Classic New B&N eReader $259 & will allow sharing

[superstitious]

One thing Im impress about the Nook though is that all accessories are already out and ready to be sold with the device. For me, the ability to personalize the device is awesome. Im into more compact reader so I don't know if this is something that would be good to carry around. Looks very interesting though.

[wyldkit]

Do we know if you'll be able to borrow books from public libraries using ADE for the Nook? That's a must-have feature for me. For that matter, are there currently any non-Sony devices that allow that natively?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

It looks like it'll be a cool device. I hope all books don't look like the page of Pride & Prejudice on the B&N site though. No indents?



Might be OK for some, but I've tried reading like that when I screwed up formatting a book, won't work for me. I suppose you could put a space between each paragraph, but I dislike that too.

That is what most eBook in eReader format will look like. They will have no indents and instead a line space to separate paragraphs. This was designed for small screens like a blackberry type screen. But on a 6" screen, it doesn't look nice. Plus, do to eReader being a legacy format, images may very well be a bit on the small side.

The saving grace of the Nook is that it also supports ePub and B&N will be switching to ePub.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by wyldkit

Do we know if you'll be able to borrow books from public libraries using ADE for the Nook? That's a must-have feature for me. For that matter, are there currently any non-Sony devices that allow that natively?

From everything I have read and heard the answer to that will be yes. Since it is using a newer version of ADE which supports Adept DRM and Password DRM. See Jim Lester's (from Adobe) post above for the details.

BOb

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

From everything I have read and heard the answer to that will be yes. Since it is using a newer version of ADE which supports Adept DRM and Password DRM. See Jim Lester's (from Adobe) post above for the details.

BOb

But will eBook shops differentiate the ePub DRM so we don't go and buy the wrong one? I don't see all the readers getting updates overnight for this new DRM and we'll need to know which is which when buying eBooks. A lot of them have alread made a mess of PDF by calling it Adobe Digital Editions.

[Daithi]

I sent the following questions to B&N's Customer Support. I'll let you all know if I get an answer.

I have three questions in regards to the Nook --
1) Does the Nook support folders, tags, or some other means to manage a large number of ebooks?
2) Your website seems to imply that an ebook can only be lent "once" and that is it. Is this correct, or can I lend an ebook to one friend at a time, and after I get the ebook back, lend it to another friend?
3) Is it possible to get the user's manual sent to me as a PDF, so that I can read it now?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But will eBook shops differentiate the ePub DRM so we don't go and buy the wrong one? I don't see all the readers getting updates overnight for this new DRM and we'll need to know which is which when buying eBooks. A lot of them have alread made a mess of PDF by calling it Adobe Digital Editions.

I agree, it would be nice if there was some clarity on which type of DRM is being used.

Let's hope Sony and others upgrade to the newest Adobe SDK ASAP.

That said, the question here was asked about the Nook, which will support both types of DRM so it should work with libraries that support ADE/ePub/PDF just fine.

BOb

[ahintz]

On first blush, I am very impressed with the Nook. I even kind of like the name! Looking forward to being able to use one in-store (a huge advantage for the Nook over the Kindle, I think), and I like the concept of the touchscreen UI display combined with the eInk screen. I think the big advantage Amazon has been able to maintain is in ebook pricing, and I hope B&N is going to compete there. Great news that the Nook supports Adept DRM, so at least you aren't tied to B&N's bookstore - though that doesn't help with Amazon.

With Sony's readers, international Kindles, the Nook, and the myriad other models coming out, I really think this is a great time for ebooks!

[orion2001]

Lending is going to be interesting. There is no way the publishers will be okay with 'unlimited' lending. Physical books are one thing because you only lend to friends and family around you. A digital book however, you can easily lend to a 100 or more people after you are done with it. Websites would pop up allowing you to earn money for lending books to other folks in a queue after you are done reading them. I don't see any of the publishers being okay with that.

It is a great feature and is a step in the right direction but sadly I am quite sure that it will end up being a very crippled e-lending concept.

[frossie]

Can I ask a question about the DRM locking? Jim Lester says "B&N will be using their current flavor of DRM (content locked to a user name/CC#) for selling ePubs from their store". Is it a user name *and* CC?

The reason I ask is that I am trying to figure out how this works out for households. I don't have a problem using a common credit card number for my spouse and any offspring, but I certainly don't want to use a single username (eg. B&N account). This is one of the things that really put me off the Kindle; although they allow you to put the content on up to 6 devices (so enough for most families), it all has to be linked to a sole Amazon account.

Since website accounts are often linked to social features, recommendation engines and all sorts of other things, it really makes sense for members of a household to gave individual accounts; however, when it comes to DRM, it makes sense for the whole household to have access to the material - the same way they do at the moment with physical books.

Now I know that the nook in particular can bypass some of that with the lending feature, but it would be nice to have the "proper" solution written into the standard.

An example of doing this really well is the iPhone app store and how purchases are made by any one person, but available to all members of the household if they want to have them on their device.

[ahintz]

Originally Posted by frossie

Can I ask a question about the DRM locking? Jim Lester says "B&N will be using their current flavor of DRM (content locked to a user name/CC#) for selling ePubs from their store". Is it a user name *and* CC?

The reason I ask is that I am trying to figure out how this works out for households. I don't have a problem using a common credit card number for my spouse and any offspring, but I certainly don't want to use a single username (eg. B&N account). This is one of the things that really put me off the Kindle; although they allow you to put the content on up to 6 devices (so enough for most families), it all has to be linked to a sole Amazon account.

Assuming it works like the current eReader DRM, when you first add a book you will be asked for the name and credit card used to purchase the book, and this will unlock the book for that device. Subsequent books will be automatically unlocked using this name and credit card, and you will only be prompted if you need to enter a different name/credit card.

[LoganK]

Originally Posted by frossie

Can I ask a question about the DRM locking? Jim Lester says "B&N will be using their current flavor of DRM (content locked to a user name/CC#) for selling ePubs from their store". Is it a user name *and* CC?

No, it is credit card name and number. You can keep your own accounts.

[frossie]

Originally Posted by ahintz

Assuming it works like the current eReader DRM, when you first add a book you will be asked for the name and credit card used to purchase the book, and this will unlock the book for that device. Subsequent books will be automatically unlocked using this name and credit card, and you will only be prompted if you need to enter a different name/credit card.

Okay I want to make sure we are talking about the same thing.

Say we have Mr and Mrs Darcy, who share a credit card number ending in ZZZZ. They also each have their own nook.

Mr Darcy buys Volume 1 on the website using his account: Mr Darcy, bill to Mr Darcy, credit card ZZZZ. Mrs Darcy buys Volume 2 on the website using her account but the same card: Mrs Darcy, bill to Mrs Darcy, credit card ZZZZ.

Can Mr Darcy read Volume 2 on his nook?

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by frossie

Mr Darcy buys Volume 1 on the website using his account: Mr Darcy, bill to Mr Darcy, credit card ZZZZ. Mrs Darcy buys Volume 2 on the website using her account but the same card: Mrs Darcy, bill to Mrs Darcy, credit card ZZZZ.

Can Mr Darcy read Volume 2 on his nook?

If it really works like eReader DRM, Mr Darcy could read it on his Nook, on Mrs. Darcy's Nook, on his desktop, on his PDA, on his Blackberry, and even on his mother's desktop...assuming he's there to enter the credit card name and credit card number the first time the book is opened.

I was on vacation at my Mom's, installed eReader software on her computer, and got to finish a book there (this was before I got my first ebook reader and was still reading on computer or PDA).

If Adobe really builds this into its SDK, I'm going to have stop calling them the evil empire!

[DaleDe]

Actually the agreement between Adobe and B&N calls for a social password which may and likely will be different from the credit card number. We will just have to wait and see what Adobe does with this.

Dale