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

[rachel]

So now that nooks are in the "wild" more and more people are going to have to decide if the nook is for them. This poll is a way to try and consolidate your thoughts on the device.

If you have tried it, pick a rating 1 – 10, with 10 being "Buy it! It’s the best eReader out there right now," and 1 being "Don’t you dare buy this piece of junk."

Give us you opinion as well by posting below, but remember to be respectful of other people’s opinions.

(You may change your vote as well if you want to as you play more.)

Cheers!
Rachel

[RoxieRavenclaw]

Heya!

I voted 9, but I'd give it anywhere between 8-10, actually. Or a 9/10 for me, and anywhere from 8-10 for everyone else.

I love nook, and I do think it's a great device. For myself, I would give it a 9-10 because it perfectly fits my needs and is exactly what I want. As for everyone else, it's just...right now, this may not be the kind of device you'd want to have, just yet, if:

1) you don't want to be an early adopter--meaning you don't want to deal with any quirks any first-generation device will have
2) you have no patience whatsoever, particularly when it comes to working with electronics of any kind
3) you're not willing, at all, to work with nook on its terms

If any of those three statements fit who you are and what you think of this device, then really: Don't bother, at least right now. Personally, I'd either wait a few months, when the hoopla dies down, nooks are available in-store (and, perhaps, a software update or two has come out). Or I'd wait until B&N comes out with the second generation of nook. If you can't wait that long, then the Kindle, or the Sony ereader, is for you. I'm convinced that nook IS here to stay, despite the little quirks and foibles that have gotten thrown in its way. As some of the nook reviews have said, nook isn't a Kindle killer right now, but it can hold its own, and that's significant, too.

--Roxie

[ProHobo]

It is a good 5-7 rating and should be by anyones standards. However it could easily be a 9-10!

The problem right now is the early version of Andriod and how it functions with the product.

I got my Nook yesterday and already found several issues.

1. Some downloaded books from B&N have missing pages, the "archive" doesn't actually erase the book from memory and thus one has to delete the book using PC. I spoke with B&N tech support and they are aware of this issue.

2. Android is faster than the e-ink refresh, the built in pause to update has created some "slow" issues. Again, they are aware of this.

3. CRASHES? ... It has crashed 6 times for me and it gives you an option to "wait" or "quit". I should not really call it a "Crash" but more of a failure to perform the load or task. Again, I spoke for an hour with a tech support person, who seems to be pretty familar with the problem and said they are aware.


The three problems are actually fairly minor, but are little bugs that you will most likely encounter. Should you NOT buy the Nook because of it? Certainly not, these are all firmware problems that can be fixed and they are already rolling out a firmware update.

The Nook performs as expected and all e-ink is slow to refresh, regardless of what eReader you use.

I am an early adopter of the Nook and think its form and function are an easy 9-10, for what the devise does once the firmware gets resolved. Which I expect to see several updates in the coming months.

What will make it a 10+ is when andriod SDK geeks bust this sucker wide open and start writing aps for it and that will push the Nook to new bounderies leaving the Kindle in the Dust.

If you don't have an eRead, the Nook is the one to get. Just expect the issue I mention above needs to be worked out and none of them are a non-starter or deal breaker.

I still think that $250 is way to expensive for this type of device, with good netbooks coming in at $300.

I think the Nook is probably (currently) the best eReader with some firmware upgrades and some apps for the Android OS, but I would expect the price to drop sharply after the first quarter to the $150 to $200 range.

[jen_ny10021]

Rated the nook a 9 out of 10, only because I know it's not perfect but it's definitely more than what I expected when I pre-ordered in Oct-09.
Never thought I would be reading books on one of these devices as I was not thrilled when I tested a Kindle over the summer. What hooked me on the nook was primarily because I'm a loyal BN customer. The device is visually appealing, love that they will allow us to browse full versions at local BN store for free, lend books to my friends and out of the box, gadget was off and running in no time (that plastic case was infuriating, though).
While waiting for the nook to arrive (it finally did on Dec 9th), I started to download and read sample books on my blackberry Tour as well as on my iPod Touch and both worked well. Once the nook arrived and my account set up, all those sample books found its way to the device and I was ready to start reading. In terms of purchasing books, I tested purchasing ebooks on the device itself as well as on the website and both methods worked seamlessly.
As with any "first gen" devices, there will be little bugs here and there, but for the most part, I can deal with them. My ultimate objective in getting the nook was to browse and download books when and wherever I want, and to be able to enjoy my books and share with friends. For that, I believe that the nook has succeeded.

[CyberMage]

I rated an 8 of 10. The top rating I'd give an e-ink device is probably a 9 because I can read a page in slightly more than the time it takes for it to refresh - I'm fully expecting my reading experience on the Nook (which I played with a bit before storing for Santa) to be considerably slower than with a traditional book. Given that page turning is slow, I estimate the average novel to require about an hour and a half of just screen refresh time on the Nook.

I gave the Nook an 8 because it's even slower than the standard when it comes to it's competition in this regard. I would have even rated it lower based on that, but darnit the 802.11 wireless is just awesome - I live in the mountains, and getting cellphone signals is hard enough - AT&T is impossible.

So you know, I played with my sister's Kindle last Christmas. I would give it a 7, maybe 8. I really had trouble figuring out the interface on the Kindle. The Nook was much more intuitive for me. I think the complaints on the Nook interface being confusing must be coming from people who are already indoctrinated in the way the Kindle works and are subconsciously comparing it to their expected system.

My other issue with the nook is of course the touchscreen response - I loaded up about 30 background images and found it impossible to scroll through them, I'd watch the screen scroll and find myself either right where I started or actually back a page that I'd already seen. I never actually reached the last item in the list.

But, I'm still happy with my purchase and look forward to future firmware patches

[McWarren]

I voted 9, then changed my vote to 10 after I got more comfortable with it. Granted, it's my first eReader, so I have little to compare and contrast to the others. I fiddled with a friend's Kindle and played with a Sony at Borders and that's about it.

I'm curious to know the reasons why there are 2 "1" votes. Do either of you care to share your opinions? I'm not looking to start up any heated discussions or anything; I'm just wondering why nook doesn't work for you.

Sydney

[mytwoblessings]

I would give it a 9. However, I haven't used an other e-readers to compare it to, except for reading books on computer, which I positively hated. It was easy to use and although had one tiny glitch, I can live with the 3 second page turn. While reading gunslinger, I chose the large font and suddenly the pages was going up 10 pages instead of one. Odd - so changed back to medium and didn't do it. I tried it again later and didn't seem to have the problem. A temporary aberration. The touchscreen seemed a little sensitive at first, then I discussed it was me and once I learned how to touch it correctly, no problems. I had to adjust to the machine's rate of speed. I don't mind being the guinea pig for the nook. As I use it more, will be able to judge better.

[CyberMage]

I'm curious to know the reasons why there are 2 "1" votes. Do either of you care to share your opinions? I'm not looking to start up any heated discussions or anything; I'm just wondering why nook doesn't work for you.

There's a troll or two in every crowd

That, or I'd say it's probably people ticked that they won't be getting theirs before Christmas. Even if I hated the device, I don't think there's any way it deserves a '1'. Seems to me it would have to only support proprietary DRM books from B&N only, have a screen that was horribly hard to read and crash every 2 page turns to deserve a "1".

[kat89447]

I think it's pretty and has potential to be a good ereader. I found it difficult to navigate because it seemed to have a lot of steps to do simple things. I was disappointed in the touch screen for a couple of reasons. The titles were hard to read since the "covers" are so small and unless they had an easy block type font I had to click on the book just to see what it was. The other thing that really bothered me was that once you "clicked" on something you just had to wait to see if it worked since there was nothing to indicate it was even thinking about it. I also downloaded a book and when I tried to read it, I got the first two pages (publishing info etc) and before I got any further the nook locked up. I played around with font sizes and types and it was difficult to change although the background and color of the pages was similar to my K2. I think that once they get some of these issues worked out the nook will be a good ereader, but still probably a generation away. I was pretty disappointed though because I was hoping it was going to be easier and more user friendly, I think it would be more difficult for someone with "older eyes" to navigate as I was hoping to be able to get one for a relative that's not too tech savy. I think if you have experience with touch screens and more recent gadgets it is probably not that big of a deal, but if it's your first ereader then it might be frustrating. Hopefully they will streamline and fix some of the issues.

[loupy]

I finally got my nook on Monday, and immediately sideloaded some ePubs I have and borrowed a few books from the library; it all went flawlessly. Sure it has a few issues I'd like to see BN work out such as folders and tagging. But for a Gen 1, single purpose device it is absolutely amazing and works perfectly for my needs. I've already read 2 books on it and am about to start my third.

I guess since I'm tech person, I find the touchscreen quite intuitive and I have yet to RTFM

Interestingly enough, B&N finally changed my order status from "not yet shipped" to "shipped" this morning even though I received it early afternoon on Monday.