Barnes & Noble Nook dual-screen reader officially announced... for real
By Nilay Patel 
posted October 20th 2009 4:27PM
posted October 20th 2009 4:27PM
Update: Malcom Gladwell is on stage, talking about syphilis in Baltimore. People are clapping -- it's a little odd. But the first Nook buyers will get a free copy of The Tipping Point, so that's nice.
Update 2: "Ladies and gentlemen, the bar is now open." That's all for now -- we've got a Q&A session coming up, we'll let you know what we find out after the break.
Update 3: Barnes & Noble just pinged us to say that they were wrong during the event -- the Nook's WiFi will work anywhere, not just in-store.
Notes from the Q&A:
- They like Android, but they're not doing open app development -- they just like the optimizations for the small screen. It sounded like apps are a possibility, through.
- There's no browser, they think E-ink browsing is clunky.
- The Nook has 2GB of built-in storage, but there's an SD slot as well.
- The WiFi will only work in Barnes & Noble stores at launch.
- The in-store book browsing doesn't download books, it "streams" them. Uh, sure -- we'll see about that.
- The screen is capacitive touch -- "just like the iPhone."
- They're looking at an actual Android app for the future, no commitments made.
- Nook will mount as mass storage over USB.
- Only some books can be lended, and they'll be branded with a LendMe logo on the ebook store. It's up to the publishers, but B&N says they're working to enable as many as they can.
- They plan to support Windows Mobile in the future.
The in-store book browsing is a killer-app. I'm betting BN is going to start expanding their cafes, too. Instead of selling people one-time-use things like books, why not sell them food and an experience?
Progress is good. But I'll wait until a reader is made and released that has a full-color touchscreen.
As a matter of fact, my instinct tells me that this market won't take off until Apple releases its touchscreen Tablet device. They always seem to change the game and my belief is that when they release their Tablet, even though it'll undoubtedly have many other primary functions, it'll serve as the book reader of choice because of its flexible design and specs.
For a reader to replace textbooks for students (which is where much of the profit will surely come from in this industry), it's going to need a lot of functionality in addition to what I'd consider the basics - a full-color touchscreen, an ability to highlight and take notes, and the ability to be oriented both in landscape and portrait modes.
So what Barnes did here is good, and I'm sure they'll enjoy some market share with this device, but I truly believe that things will really begin to take off when Apple gets their Tablet out the door.
Color e-ink is still several years away.
The ereader market already has took off. Where have you been? The reason everyone wants a piece of the action is because it's taken off so quickly. An apple or otherwise tablet is not going to compete with dedicated ereader devices. Tablets might do something special for the ecomic world, which DOES need help jumpstarting.
Who said anything about color e-ink? And who said Apple's Tablet would incorporate that technology? You're reading what you want to read.
Apple's Tablet will undoubtedly be LCD, but I'd much rather have use of such a nice bright (but adjustable) full-color touchscreen to read books than something that doesn't offer color or even light up in low or no light situations. I'd also like to have a FULL browser, basic organizer, and other mild computer capabilities to boot, all in one, very portable and lightweight slate device. I'm thinking of all this in light of what a student (of which I'm one) would need in terms of hardware, aside from content, in order to effectively replace textbooks, and of course, whatever else a person would want to read.
Once again, I'm glad to see a bit of progression in some areas and I believe that what B&N has done here represents some of that. But even so, these readers just come up short and leave a lot to be desired. What makes them so special, anyway? Because they're dedicated devices with unlit, grayscale screens and slow refresh rates? Big whoop.
I'm unclear as to why you think Apple's Tablet couldn't compete. To begin, you can't count it out... it hasn't been released yet. And one device that serves multiple purposes? Partner, convergence is where it's at these days. I can easily see how it could serve as an excellent portable reader, among other things. It's specs will be far beyond anything we've seen in all the silly little readers that have been released up until now, including this Nook. Looks like it'll be a number of months, but let's wait and see what happens when Apple releases it first, and then we'll see how well it stacks up to these readers. But this industry is primed for Apple to sweep in. Now I know that there hasn't been word that their Tablet was designed to specifically serve as a reader, but it certainly could, going by the basic info we have on it. Not to mention, Apple has a way of turbo-charging industries, and with their expertise in device design and obtaining partner loyalty, this is an industry they could easily ignite.
I am sorry if this has already been answered but is there a way to pick your text size? What is the biggest it goes and is there anyway to listen to books or read them only.
Definitely the prettiest eBook I've ever seen. Not exactly in the market for one, but if I were I'd probably have to go with this.
Browserbrowser! I want a browserrrrr!! If they don't implement one I am getting a Kindle2 for the same price. Besides, Sprint's 3G is loads better than AT&T's 3G.