Touch My thoughts on the Nook Simple Touch Reader

[mcooke66]

Originally Posted by DSpider

Meh, it was more like a rant really. But I do hope they'll release something that isn't a clone of some other tablet or device. Something without buttons.

Because they can, I just don't know why they won't.


Hmmm... I wonder if they did some marketing research and found that people are really really fond of home buttons. Because that would explain it. People are fond of home buttons so we give it a home button. Simple as that.

You answered your own question, many folks are disoriented without a physical button. You will likely never see the device you want because it does not reach a broad enough audience.

Just drink the kool-aid. It pushes the button, it swipes its finger, it reads!!

[DSpider]

I don't know, at first I thought it was for technical reasons, in case it froze up on you. Or for a possible firmware update, like how an "iDevice" can be put into recovery mode or DFU mode (direct firmware update) by holding a combination of power button + home button. But iTunes (and other jailbreaking devices) can also put it in such states... So it got me wondering why the hell would you need a home button for? Especially since a power button can act as a home button (you can find such plugins for iOS in the Cydia store).

So what gives... ? If it's not a technical reason, is it an Android issue? But... it's Android. It's Linux's close cousin. It can be modified.


Or maybe they just really really wanted a home button with a "n" on it. Maybe they thought it would look cool. Ugh... But then it got me thinking again: why did the Kobo Touch get one too? It doesn't have a "K" on it or anything. I'm serious. What is their reason for adding a home button?

I swear it's like a Xerox design one after another. They just clone other devices and hope for the best... But maybe I question things too much... Maybe they really did do their marketing research and found that most people want their hoam buh-tenz, hurr durr, etc.

[Ryvyan]

Originally Posted by DSpider

I swear it's like a Xerox design one after another. They just clone other devices and hope for the best... But maybe I question things too much... Maybe they really did do their marketing research and found that most people want their hoam buh-tenz, hurr durr, etc.

And if the concept of a home button is popular, then why not? Why don't the newer commercial airplanes have cooler looking wings? WHY DO THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME?

I find it comforting to have physical buttons and I don't even press them for page turns (mentioned many times around here that I have weak thumbs). If I put the Nook in a plastic bag stretched tightly across to prevent water damage at a beach or in a bathtub, I would appreciate the buttons being present for page turning since the touch-screen works differently.

And why make such an annoying touch-screen? Because it's a different technology as LCD types where batteries run incredibly fast. Who cares about battery life? Many people, obviously.

p/s: The bezel allows the Nook (or ANY other e-readers) to mimic a physical book in that I can hold it in a familiar manner; i.e. top right corner with my right hand. I adore it.

[MV64]

Originally Posted by DSpider

Except they advertise it as 2 GB... Very misleading, IMO. You don't even get 1 GB! Unless, of course, you buy lots and lots of books from their store to fill that 750 MB. Which could take a while... And a substantial financial effort on your part (at $3-20 a pop, somewhere in the hundreds of dollars, maybe thousands if we consider the average $10 price tag x 100 books).

Computers advertise their memory and hard drives incorrectly as well. It's annoying, but it's not unique to the nook. As far as the NST goes, I don't understand what they would need a gig for for operating it. All it has is a basic mobile browser and book reading capabilities.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by MV64

Computers advertise their memory and hard drives incorrectly as well. It's annoying, but it's not unique to the nook. As far as the NST goes, I don't understand what they would need a gig for for operating it. All it has is a basic mobile browser and book reading capabilities.

It is not just the OS. What about FOTA? A firmware update is upwards of 100Mb, needs to be stored somewhere before it can be processed. Plus databases for your books, with read page, bookmarks, annotations... all that takes space, and you have to leave a generous margin for future expansion. Plus whatever else is stored in there, like your account details and whatnot.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by afv011

It is not just the OS. What about FOTA? A firmware update is upwards of 100Mb, needs to be stored somewhere before it can be processed. Plus databases for your books, with read page, bookmarks, annotations... all that takes space, and you have to leave a generous margin for future expansion. Plus whatever else is stored in there, like your account details and whatnot.

No what you say makes too much sense. Im staying with the popular consensus that bn is out to get us.

[DSpider]

Originally Posted by Ryvyan

If I put the Nook in a plastic bag stretched tightly across to prevent water damage at a beach or in a bathtub, I would appreciate the buttons being present for page turning since the touch-screen works differently.

You read in the bathtub? Hahahahaha. I can only speculate what you're reading in there. But hey, if it was waterproof you wouldn't need a lunch baggy, now would you?

Originally Posted by afv011

It is not just the OS. What about FOTA? A firmware update is upwards of 100Mb, needs to be stored somewhere before it can be processed. Plus databases for your books, with read page, bookmarks, annotations... all that takes space, and you have to leave a generous margin for future expansion. Plus whatever else is stored in there, like your account details and whatnot.

If you look at the PSP Fat (PSP 1000), it has a 30 MB NAND dump of everything that's installed on 4 different partitions (flash0, flash1, flash2, flash3). And it has a browser with Flash support, various audio/video/image codecs and not to mention a s**t load of drivers for various accessories: camera, GPS, 1seg (Japanese TV tuner), earphones remote, TV-Out, etc). Most of it is stored in flash0, while the other partitions hold account info, settings and wallpapers (which the PSP turns to Bitmap image, mind you!), but that stuff is trivial... wallpaper and all (480x272 bitmap), it can't take up more than 1 MB or so, while the Nook on the other hand, only reads, what, a few formats and pictures and has a frigging browser! Pff... Now that is just absurd.

On a side note, the PSP Slim (2000, 3000, and quite possibly the Go version, I'm not sure) has 60 MB, double the capacity, and it's why there was no space to add Skype on the Phat... You see, they had to keep supporting future firmware updates for all models. I understand that. But the PSP's firmware looks very much like a customized *NIX cousin, just like Android was based on Linux, one which does a heck of a lot more than the Nook.

My (expert) computer engineering opinion is they could've used 100 MB tops and still manage to advertise it as 2 GB just fine.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by DSpider

What if you're a lefty? Would you really hold your kid with your non-dominant hand while you're doing something else?? Would you really hold your kid AT ALL while you're doing something else? Jesus... Can't you just stop reading for a few minutes? I bet you held your Nook Touch with your other hand while you typed this too, didn't you?

Works fine in my left hand too.

I can tell you don't have kids. Sometimes my 3yr old or my 5yr old want to sit with me on the couch or whatever. But that doesn't mean I want to watch The Little Mermaid or even My Neighbor Totoro for the 20th or 30th time, nor do I really want to sit and watch Dora the Explorer. It's good when I'm eating too. And I hate getting stuff (dust, hairs, etc) on the screen...especially the e-ink screen on the NT. Bugs me when I'm reading.

I will not buy an e-ink device without pageturn buttons of some sort.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by DSpider

My (expert) computer engineering opinion is they could've used 100 MB tops and still manage to advertise it as 2 GB just fine.

I would be more than happy to see how you squeeze an Android build on 100Mb, while leaving room for software updates (which already account for about 100Mb a pop). I have an (expert) opinion as well.

[DSpider]

The point is it doesn't do much compared to other devices.

And for your information there's a Linux desktop version (Desktop!) called TinyCore, and another called Slitaz. Look them up. One is 10 MB, the other is 30 MB and they're fully functional LiveCDs. I use Slitaz from VirtualBox for (completely) sandboxed web browsing. Once you figure out how to install "get-flash-plugin" you're golden.

So please don't tell me they couldn't have used a heck of a lot less than 1 GB for a few measly features. That is just absurd.

[Ryvyan]

Originally Posted by DSpider

You read in the bathtub? Hahahahaha. I can only speculate what you're reading in there. But hey, if it was waterproof you wouldn't need a lunch baggy, now would you?

Sadly, I don't have a bathtub at home. Then again, they aren't the most uncommon place to have a good read. Anyway a paperback is hardly waterproof, it would turn soggy if I dropped it in a tub. The only difference is the amount of money one just accidentally dumped into a huge pool of water.

Hardly any electronics is waterproof, not to say at that price. I dropped my iPhone 3G into the toilet bowl and it went into a coma until I had it repaired. That costs a few times more than the Nook itself.


And I don't disagree with you that the amount of space for sideloaded content is ridiculous, but I bought it despite the fact so poo-poo to me. How I live with it is to delete old books (which I don't mind doing) or get a SD card (which is cheap).

FACT: If I want a device that does more than reading, I would not even look at the Nook Touch. Right now I'm more than satisfied with it for just reading.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by DSpider

What if you're a lefty? Would you really hold your kid with your non-dominant hand while you're doing something else??

OT:
Thanks for the laugh! (This particular post was old-ish, but I didn't see it until now)
Still OT:
When you're taking care of a small baby you CONSTANTLY have to do other things while holding the child! Like taking care of your other child(ren). So you hold the baby on your non-dominant arm and use the dominant one for whatever needs doing. And when you get tired you switch arms. So you become sort of part-ambidextrous. Everyone who has dealt with real babies knows this!

OMG! I'm still laughing at this ridicilous comment! You're not for real are you? You just want to stir the pot a bit!

Back on topic (sort of): You can hold the Touch in either hand and tap either side of the screen if you want to. And of course use the buttons either side if you prefer that.

Edit (and OT): I suddenly realize there might be a gender specific perspective here. You're a guy and real men don't multitask. My bad! Yet you want your device to be able to...