Engadget Reviews the Nook Color

[Bateluer]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/16/nook-color-review/

So, is the Nook Color worth your hard-earned cash? Well, we'll say this -- if you're a hardcore reader with an appetite that extends beyond books to magazines and newspapers, the Color is the first viable option we've seen that can support your habit. Not only does Barnes & Noble have an astoundingly good selection of e-book titles, the company seems to be aggressively pursuing the periodical business, which is a big deal. This is the first device we've seen that effectively and consistently presents a color magazine option. It's not the fanciest or most sophisticated presentation, but the idea of having your favorite glossy delivered direct to a device like this every month (in a truly readable format) is a major innovation. But besides all the reading you'll be doing with the Color, you're also buying into a potentially much bigger proposition -- namely, the idea that come Q1, this thing will be a viable Android tablet with an app store of its own. Granted, it doesn't have 3G on-board, and the OS could use some serious TLC and polish, but if B&N delivers on its desire to create a marketplace for Nook Color apps, you could be spending $249 not just for a great reading experience, but for something far bigger. For the price, you're getting a lot of product here -- now it's just a question of whether or not Barnes & Noble knows how to take advantage of that product.
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Anyone else seeing what this thing can do once its been rooted and the community has had time with it?

 

[dougp]

Did we ever get more details about the processor?

 

[Pliablemoose]

Inside, the system boasts a TI OMAP 3621 CPU clocked at 800MHz (or, "speeds up to 800MHz"). The device has 512MB of RAM, 8GB of flash storage, and a microSD slot for additional expansion (the slot allows use of cards up to 32GB).

It's pretty impressive for $250.

 

[Bateluer]

Did we ever get more details about the processor?

Pretty much the same SoC as the Droid 2, clocked a little lower.

 

[Deeko]

Pass. I'm looking at this thing as an e-reader, and in my opinion, the lack of e-ink & the horrendous battery life (for an e-reader) are immediate show stoppers.

I liked where they were going with the original Nook. Granted I love my Kindle, it did some cool stuff. I really dislike the direction they took here.

 

[AnyMal]

Pass. I'm looking at this thing as an e-reader, and in my opinion, the lack of e-ink & the horrendous battery life (for an e-reader) are immediate show stoppers.

I liked where they were going with the original Nook. Granted I love my Kindle, it did some cool stuff. I really dislike the direction they took here.

I am looking at it at a bit different angle, as a potentially capable Android tablet. If someone can root this baby and unlock the ability to put Gingerbread and Marketplace on it, then you'll end up with a perfect Tab rival for less then half the cost.

 

[dougp]

Pass. I'm looking at this thing as an e-reader, and in my opinion, the lack of e-ink & the horrendous battery life (for an e-reader) are immediate show stoppers.

I liked where they were going with the original Nook. Granted I love my Kindle, it did some cool stuff. I really dislike the direction they took here.

I'm opposite - while I love the "idea" of e-ink, I hate how it's been carried out. I can't read it in the dark, and magazines suck on them. The fact this thing is color works great for me, and as long as I can use it on a plane ride and such, I have no problem plugging it in when I need to after I'm done reading.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I am looking at it at a bit different angle, as a potentially capable Android tablet. If someone can root this baby and unlock the ability to put Gingerbread and Marketplace on it, then you'll end up with a perfect Tab rival for less then half the cost.

Yep, am thinking this is a hell of a candidate for Gingerbread...

 

[Deeko]

I'm opposite - while I love the "idea" of e-ink, I hate how it's been carried out. I can't read it in the dark, and magazines suck on them. The fact this thing is color works great for me, and as long as I can use it on a plane ride and such, I have no problem plugging it in when I need to after I'm done reading.

It really depends on what you're using it for. I don't read magazines so I'm not overly concerned with color - and I can't read books in the dark, either.

What I like about the Kindle is how much it recreates the experience of actually reading a book. And I like the fact that I barely ever have to plug it in. I can just leave it somewhere and pick it up and go when I'm ready to read.

 

[Deeko]

I am looking at it at a bit different angle, as a potentially capable Android tablet. If someone can root this baby and unlock the ability to put Gingerbread and Marketplace on it, then you'll end up with a perfect Tab rival for less then half the cost.

If anything it shows that capable device can be made at that price point...you don't need to spend $500+ like Apple and Samsung would have you believe.

 

[zerocool84]

I'm opposite - while I love the "idea" of e-ink, I hate how it's been carried out. I can't read it in the dark, and magazines suck on them. The fact this thing is color works great for me, and as long as I can use it on a plane ride and such, I have no problem plugging it in when I need to after I'm done reading.

Of course you can't read it in the dark, it's supposed to be just like reading real paper. You need an exterior light source.

 

[dougp]

Of course you can't read it in the dark, it's supposed to be just like reading real paper. You need an exterior light source.

No shit dude, but they could offer some with backlight or some other solution. I don't want to use a book light, or I could just read a regular book.

 

[MagickMan]

No 2.2, but I knew that already. This will be the tablet/reader to beat for <$250.

My gripe is the 8hr battery life, but that's not terrible and it's no big deal to just charge it while I sleep.

 

[Bateluer]

If anything it shows that capable device can be made at that price point...you don't need to spend $500+ like Apple and Samsung would have you believe.

Wonder if that 250 dollar price point assumes they're going to make up any loses in book/magazine/periodical sales? Ala the video game console sales model, take a loss on the device and make up the cost on content royalties.

 

[AnyMal]

Wonder if that 250 dollar price point assumes they're going to make up any loses in book/magazine/periodical sales? Ala the video game console sales model, take a loss on the device and make up the cost on content royalties.

Maybe. Then again, it's not restricted to B&N books only with support for epub, .doc, .pdf, .txt so maybe B&N is content with breaking even on Nook sales just to get people in the store.

 

[Madwand1]

You could make a buck on these buying and selling them on eBay to markets which can't get them directly.

 

[destrekor]

The Notion Ink Adam just might, perhaps, see the light of day one of these months. I'm starting to try and forget about it, because it's too perfect, but with such a small company, it's starting to look like Infinium Labs / Phantom Entertainment and that damn lapboard. When will it ever see the light? Nobody knows.

But the Adam is everything many of us actually want in such a device. It has both an eink-like display mode (not sure if it's actually eInk or an emulation of it) that provides long battery life, and also has a full-color LCD mode for everything else. It's a full Android tablet with all the things we love from Android (not sure about cellular radios like 3G, might be wifi-only), in a fairly attractive package... and yet it's also a functional eReader with all the things people love about the good eReaders.

It's exactly what I want, and priced the same as an iPad, it would be a must-buy for me. I'd love a full-color screen when desired, and yet have the option for a long-life eReader mode.

Dammit, just got my hopes up again - who knows if this thing will ever get released. But it sure would be nice.