Barnes and Noble Nook press conference in NYC (report)

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

The devices can all handle non-DRM'd epub, but the stores don't all sell non-DRM'd epub. I want to be able to shop at B&N, Amazon and the Sony store. Right now I can't do that. I'm stuck with the Sony store or places like Books on Board (which always seem to have higher prices).

That wasn't the question asked, though. Non-DRM ePub has extremely wide reading support.

[Superlucky]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

Ugh. Will we ever see a format that we can buy anywhere and use on any dedicated reading device?

^ Yeah, it was the question. You can't buy non-DRM'd epub everywhere. You can't buy it at any of the "Big 3". Extremely wide reading support is worthless when that's not what stores are selling.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by ProDigit

I was interested in the specs; here's what I found:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/features/techspecs/

and even easier would be to just look in our wiki Nook

Dale

[Sydney's Mom]

Looks great. I really like that you can browse books by their covers - although that may be limited to those bought at B&N. I like the page turning mechanism, but would like to see how it holds up, and whether it is easily hit accidentally. I don't have a problem anymore with my kindle1, but the button is inset. I always thought a touch screen would be more trouble than it was worth, leading to smuges on the screen, but the way they have put it on the bottom looks great. Has an SD and a removable battery. All in all, if I didn't already have a kindle, I would buy it. But I don't feel it is enough of an improvement to add, since my daughter's kindle is my backup. The thought of converting all my mobi to epub or pdf is daunting, but I saved the epub or pdf version of each book I converted to mobi, so there shouldn't me too many. Unfortunately, it does not appear they provided folders. I would have loved to see even a nonfiction/fiction category. Then mystery, romance, political . . .

[juj1n]

They did announce their intention to be "competitive" on ebook pricing. Whether this means matching Amazon's $9.99 standard price for many books was n ot explicitly stated.

I really hope this means that they will be lowering their ebook prices because I've found most ebooks a lot cheaper on the kindle store.

[Harmon]

Having acquired a Sony 300, I regard all these other readers as too big.

Compared to the Nook & the Kindle, the 300 is stone simple - no bells and the only whistle is bookmarking - but all that is overridden by the fact that the 300 is truly portable, in jacket or cargo pocket.

The Kindle design seems to rule out a smaller screened version, but the B&N design would work at the 300 size. I'd love to see one...

[Penforhire]

The book loaning is a great idea and would encourage joining a reading group where we could round-robin swap books we buy, cutting our total expenses down. I am curious about the DRM involved. Not that it would matter in the big picture but if it does not require the borrowing Nook to communicate with the lending Nook at the END of the 14 days I imagine setting the clock forward on the lending Nook could 'retrieve' the book instantly.

[FizzyWater]

I think on the other thread they were saying you could loan a book ONCE...if the publisher allowed it, although there was some question on the interpretation of the comment it was in.

[Avarwen]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

The devices can all handle non-DRM'd epub, but the stores don't all sell non-DRM'd epub. I want to be able to shop at B&N, Amazon and the Sony store. Right now I can't do that. I'm stuck with the Sony store or places like Books on Board (which always seem to have higher prices).

This is why I'm not buying any of the newer releases some are close to the price of a physical book. DRM is being more of a pain right now then anything. I just got my first erader and bought some cheap books to test it out. I got one from B&N it didn't work ( this might change with the Nook coming out). I got some books from Sony's store all but one worked the one that didn't work was still in BBeB format (this too might change). If this is true I'll start shopping at both again.

I'm also hoping that Amazon will jump in at some point I see some books I want to but form there but I can't get them right now. I wouldn't worry too much though as ereaders become more popular and more affordable it will make more business sense for ebook stores to have more open formats.

The Nook looks nice and is at a decent price for an ebook at this time. But I don't really see anything that makes it stand out among its peers. The color screen at the bottom looks cool but that's not why I bought an ereader. Unless they've done something revolutionary with the functionality of the device I don't see it really giving the Kindel a run for its money.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

The devices can all handle non-DRM'd epub, but the stores don't all sell non-DRM'd epub. I want to be able to shop at B&N, Amazon and the Sony store. Right now I can't do that. I'm stuck with the Sony store or places like Books on Board (which always seem to have higher prices).

Yeah, you've put your finger on it .

Here's something to think about, though. All three of the Big Book Sellers make an iPhone App that can read their books. Suppose Apple's rumored iTablet can run Apps. Suddenly, Apple will have the ebook reader to rule them all.

[Andanzas]

Originally Posted by Harmon

Here's something to think about, though. All three of the Big Book Sellers make an iPhone App that can read their books. Suppose Apple's rumored iTablet can run Apps. Suddenly, Apple will have the ebook reader to rule them all.

That's an excellent point! I don't expect a dedicated reader from Apple, but I would be interested just because of that possible feature.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by Harmon

Apple will have the ebook reader to rule them all.

pfft

Apple tablet rumors have run rampant since 2001, so don't hold your breath. "Slate tablets" have existed since around 2005 or so, and didn't exactly fly off the shelves. Heck, a few even still exist, though they'll set you back close to $2,000. And no matter who makes it, tablets will be heavier, bigger, thicker, more expensive, possibly less secure, harder to read, and will have a shorter battery life. It'll be useless as a phone, too big as a PDA, won't have a substantial enough keyboard for real computing, is just as likely to have (proprietary) DRM, will likely interrupt your reading by informing you that you've got a new email.... Shall I go on?

A slate PC will be better than an ereader for some purposes, users and tasks. But better for reading? Not likely.

[WillAdams]

However a keyboard can always be plugged into a slate computer --- there are some _very_ nice portfolio cases available which will support using the slate as a laptop.

For reading, well, I reach for my Fujitsu Stylistic whenever I want to read a large, colour .pdf or ebook and it's comfortable enough.

William

[NormHart]

I, for one, am very excited about getting a little nook..

(sorry I think we will all get tired of this soon but for now )

The Nook seems to address many of the shortcomings of the Kindle but the most exciting thing in my mind is the Android/Windows OS. With the possibility of a more flexible UI and the possibility of apps the Nook may be just what the ebook community is looking for.

The first thing I did, after reading a bunch of reviews, was to verify that my Baen Books library was available in ePUB format, which it is. I spent several days re-downloading my Baen library from HTML to MOBI/PRN nine months ago when I got my Kindle2 and the prospect of downloading everything again (with about four times as many books) is somewhat daunting but doable.

Lending is halfway to giving. One of my pet peeves is that I can lend and I can give a paper book to my friends and I can't with Amazon ebooks. If I spend close to the same amount for the product I want the rights that I have with the other product. I would have no issue with B&N DRM if it allowed me to lend the ebook and not give me access. I would hope and expect that eventually this would lead to a non-time limited loan and eventually the capability of giving the ebook to another (EG them forgetting to return the book, like usual). This would appear to be identical with the rights I have with a paper book and would be fully acceptable to me. (EDIT: Public Libraries!!!)

An SD Card, WiFi access to my home network (my library), (EDIT: Public Libraries!!!), and folders/shelves/whatever for organizing my collection and I am in reader's heaven.

I am not going to rush out and pre-order one of these. I am not going to rush out and pre-order one of these. I am not going to rush out and pre-order one of these.

I've only had my Kindle2 for nine months or so and I am really happy with it (except for all that cool stuff that the Nook has...) but I will be watching to see how this system/device develops.

[sassanik]

They said they were hoping for late november release, which is nice! I thought it would be sometime 2010.

Do you think they are going to be selling it at a loss or just at cost? The price seems low for the features, don't get me wrong I think that is a great thing! I am curious though.


Amy