Oct21 |
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Why I probably won’t buy the Nook, Barnes & Noble’s new “Kindle Killer”
Still, I don’t think I’m going to buy a Nook. Why? • TOO MANY MOVING PARTS: The Nook actually has two screens — an e-ink screen for book-reading and a second full-color computer screen for browsing your library, making purchases, etc. Basically, there are two machines in one slim plastic case. The more parts you have in a system, the more likely it is one of those parts will break down. It seems unnecessarily complicated, and seems to raise the chances I’ll have to (sooner than later) ditch the e-reader I have and buy a new one. I’m sure it will be completely reliable, but I’m not that sure it will be completely reliable. • TOO MANY FEATURES: The Nook has an MP3 player in it. Guess what? I don’t want an MP3 player. I’ve already got one! So, too, does anybody who is going to shell out $260 for a reading machine. Here’s why e-readers intrigue me: I’ve gotten used to reading on a screen. I spend my days working and consuming loads of information from my laptop. I can even read books on it, if I choose, but I don’t choose because the laptop provides me too many opportunities for distraction — music, video, work, etc. So in addition to the convenience — I can download a new book at 2:30 in the morning! I can take my reading on long trips without making my luggage much heavier! — one thing I want out of an e-reader is not so many distractions. I want to read a book and not be tempted to check the weather, e-mail or any other damn thing. Instead of feature creep, I need fewer features. • THERE’S MORE COMPETITION COMING: In addition to the Kindle, there’s also Sony’s family of e-readers. Plastic Logic will be coming out with its own version soon, and other companies are jumping into the fray. I’d like to be an early adopter — but more than that: If I’m going to buy an e-reader, I want to make sure that it’s one that best suits my pocketbook and reading habits. I can wait a little bit. It helps that old-fashioned paper books still work pretty well. Yes, e-readers are convenient for purchasing and carrying around your books. But there’s nothing really wrong with a good old paperback, is there? It makes the wait a little easier. |
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The Trouble with Spikol | Make Major Moves | PW Style | Cup o'Joel
Barnes & Noble has unveiled its new e-reader
Dude, you carry a pocketbook?
“Amazon’s policies regarding book ownership kind of creep me out.” More correctly what the Publishers require from Amazon, this issue keeps getting mischaracterized. Also,if you did not turn the wireless on it would not have been removed, there is no stealth special mode. In fact I read a book 3/4 through and then encountered serious text issues. Amazon advised me to finish the book, then turn on the wireless I got a refund and they removed the book from my library and their store until the issue was resolved.
Joe: You’re being a little pedantic here. How about I phrase it thusly: “Amazon’s execution of policies regarding book ownership kind of creep me out.” The company had choices in that matter, and it made about the worst possible one — mitigated only by the damage control it did after.
The too many features thing is big. I’ve got a dozen PDF’s of full books on my laptop. Guess how many I’ve read? Maybe 1/3 of one of them. There’s just too much else to do when I pop open my laptop and I’m not about to take my computer to bed (where I do much of my reading). Even the the level of distraction on the iPhone is too much (arguably worse… normally when my mother calls, the paperback book I’m reading doesn’t totally disappear from sight).
The only reason I could see the MP3 player coming in handy is for audio books. Otherwise, I’m with you that this is too much of a distraction.
I just have to give B&N props on the name. Nook Ebook. Say that out loud. I love it.
I can understand not buying a feature rich appliance if you don’t want to pay for the extras but saying it does too much and this ‘extra’ stuff prevents you from using it is a weak argument at best.
Too many features because it has a MP3 player? Guess what. The Kindle has it and every future e-reader is likely to have it because it costs virtually nothing to add. If you don’t need it don’t use it. Those of us who aren’t beholden to the iPod but would like to listen to music when reading appreciate the OPTION to use the built-in MP3 capability.
Your “too many moving parts” complaint because of the built-in transmissive LCD is just as silly. The LCD replaces a zillion keys and buttons on the Kindle and circumvents the visibility compromises inherent in Sony’s approach. It strikes me as a far simple and more elegant solution to the problem.
“Too many moving parts” lol that’s just ignorant. A capacitive touch screen has no moving parts while a keyboard (which is primarily mechanical) is constructed almost entirely of movable parts.