95% of my reading is now done on ebook readers and after using them for several years, starting with the Sony Reader, then a couple of Kindles, and a couple of Nooks, I have now found the ultimate ebook reader in the new Barnes & Noble Nook. I bought my Nook 1st Edition in 2009 and still use it every now and then. Back in early 2009 I wrote why ebooks were best for reading and now a couple years later after trying to read on the iPad, big screen smartphones, and other connected devices I have decided that nothing can beat a dedicated ebook device with eInk and limited connectivity for the near-book experience.
I read ebooks on my iPad and HTC Flyer, but notifications, the urge to check email or browse the web, and other distractions take away from the book experience. My eyes are not really bothered by color displays, but after reading ebooks on my new Nook the past couple of weeks there really is nothing that can beat eInk for reading.
In my opinion, the all-new Nook, also referred to as the Simple Touch Reader, offers the BEST ebook experience through the same size screen as others, the best eInk technology, an amazingly long battery life, support for standard ebook formats, access to a bookstore with over 2 million titles, small form factor without a keyboard or other unnecessary extras, functional touch screen, and software optimized for the reading experience. It is available for a very reasonable $139 and if you are an ebook fan then this is THE ebook reader to purchase.
I also took a few product photos that you can find in my image gallery where I compare the new Nook with the 1st Edition Nook. I also captured a video below of the Nook in action and included my top 5 reasons why I think it is the best current dedicated ebook reader.
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| Image Gallery: A walk around the new Barnes & Noble Nook ebook reader device and the screens available. |  |
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5 reasons the all-new Nook is the best ebook reader
Each of us has our own personal preferences and I can’t tell you that any device is the very best for all of us. However, I sincerely believe there are several reasons that the all-new Nook is the best and offer the following 5 reasons for you to consider.
Reason #1: Form factor
Before this current Nook, my favorite ebook reader, in terms of form factor, was the Sony Reader 505. While the Kindle has a great ecosystem and has many strengths, I rarely ever used the QWERTY keyboard and found that having a hardware one that was always present and taking up valuable real estate was a major waste of space. The original Nook that I still own has a color touchscreen band at the bottom so there are reasons for using it, but it was a bit clunky and I often could be found tapping on the eInk display rather than the color band.
The all-new Nook has the same display size as the other ebook readers at 6 inches, yet there is nothing else to the device but a small bezel around the display so you can hold it in your hand. It seems a bit chunky, but is the same width as the first generation Nook and the shortness of it makes it seem a bit wide.
The Nook is also covered on the front bezel and complete back with soft touch material so it is easy to hold and presents you with a surface that is not slippery. It also only weighs 7.48 ounces and compared to the newest Kindle (8.5 ounces), Kobo Reader (7.8 ounces), and Nook Color (15.8 ounces) it is the lightest currently available.
Reason #2: Touchscreen interface
I tried touchscreen Sony Reader devices in the past and Sony did get better every generation so that the latest PRS-650 Touch Edition used the same infrared technology that we see on the Nook. However, their previous strategy was to place a touchscreen layer on top of the eInk display and thus they were always taking something away from the eInk reading experience. I believe that the eInk display is one of the most important aspects of device because without a crystal clear display you won’t enjoy your reading experience. The upcoming Kobo Touch also offers an infrared touchscreen display so that your finger position is picked up by IR sensors embedded around the sides of the Nook bezel.
When I heard it was based on infrared I thought I would see lots of deadspots and lag, but so far I am amazed by the responsiveness of the display and if I didn’t know that it was powered by IR I would swear that the actual display had a touchscreen layer on top of it.
The touchscreen user interface feels very natural and swiping or tapping on the display to turn pages is intuitive. The pop-up QWERTY keyboard works well too.
Reason #3: eInk display
The all-new Nook uses the latest Pearl eInk technology and the 6-inch 800×600 display looks fantastic. The contrast and clarity is amazing and I am able to even easily read books in low light and direct sunlight conditions.
Barnes & Noble has a new functionality, called Fast Page, where page turns are near instantaneous and you will only see page refreshes every 6 pages. The page turns are so fast that reading is completely unencumbered on the new Nook.
Reason #4: Battery life
I purchased my new Nook a month ago and charged it as soon as it arrived, but haven’t put it on a charger since then and still have 25% battery life left. I have finished half of Tom Clancy’s Dead or Alive and spent time creating notes, adding bookmarks, putting in highlights, and browsing the store. I did have WiFi off for the majority of the time, since you only need it for shopping or for delivery of your daily newspaper selection.
Barnes & Noble advertises that you can go 2 months with WiFi off and 3 weeks with WiFi on. It is so refreshing to have an ebook reader where I never have to even think about charging the battery and can just focus on reading books.
Reason #5: Content
There are over 2 million titles in the Barnes & Noble ebookstore, compared to the 950,000 titles in the Amazon ebookstore. In addition, you can transfer over DRM and non-DRM EPUB files through a USB connection or Adobe Digital Editions. This functionality let me bring over all of the books in my Sony Reader library and also check out ebooks from my local public library.
The original Nook let ebook readers who had books from Peanut Press read them on the device, but PDB formats are no longer supported. For those enthusiasts who still own these books I am sure they can figure out how to use Calibre to get these titles on their new device too.
