There are two things I hate about books. One – they are a pain to carry around, even if they are the small novels. Two – Once you’ve finished reading you are left with a book that will collect dust and take up more space. I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks sorting through our old books and putting them up for sale online, trying to make space. I vowed to NOT buy another bound paper book unless it was absolutely necessary.
So what did I do? You guessed it I started to buy e-books, I have several on my computer and even more printed out, have I read them. Nope.
Turns out that walking around with a stack of 8 x 11 sheets of paper is way more inconvenient then lugging a book around! Needless to say I haven’t had a chance to read as much as I would like to.
Enter the nook, a very light and portable e-reader designed by Barnes and Noble.
Last week I was asked to participate in a web conference and try out a nook device for myself. I have previously tried reading books on my iPhone but the screen is just too small so I was excited to try a larger e-book reader. It wasn’t until after the conference that I realized the nook is more than an e-reader. You can upload your music, pictures and PDF documents to the device in just a few minutes.
I just added several e-books that I have been trying to read on paper, but hated carrying around. I didn’t have any problems getting them on to my nook device. Next I decided to test out the Barnes and Noble e-book store and do some shopping. I was a little disappointed that the photography titles I wanted weren’t currently available, but they are just getting started and adding new books.
There are some features of the nook that I fell in love with.
- Continuous reading Experiencing – I love being able to go back to where you started instead of trying to shuffle through already read pages
- Lent e-books to Friend – I can already tell who would benefit from this the most, I can’t wait for my friends to get a nook so we can exchange books
- Download e-books Wirelessly – I love that you can easily browse and download e-Books at your leisure.
- Better reading experience – When I saw the lights on the nook, I immediately thought of my niece who needs special glasses when reading. I love that the nook is book-like, meaning the screen does not illuminate.
nook – the text-book definition
nook is designed to make buying, reading and sharing e-Books and digital content easy and fun. Our goal is simple: to give consumers access to any book, newspaper, magazine and other content they want — any time, anywhere.
Important Tech Stuff
The nook is about the size of a actual novel (7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches) and weighs about 12.1 ounces. There is 2GB of on board memory which holds approx. 1,500 books. However you can add more memory buy inserting a card.
The nook will support a variety of file formats, EPUB or PDB, PDF’s MP3s, JPG, BMT, PNG and Gif. You can download books and everything via the Wi-Fi connection and you won’t need to charge your nook every night. The batter should last for up to 10 days.
I look forward to downloading more e-books and reading them on my nook it’s the best way to carry a bunch of books at once.
Guess what? We are giving one away, so be sure to read how you can win your own nook?
Join the Nook Owners’ Book Exchange on Facebook and have access to many books people are willing to lend.