new laptop, and she only has two specifications:

"It must be smaller than my current 14.1 inch one."
"It must be completely white."

If she finds such a laptop, it doesn't really matter if it costs €500 or €1000. A few years ago I saw her buy a Sony Vaio for €1000 for the sole reason that it was white. A very comparable Asus cost €750 and had a somewhat faster CPU and even a 500GB HDD instead of 320GB, but it was light grey.