Your opinion of the nook! Rate 1-10 ...

[Tomas]

OK, mine is from one of the later batches (29DEC2009 ship), and it arrived running v1.1.1... Once I learned how the nook wanted to do things, we got along just fine.

I rated it a "9" because compared to the other units currently on the market that I have physically played with, it most nearly meets my needs and most closely matches the way I want such a device to operate.

Battery life needs improvement, and I expect that to happen as B&N refines the software, but the current shorter-than-expected battery life does actually have much effect on MY use of the nook.

[DNEnks]

I have rated my Nook with a 8.

As Dutchman my Nook successfully connects via my home WIFI with B&N. I have not setup a bypass to buy (English) eBooks from them.
In the mean time I have read 4 eBooks and have already 8 awaiting to read. ( One of which is Lost Symbol from D.Brown bought via UK Website).
It is a pitty that the WIFI connection however cannot be used eg to connect the Nook with my NoteBook to sync and in this way transfer daily content collected from subscriptions selected via Calibre. (eg Daily endadget / Newspaper ).

My rating is not a 10 because:

Minus remarks:
* My biggest annoyance is that the READ NOW button doesnot work properly. But I read now till a chapter change and keep that # in mind to come back later on.
This has been reported to B&N by many Users so I am convinced that it will be fixed with a software update ( soon ).

* The formatting time for one specific eBook took so long that I wondered wether the Nook was functioning at all.
Later I discovered who to trick my Nook and have been able to read this book.
Again, a fix for sure will come.

* I was not aware that the big advantage of selecting eBooks via the "cover flow" does not work for own installed eBooks. ( Like any overseas user I buy/download eBooks on my Notebook and then transfer them to the Nook via the USB link ). Software package Calibre shows the cover when selecting the eBook for reading but that is not the same.
Since many people have registered this complaint again I hope it will be fixed.


Positive remarks:
**
I love the looks of my Nook and in the meantime by showing to collegues at work I have made others enthousiast for ereading. So 2 persons have bought also a local available eReader.

**
It is quite simple to create ( basis a word.doc ) your own eBook. Including chapter links and corectly scaling of the fonts etc.
I will use the Nook also as reading device when on Holidays so a "medice" librairy and "Travel Guide" fit easily in its memory as well.

**
It makes so much fun reading eBooks and making page turns by simple pushing the button. The quality of the screen is good.

**
It is the device which sets the direction where eReaders/Tablets in 2010 will be capable off.

[Paul]

Having had my nook for a couple weeks now, I finally came and voted. I gave it an 8.

Overall I like it and it has given me very few problems. I rated it down because of three very annoying problems:

1. Lousy Battery Life! My Sony still shows a full charge and the last time it was charged was Christmas day! I got my nook just under two weeks ago and have already had to charge it three times.

2. Lost page location when powered off. If I could turn it completely off when not reading I think the battery would last much longer. Again, my Sony is turned off when not in use and when I turn it one it takes me directly to the page I last read.

3. The Lend me Feature. I have already lost the ability to lend one book and have temporarily lost the use use of that book trying to lend it to someone only to find out they could not read it. I'm hoping this is fixed soon, and that B&N will reset the book that had the failed attempt at lending so that I can actually lend it to someone again someday.

While these are all major annoyances to me, I feel they should be easy fixes for B&N and hopefully they will be fixed with the release of the next firmware update. The nook is an awesome reader with many great features, and will be the best e-reader currently offered on the market once these detractors are corrected!

[ktrek]

I have had my nook for almost three weeks now, and I gave it an 8, but I have not owned any other ereader. So, I have nothing to compare it with outside of my playtime with other devices at stores. My major complaints would be:

1. The file management system. The nook should be able to let you create folders in My Documents that are visible on the nook. The folder system should allow for the creation of collections. The way the nook just searches for ebook files is unacceptable in my opinion and had I known that the nook would not recognize folder systems I probably would have been more inclined to buy the Sony Daily Edition and spent the little extra money.

2. Losing bookmarks is unacceptable. You should not have to scroll back through a document to find where you were, or make notes to yourself, mental or written.

3. Related to that is the formatting of books. When I format a PDF or epub file to read on one book it affects all my other PDF and epub files and maybe I don't want to read another book in that font setting. When you set a font style and size it should be set for that book and THAT book only.

4. The dictionary is practically useless. I have used it about ten times and found the definition I searched for only twice.

5. Battery life should be better. I can live with it but I would appreciative if that issue could be fixed.


The things I like:

1. I think the eink screen is very readable and the font styles that have used are quite good.

2. The wifi and wireless feature to shop is convenient (almost too convenient).

3. The nooks contoured edge makes it easy to hold compared to ereaders like the Sony. The back cover feels good on your hand and isn't slippery.

4. I like being able to personalize it with my own wallpapers and screensavers.

5. I like the ability to shop outside of B&N and sideload ebooks. The epub and pdf support is great!

6. The reading now feature is nice. It makes it convenient to pick up the nook and start right in where I left off. The only problem is that I am usually in the middle of about three books. Maybe I need to change my reading habits.

Anyway, I hope the things I don't like will be fixed in software updates as I think they are critical in making the nook the best ereader out there. If they don't deal with the issues someone else will probably come along and make a better ereader.

Kevin

[fahrenheit451]

Right now, I am going with a 6.

The loss of the last page read, in conjunction with a Go To function that kinda works, is a real mess. Then there are the other little idiosyncrasies I have been reading about, but have not yet experience myself, like missing sentences where you need to change the font to get the book to reformat, books not downloading completely from B&N, books hanging on formatting, and the nook freezing and having to remove the battery to reboot.

[adria]

I voted 1.

I just received my Nook yesterday. I was so excited as it was Christmas gift from my husband. i love reading and I love real books but I read way too much and my collection of books is growing faster than I can store them.

I open my Nook and charge it. I wait patiently until it is 100% charged. I download a free ebook. It recognizes the new ebook immediately then the following occurs:
1. The book crashes the device after the first or second page
2. The device is completely unresponsive and requires a reboot
3. Once rebooted I reopen the ebook
4. The ebook doesn't open and the device gives an onscreen message that the ebook can't be opened.

This happens with even the ebooks that came with the device.

So sad, I was so excited. I'm not waiting any longer for a new one or for customer service to get back to me, which they never did. I waited long enough for what I thought would be a great ebook reader. I'm sending it back. I'm getting the Kindle instead.

[gloomy50]

Won't write too much, as it's mostly been covered. I gave the nook a 7 for now. With some polishing and another software or two it'll jump to an 8 or 9.

[Bryan]

Pretty impressed with it so far. The contrast on the screen is great, so for day-to-day book reading, which is after all the main point, I'd probably give it a 9 or so. I also downloaded yesterday's version of the New York Times, and that was pretty easy to read through, although it frequently took a little while to move from one section to another. It's also quite expensive for a monthly subscription. But going to the store is very easy, the selection is decent and downloading and reading a book is easy and fast.

The biggest drawback is of course the touchscreen. While also an advantage and a good concept, it does need further refinement and ought to be more responsive. They aren't running any sort of crazy software on it, so I hope that the hardware is capable of better and that their problem is one of coding. Anyways, it works well enough but doesn't register my inputs as often as it should and I expect improvements in future updates. It could also be organized somewhat more intuitively, though in general it's easy enough to navigate.

Overall I'd give it a 7.5.

[vherub]

Am on the 1.1.1 version
I can't put a number down yet. I've had it for about 10 days. Read Through the Looking Glass, from an epub file from Gutenberg. The page count/folio mismatching is rather annoying.
And it is extremely frustrating when bookmarks disappear and you can't jump to a specific page, or move faster than a page at a time.

I also spent some time with calibre creating ebooks, don't have it exactly mastered yet.
I don't mind the slight lag when turning pages, but when the eink farts noise every time the page turns, that is off putting.
Having B&N content and My Documents separate is terrible. As is not having an elegant storage and sorting. I know I am not going to hop around as much as on an mp3 player. But if I want to store a library of content, it's going to be incredibly tedious once I get passed 20 titles.
Why does the Nook need to format text? it should format once, the first time, and be done, as others mention

Some minor stuff:
Needing instructions to open the package is not a great first impression.
Getting dangerously close to breaking the microsd card slot (and the difficulty of just getting to it), is a poor design.
Having so much real estate to a button that doesn't do much (the B&n update thing), I'd rather those buttons were customizable
When browsing for stuff to purchase, it would be great to sort by price, or have a button that showcases sales.
I'd like to be able to delete content on the fly.

The major advantage of the ebook reader (for me), is getting good deals on content and storing my library all in one place.
At the moment, it is difficult to find content on sale (I just have a wishlist I created and check it periodically), and it will be monstrous trying to go through that content once I have loaded hundreds of titles.

So there is potential, but at the moment, I am eager to see what software updates bring.

[arne_bue]

I've been reading books on my iPhone for quite some time. Getting the Nook, and music I like on the device and reading: pure pleasure for me. Since this is my first device other than the iPhone, I gave it a 10.
Bookmarks at first puzzled me; however, I have never lost one when I put the Nook into rest or screensaver mode. I seldom turn it completely off. Screensaver mode uses little energy.
That said, if I do turn it off, I first set my bookmark, THEN open another book and slip in a bookmark. Then I shut the Nook down. When I re-boot, the Bookmark for the book I was reading is there.
I think the innards of the device lend to great apps in the future should there be demand for them, from what I have heard.
ARNE L. BUE