I know all the buzz is about tablets, but over the weekend, I acquired my first eReader, the nook. With as much reading as I do, this isn’t just a fun new toy, but a practical device that will cut down on the number of books I’m carrying around at any given moment. For me, it won’t replace tree books because of my sentimental attachment to holding literature in my hands, but it’s a great supplement.
First of all, my thoughts on using an eReader in general. For brevity’s sake: I love it. Easy to use, easy on the eyes, easy to store books. It’s also comfortable to hold, and I haven’t experienced the purported slow page turning. It’s no slower than turning the page of a tangible book. Also, the e-ink display mimics the experience of reading a paper-and-ink page, so there’s no issue with glare or the potential eye strain of prolonged reading on LCD screens.
Naturally, I customized the wallpaper right away:
I deliberated over the various eReaders (the Barnes & Noble nook, Amazon Kindle, Sony eReader, and Kobo) for awhile, but the nook best suits my needs. Several people were curious about why I chose the nook over the other eReaders, so here you go: features that won me over.
- Barnes & Noble in-store specials, and the in-store ability to read books for free
- Replaceable battery
- Customized wallpaper and screen saver
- The ability to try the nook at Barnes & Noble before buying
- Touchscreen navigation
- Subjective preference of the nook’s aesthetic over the other eReaders
- The ability to lend ebooks
- Memory expansion
- Sudoku :)
I’ve watched video reviews on the other eReaders, and it seems like most people are pretty happy with their purchases regardless of which device they chose. It depends on what you want.
A quick note on Barnes & Noble’s in-store features. It was a smart move on B&N’s part to incorporate this. There are a number of bookstores within reasonable driving distance of my home, but now I’ll probably always choose B&N because of the nook.
Larger photos of the nook and the case I chose are after the jump (click “Read More” below). But first: Do you have an eReader, and if so, how do you like it? If you’re in the market for an eReader, which one do you think you might prefer, and why? What do you think of eReaders and ebooks in general?
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