I got a notice from Barnes and Noble in my email today telling me I’d never find a better time than now to buy a Nook HD. That’s the 7″ version. The price for the HD fell to $149 for one with 8GB or $179 for the 16GB model. Additionally, B&N just did a deal with Google that means Google Play with all its Android apps is now included with a Nook.
Well, that price looks awfully good. But I have trouble wrapping my head around reading an entire book on an e-reader. I’ve been reading newspaper and magazine articles as well as long blog posts on desktop screens for years, but those screens have been no smaller than 11 inches, even back in 2000 when I was using a Packard Bell tower.
How much of an adjustment is it to read on a small screen? Do the differences in lighting between color and black & white (backlit for the first, edge-lit for the second) make that big a distinction?
Little help from the e-book readers, s’il vous plaît.
I quite enjoy reading books on my Nook. I actually have two of them: A 1st-generation black & white Nook with e-ink, and a Nook Color. While I like many things about the Nook Color, for reading books I greatly prefer the non-backlit original e-ink version. You just need a good lamp, exactly as you would for reading a physical book, and I find I don’t experience eye fatigue the way I do with my laptop, iPad, and the backlit Nook Color.
YMMV, of course. Keep us posted!
I have a Nook Simple Touch, the un-backlit, black and white e-ink one. I prefer paper books, but reading on it is fine. I’d be happier with a 7″ screen instead of the 6″, but it’s not bad. And it’s nice to be able to bump up the font size when I need to. If you have trouble reading on a computer screen for an extended period of time, my advice is to avoid the non-e-ink readers. Unfortunately, nobody makes e-ink tablets.
I’ve had the Nook HD+ since Christmas (before that, I had a Nook Tablet and the original Nook…can you tell where my wife works and gets discounts?). I love my Nooks, and the HD is the best yet for reading magazines and comics. I don’t watch a lot of video on it, but vids are pretty snappy, too. And today I just got the update that allows the Google apps! I had to root the Tablet to get anything outside the Nook store, so this is great. I can do Google Maps and Earth on my Nook now. Purty sweet.
Caveat: Not all the Google apps work with Nook. It will let you know which ones don’t, and it still keeps some separate as Nook apps. But I’ve only found a couple that don’t, and I can live without them.
Oh, yeah, it’s pretty good for reading books, too. But to be honest, I liked the original nook with the paper-like screen better. Less eye strain.
In addition, B&N just opened the Nook HD to the entire Google apps universe. I’m like you, wondering if now is finally the time to jump.
Also – I’ve discovered that I’m reading some things on my iPhone, so I’m thinking I could adjust to a reader. I’m especially interested in magazines on a reader.