Hardware construction is a funny thing. Sometimes, regardless of the money you throw at something, you
just can't get products to come together any quicker. Evidently that's the case with Barnes & Noble's
Nook, which has seen its estimated ship date slip from
today to sometime
after the holidays, and now to January 11th. There's still a sliver of hope that you'll be able to snag one from a high-traffic retail location on
December 7th, but unless you're planning on abandoning ship and helping the Kindle have its new
best month ever, the realistic choices are pretty clear: a) pay Tickle Me Elmo-like prices on eBay or b) drop an IOU in a nicely wrapped box, preferably with a cute puppy. We suggest the latter.
[Thanks,
Dave and Wes]
P.S. - We're also hearing that pre-orders (even those placed moments after it was announced) are also being pushed back, though hopefully they'll still be received before December 25th.
posted November 30th 2009 5:36PM
This reminds me of the Wii launch. I hope BN is able to meet demand at some point. I was debating getting a Kindle 2 or a Nook, and I ultimately settled on the Kindle 2. I can use Calibre to convert documents, and it suits my purposes just fine.
I really wanted to like the Nook, but with no review units and just BN marketing, I didn't really see an option.
@anaphora68 You know the Kindle 2 now has native PDF support, right? Calibre is still great for other stuff.
@(Unverified) Oh yeah, I know. I'm not knocking PDF, but I like having things in MOBI, just works better...
@anaphora68 you know the nook is better, right?
@AndroidRokz
from what i've seen, the kindle has cheaper pricing on books
@anaphora68 I just bought a Kindle Dx.. I dont know why..
@AndroidRokz GO AWAY PLZ.
I preordered on Oct 23rd and just got an email telling me that they expect it to be in my hands on Dec 9th, they also upgraded me to overnight shipping and gave me a $10 gift certificate to boot.
@h3wh0s33ks
Same, so hopefully the Jan 11th is just for people who order today.
@h3wh0s33ks - same deal here
I got the same here ordered mine on the 27th
@h3wh0s33ks
I pre-ordered mine on November 13, which gave me an expected shipping date of December 18, and that's still where it stands.
@h3wh0s33ks Ordered mine the 22, just got the same message. A bit irritating.
Whoops
I wish this was coming to Canada. I will pre order it as soon as it is annnounced here!
This is the best thing that could happen for Amazon. Let those with Nook fever "settle" for the Kindle 2, release the Kindle 3 right after the holidays.
FYI, have a Kindle 2 and love it. No Nook envy here. :D
Agree with first comment. I really wanted a Nook, just because I love going to B&N and used to work there, but the Kindle 2 has been out longer and got good reviews. What got me was price of books, and well I wanted one at the moment. I'm glad I didn't wait now. I love the Kindle 2 and actually just waiting for a full color e-book reader.
There's also speculation on some of the nook boards that this is due to the Spring Design lawsuit, rather than parts availability.
I was really going to get my girlfriend an e-reader for Christmas, but not sure now. Kind of disappointed since she reads quite a bit and I thought the annotations/highlighting/epub format would make the nook the best combination of competitors on the market.
I can't pull myself to buy a kindle since it doesn't support epub. And after looking at the PRS-600 in Best Buy, I think the screen glare is a huge issue (the PRS-300 looks great, but lack of dictionary and highlighting is a no go)--not to mention its $40 more than the kindle/nook. Anythoughts?
@Rick James Use a tool like Calibre, you can convert epub to a Kindle compatible format.
The PRS-360 is LESS than the Nook or Kindle 2 by $50. The PRS-600 is more by $50, so I assume that's what you were referring to. Also, the PRS-600 touch screen overlay is better described as producing "blur" (reduced sharpness) than glare. Just wanted to clarify.
If you are going to purchase books, the Kindle or Nook are fine. If you are going to convert, the Sonys are better since they support more formats. And Sony's LRF is a better format than ePUB, which you can use via Callibre.
Sony gets a lot of crap for being very proprietary, but their Readesr are the most open of the three big players.
-Pie
@EatingPie
I don't want to nitpick here, but the Kindle and nook are $259, therefore I was correct in saying that the PRS-600 is $40 more;) Also, I'm not sure what the PRS-360 is as both Sony and Amazon list the $199 model the PRS-300.
That being said, I appreciate the feedback from both you and anaphora. So is the Sony PRS-600 worth the money despite the reduced sharpness?
@Rick James just wait for the nook. definitely stay away from the sony readers though.
If B&N don't sort out the supply issues soon, Amazon will own the market for e-readers! They've already got a great head start and having plenty of Kindle stocks is rubbing salt into B&N's wounds.
They also need to start shipping worldwide ASAP. I'm in Australia so for me the Kindle was the only choice. I love my Kindle and so far, I think I've picked the right reader.
Yeah, I just went with a Kindle. The touchscreen and ePub seem pretty slick, but converting ePub is no big deal and I already buy tons of stuff on Amazon. So far I love the thing.
Massive, MASSIVE fail on B&N's part...and I don't even want one.
sure you don't mean nook?
I will never, ever understand why I cannot consistently get my user pic to show up. EVER.
@sindbad - engadgets new webiste, although slick, leaves alot to de desired. starting with that awful font!
sounds like B&N used the nook to boots its stock and collect money so they can post a profit then not ship. bait and switch.
@Ops Yah because nothing in the history of products has ever missed a launch date. Nope nothing.
Grow the fuck up.
@Ops
Maybe...except Barnes and Noble didn't collect any money from the pre-orders. They did a temporary hold, but never actually finished charging the money to my card. Ordered the day after launch, and they still haven't actually billed my card yet, just temporary authorization.
Worst Xmas gift ever?
"drop an IOU in a nicely wrapped box, preferably with a cute puppy"
OHHHH that's right. Puppies need to breath!
@John Doe Breathe too. ;)
It never said that the puppy would be in the box, sicko. :P
Looks like someone isn't following the writing style guide.
When are reviews coming out for this Nook? I would like to make up my mind about which to buy soon.
Same bullsh*t here. Ordered on Oct 20, web status still says "Expected Ship: Nov 30th" but I got the e-mail that says it won't ship until Dec 9th.
At least all of you are getting a delayed shipping email. For some odd reason they sent me an email saying I cancelled the pre-order and they won't put me back into the system to get one until the backorder is filled! Really makes me not want one ever!!!
I pre-ordered my Nook on Oct 20, and got the same note to expect mine before December 9th and the free upgraded overnight shipping and $10 gift certificate to boot. I think I can wait the extra couple of days.
I have added a page to our web site and plan to post a review there as soon as I get it and get to play with it for a few days.
One BIG plus for me was the ability to walk into the B&N coffee shop, sit down and look through all the books as long as I want to. Could spend days there! ;-)
Greg
B&N really flubbed this. All that positive press and good will is shot when people don't get these in time for Christmas gifts.
Hmm. Ordered mine on 11/02 and still expected to ship on 12/07. Been that way since Day 1.
Wonder why folks who ordered it EARLIER are being given a later ship date...probably means I just haven't gotten the good news!
@(Unverified) Ordered mine 11/01 and the ship date on my account is still 12/07, as well. I haven't gotten an e-mail from B&N saying that this date has changed, so I can only assume that they're combining the first two shipping groups into one. If anyone gets some additional info, I'd like to hear.
i ordered mine about 1.5 hrs before the official announcement and i got an email saying i would get it by dec 9. but the order status still shows today as an expected ship date....
There is just way too much hype and 'demand' for a product that hasn't even been reviewed by a single outlet (I don't think any have even received a review unit!). I'm totally hot for the nook, but it better live up to expectations. Or else...
@ch3burashka this is exactly how i feel. at least get them out to the reviewers! i really hope it doesnt only look good on paper.
i dont understand why you would buy the kindle over the nook. i would rather just wait.
at this point i dont give a crap about nook. i'm ordering a kindle.
Is it really? (The end of the world) because you can't get your nook in freaking January?
We have all become spoiled brats because we can't get our wittle nook bwefore Chwismas. Waaaah!
nook fail.
They attempt to sell an ebook reader for the holiday season, rely on people buying the product sight-unseen, and don't make enough units for the hype they generate.
I too went with the Kindle. Everyone is raving about the touch screen on the Nook. Using my Kindle, I can imagine that the 5 way and keyboard being replaced with a touch screen would be horrendous and slow.
I think the Nook will be a dud, all this hype with no screenshots or videos showing the use of the actual device, people are bound to get let down.