color Software Update 1.2 released

[magicmonster]

Reasons to choose a NC instead of and iPad:
not tied to Apple
screen is the best on this size device
no data plan required
ability to root the device and put another version of android on it
standard reader does the job most of the time
price point for what it does

I still use the microsd version for games but since they added the flash it is not a must root option. I still cannot believe that they are charging for what I call core apps. The calculator and solitaire apps should have been free. Angry Birds should be .99 or 1.99 at the max.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by magicmonster

Reasons to choose a NC instead of and iPad:
not tied to Apple
screen is the best on this size device
no data plan required
ability to root the device and put another version of android on it
standard reader does the job most of the time
price point for what it does

I still use the microsd version for games but since they added the flash it is not a must root option. I still cannot believe that they are charging for what I call core apps. The calculator and solitaire apps should have been free. Angry Birds should be .99 or 1.99 at the max.

+1

I'm especially disappointed that the app store isn't linked to the Google Market - essentially, we'll have to "re-buy" our apps on NC. Not, in my opinion, acceptable - they really should allow SD card installation if nothing else.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I don't have a dog in this fight, but if you don't mind, I'll weigh in here as someone else slamming the NC stock reader.

I agree with you that the NC stock reader is adequate and functional for "basic" reading, where we define "basic" as:

1. Not taking notes.
2. Not making bookmarks that you want to export later.
3. Not wanting to easily "reset" book data (last page read), etc.
4. Not reading in "night mode".
5. Not reading in landscape mode.

So, basically, pick up the NC, buy the latest Dresden novel or whatever, and read it to completion, and the NC stock app will probably treat you well. And that's great.

But the thing is: under those circumstances, every reader I've ever tried (Nook, Nook Color, PocketBook 360, Aldiko, Moon+, Cool Reader, etc.) fulfills those criteria. And that's great, too, but it does undermine this meme that the NC stock reader is "wonderful".

That's what's so frustrating. Why are they going against the norm? At this stage, it's as if they don't give a darn. It can't be ignorance.

Originally Posted by magicmonster

Reasons to choose a NC instead of and iPad:
not tied to Apple
screen is the best on this size device
no data plan required
ability to root the device and put another version of android on it
standard reader does the job most of the time
price point for what it does

not tied to Apple: NC is tied to Google/B&N, you are trading one evil for another. However, an iPad is not tied to Apple as far as books go. Nor is a true Android tablet tied to Google. On iPads and true Android tablets you can even buy B&N books, and books from Amazon and many other stores!

screen is the best on this size device: You got one right.

no data plan required: My iPad doesn't even have a 3G radio, so no data plan required. My understanding of most true Android tablets is that they do require a data plan on some level. One of the reasons I chose not to go with a Xoom.

ability to root the device and put another version of android on it: If the NC is so great, why do so many feel the necessity of rooting it?

standard reader does the job most of the time: The standard reader is far below the level of Sony Readers, Kindles, original Nook, etc. It is far below the average reader written for Android, Linux, iOS, MAC OS, Windows, etc.

price point for what it does: Let's see, $250 for slow device with 5GB of internal memory that was designed as a READER. Price for bang of buck--there are plenty of better alternative available. However, you are not going to get a tablet worth having at $250. Only pseudo-tablets and toys are available for $250. Want a true tablet? Then expect to shell out at least $400 and probably over $500.

[anamardoll]

I think reasonable people can disagree on the NC value as a tablet versus the iPad. Maybe we should spin off another thread for that particular "topic tumor"?

That's what's so frustrating. Why are they going against the norm? At this stage, it's as if they don't give a darn. It can't be ignorance.

I think B&N is spreading itself very thin and needs to hire more people AND needs to start listening to customers more. I've had nothing but terrible, painful experiences with the customer service (elaborated here; linked rather than beating the dead horse: http://www.anamardoll.com/2011/03/re...ities-for.html) and I genuinely think they are understaffed and under-trained and think that this is still the 1990s and they can do that and still retain business. They're wrong, IMHO.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I agree with you that the NC stock reader is adequate and functional for "basic" reading, where we define "basic" as:

1. Not taking notes.
2. Not making bookmarks that you want to export later.
3. Not wanting to easily "reset" book data (last page read), etc.
4. Not reading in "night mode".
5. Not reading in landscape mode.

That's how I read; but then, I read on my Kindle. But if I had to read on my Color, the stock reader is more than adequate for my needs.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by magicmonster

I still cannot believe that they are charging for what I call core apps. The calculator and solitaire apps should have been free. Angry Birds should be .99 or 1.99 at the max.

Look at their magazine prices.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Look at their magazine prices.

Eh, I only get the dollar ones and $1 for a magazine is pretty reasonable to me. I love that they don't shoe-horn you into a yearly subscription - you can cancel at any time.

What I don't love is the inability to download the magazines locally. Does anyone know if it's possible to retrieve them manually from the NC memory? Are they in ePub form? I like to backup my stuff and read it on other devices as the mood takes me.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Eh, I only get the dollar ones and $1 for a magazine is pretty reasonable to me. I love that they don't shoe-horn you into a yearly subscription - you can cancel at any time.

But I want yearly subscriptions. I'll be glad when Zinio for Android arrives. Then I can get Nat Geo from them for $15 instead of B&N's $24.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Have you thought about Galaxy Tab wifi? I remember you were checking the 3G model a few months ago. Or you're more into a 10" inch tablet? You know, we are in TX , everything is bigger here, lol ...

I'm surprised that I'm attracted to the 10 inch tablets. I don't use public transportation, so the size isn't a negative. From my initial test drives, I think I'll enjoy reading on the larger screen. A very pleasant surprise. Just need to choose one that's most comfortable for my hands.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I don't have a dog in this fight, but if you don't mind, I'll weigh in here as someone else slamming the NC stock reader.

I agree with you that the NC stock reader is adequate and functional for "basic" reading, where we define "basic" as:

1. Not taking notes.
2. Not making bookmarks that you want to export later.
3. Not wanting to easily "reset" book data (last page read), etc.
4. Not reading in "night mode".
5. Not reading in landscape mode.

So, basically, pick up the NC, buy the latest Dresden novel or whatever, and read it to completion, and the NC stock app will probably treat you well. And that's great.

But the thing is: under those circumstances, every reader I've ever tried (Nook, Nook Color, PocketBook 360, Aldiko, Moon+, Cool Reader, etc.) fulfills those criteria. And that's great, too, but it does undermine this meme that the NC stock reader is "wonderful".

Now, you didn't call the NC stock reader "wonderful", but other people have thrown those superlatives around in this thread, and I would ask: If it only does the bare minimum that every other reader does, what's 'wonderful' about it? It's adequate for a very basic set of needs. If that meets your needs, great - but if it doesn't, it's very frustrating.

It's especially frustrating because B&N can't seem to decide if they want this to be a "serious" reading device (which would necessitate major upgrades to their stock readers) or a "tablet" device (which would necessitate a much more robust app store, and - really - SD card installation to the device since they're coming to the app store concept so late in the game).

Now having said all that, here are things that the stock readers don't do well:

1. Library organization. I have 200+ books from B&N alone; 700+ in my Calibre library. The "shelves" feature is bulky and unmanageable - you can only browse the shelves (IIRC) by "swiping" sideways through the covers. I have 100+ books on my "childrens' lit" shelf - I don't want to swipe sideways through 100 books. Compare shelf management to something like the Calibre2opds output - B&N could have done something like that, but didn't.

2. Book resets. Your husband read on your NC and now you'd like all the "last read" pages reset? I still don't know how to do this on the NC. I think there's a way to delete all the bookmarks and highlights, but you have to do that individually for each book. Compare to my PocketBook 360 that has a "clear device" option that resets all books to an unread/un-annotated state.

3. Custom options in the reader: Landscape mode. More controls over the look and feel of the "night" mode. Ability to load custom fonts. Ability to designate "touch areas" where the user can customize commands (i.e., touching the upper right quadrant will skip ahead 10 pages) (Cool Reader does this, IIRC.) Heck, even just the ability to keep the screen on the book cover after the initial zoom-and-load so that you can show off your pretty color reader table to your friends!

There are other things we can (and have) complained about with regards to the NC stock reader, but I think these things are all pretty major, even for casual readers. I'm not trying to slam on B&N - I really WANT to love them because I *am* fond of my Nook and NC - but these issues are present and it's... frustrating for me and others.

I get that you don't want these features, and that's great too. But I think the person you were responding to was frustrated by all the "What you talking about, Willis, the stock reader is GREAT!" posts. I agree that it's functional. For certain needs. But "great"? To me, "great" indicates that you get something from this reader that you can't get elsewhere - and I can't think of a single thing the B&N stock reader does that the other comparable readers (LCD, touch screen readers) don't do just as well or better.

That's my opinion.

This what you wrote:

1. Not taking notes.
2. Not making bookmarks that you want to export later.
3. Not wanting to easily "reset" book data (last page read), etc.
4. Not reading in "night mode".
5. Not reading in landscape mode


1. You most certainly can take notes on the nook color and nook classic for that matter
2. No it doesn't export but you can bookmark
3. Not sure what you mean here. the both nooks holds your last spot where you last read. even withou speciafically book marking. You can juggle three books and when you pull up your book it automaticaly goes to the last page read.
4. Not reading in night mode is again purely subjectable. I don't mind it, in fact like the white on blue text, if it's too bright then bring down the brightness or use another background.
5. Landscape was supposed to be part of this update,not sure what happen and not sure why its not there especially when it's offered in the Nook app. But again to me personally It doesn't affect me because 7 inch's is too small to enjoy reading in landscape, but again those are just my needs and wants.

as to your other complaints
You are comparing Calibre file mangaing system which is designed for a PC to a file mangaing system designed for a small touch screen hand held mobile device. You just aren't going to be able to get the same High level of management on mobile device than you can on a home computer, not a fair argument


Font's. You get a choice of 6 Fonts and 6 text sizes. I mean I know you can't please everyone but egads 6 Font's? IMHO that's more than plenty to choose from.

Night Mode? Again purely subjectable, you may not like the white on blue but have you tried any other backgrounds. You aren't held to only use "Night" when reading at night. Try gray, I think Gray is wonderful

and yes I do find the stock readers UI wonderful. but again that is just my opinon

[boswd]

Originally Posted by SCION

That's what's so frustrating. Why are they going against the norm? At this stage, it's as if they don't give a darn. It can't be ignorance.

I think they seem to be more concerned with targeting the "General reader" first and then gradually pick up advanced features and build on them as time progessisve for the more "techinical readers" I don't know but I do agree the nooks are geared towards the general reading population, like myself, who really don't have much of a need for super advance managment, note taking etc.

I

[SCION]

Originally Posted by boswd

...I don't know but I do agree the nooks are geared towards the general reading population, like myself, who really don't have much of a need for super advance managment, note taking etc.

I

I guess that's a good way to summarize it. Nothing wrong with going after and satisfying that target audience. Just puzzling why they didn't use the NOOK for Android app as a baseline and build on that for the NOOKcolor. It's just baffling, really.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by boswd

This what you wrote:

1. Not taking notes.
2. Not making bookmarks that you want to export later.
3. Not wanting to easily "reset" book data (last page read), etc.
4. Not reading in "night mode".
5. Not reading in landscape mode


1. You most certainly can take notes on the nook color and nook classic for that matter
2. No it doesn't export but you can bookmark
3. Not sure what you mean here. the both nooks holds your last spot where you last read. even withou speciafically book marking. You can juggle three books and when you pull up your book it automaticaly goes to the last page read.
4. Not reading in night mode is again purely subjectable. I don't mind it, in fact like the white on blue text, if it's too bright then bring down the brightness or use another background.
5. Landscape was supposed to be part of this update,not sure what happen and not sure why its not there especially when it's offered in the Nook app. But again to me personally It doesn't affect me because 7 inch's is too small to enjoy reading in landscape, but again those are just my needs and wants.

as to your other complaints
You are comparing Calibre file mangaing system which is designed for a PC to a file mangaing system designed for a small touch screen hand held mobile device. You just aren't going to be able to get the same High level of management on mobile device than you can on a home computer, not a fair argument


Font's. You get a choice of 6 Fonts and 6 text sizes. I mean I know you can't please everyone but egads 6 Font's? IMHO that's more than plenty to choose from.

Night Mode? Again purely subjectable, you may not like the white on blue but have you tried any other backgrounds. You aren't held to only use "Night" when reading at night. Try gray, I think Gray is wonderful

and yes I do find the stock readers UI wonderful. but again that is just my opinon

1. I've already explained why the highlighting functionality of the NC is broken. I don't think I should beat a dead horse. It's almost impossible to highlight exactly what you want on the first hold-and-swipe. The notes and highlights can't be exported, and are lost if the book leaves the system or if the NC reformats or unexpectedly crashes. That makes the note taking function literally worthless for me and many other users.

2. Yes, you can bookmark. I said that. No, you can't export them. Again, that's important if you want to read 700+ books across 3 devices. Some people need and want this; you do not.

3. I already explained why being able to "reset" a book to original settings is desirable. If you lend out your NC to someone else and they read 7 books you haven't opened yet, there is going to be a "last page read" maintained in perpetuity that you can't override. I don't want the book to keep re-opening to page 195 when I haven't started the book yet. Many readers give you the option to reset the book - NC does not.

4. The black screen of the night mode is incredibly bright - it's not a blank black, it's a bright black. It's almost as bright as the white screen - I know; my husband uses the "night mode" on his NC to read at night when I'm trying to sleep. It's bright.

5. The fact that landscape doesn't affect you doesn't change the fact that it's not there.

I kind of feel like we're arguing at cross-purposes. You made a statement that people need to make "IMHO" tags when talking about the NC reader - fair enough. I told you why, IMHO, the stock reader is bad for my needs. Now, I feel like you're telling me that I've misunderstood my own needs or something.

I've made factual statements about the NC reader and you're arguing by saying that, well, I shouldn't be so picky about my needs. Telling me that changes were planned (but not implemented) or that you, personally, don't need more than 6 fonts, doesn't have bearing on the facts as I've presented them. And, IMHO, it undermines your original statement that this is all very subjective and people need to say "IMHO" more and so forth. Even when I say "IMHO", you ended up telling me I'm wrong because people don't need more than 6 fonts or supposedly I don't know how to use the night mode when I'm willing to bet I've messed with the NC night mode more than most people.

I'm not a fanboi and these are legitimate complaints from my corner. I'm not going to argue about whether or not 6 fonts is "enough" - the point is that B&N doesn't let you load more, whereas many (I'd even say MOST) other readers I've used DO let you load more. If people are going to say the stock reader is 'excellent', they need to be prepared for people like me saying, "What does the B&N stock app do that no other reader does? What does it do that SOME other readers don't?" I'm not trying to troll - I'm genuinely curious. I've told you why it's a bad reader for me, but you've said nothing about why you think it's GOOD - just a lot of stuff about how it meets your basic needs. Great, but so does every other reader out there, as I pointed out in my first post. Where's the "wonderful" ness you are seeing? I'd genuinely like to know.

As for this:

Originally Posted by boswd

as to your other complaints
You are comparing Calibre file mangaing system which is designed for a PC to a file mangaing system designed for a small touch screen hand held mobile device. You just aren't going to be able to get the same High level of management on mobile device than you can on a home computer, not a fair argument

Well, huh. My PocketBook 360 manages shelves from Calibre very nicely. Odd that my NC can't.

[boswd]

no I agreed with you that the landscape ommission is a bit odd especially when it's availabe on the nook app for android and iphone and ipad .

but I do think it's a bit unfair to say it's book orgazniation is poor compared to the Calbre though.

I look at it like this. I have a couple of Sansa mp3 players, that have nice sorting and organization options but it doesn't hold a candle to my MediaMonkey ( the digital music version of Calibre) which has every sorting, tagging, conversion etc under the sun.

that's all.