Barnes & Noble Nook now arriving to customers

There was a definite moment of utter pre-launch confusion there, but it looks like the Barnes & Noble Nook is indeed shipping to customers -- reader Peter just sent in this photo of his cold chilling on a desk. We'll see if B&N can crank out the rest of its pre-orders before the holidays, but at least there's hope now -- and we can always tell you where Peter lives if that doesn't work out.

[Thanks, Peter]

[Jeff Posted Dec 9th 2009 5:37PM]

"Nook ship date slips to January 11th, supply chain managers weep"

Ugh, what? I can't keep up with all the changes!

[genomecop Posted Dec 9th 2009 5:37PM]

Thanks Peter..love ya.

[AM321CAN Posted Dec 9th 2009 5:53PM]

is that bill gates?

[ryanplusplus Posted Dec 9th 2009 6:02PM]

@AM321CAN

I just thought you were just being an idiot, but I looked again and the Bill Gates vibe is uncanny. Creepy.

[alex98 Posted Dec 9th 2009 6:26PM]

@ryanplusplus No he was being an idiot....

[bigmikeh1965 Posted Dec 9th 2009 6:50PM]

@AM321CAN it's kurt vonnegut

[Cris Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:56PM]

C'mon... can't you tell is Justin Timberlake?

[p0p0 Posted Dec 9th 2009 6:17PM]

You know what Engadget? You guys need to start explaining your pictures. I'm either confused or scared. And this one gets both! >_

[Tortri Posted Dec 9th 2009 6:30PM]

@p0p0

It's the nooks screen saver pictures, not engadget. I just received mine today.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2009 6:52PM]

the day i get excited about a crappy black on gray display somebody please SHOOT ME.. i don't care who makes it

[jkudlacz Posted Dec 9th 2009 7:03PM]

Would you rather read your book text in orange, or blood red?

[Clancycoop Posted Dec 9th 2009 7:24PM]

@(Unverified) What color pages do all of your books at home have? If you are looking for a glowing LCD, see the JooJoo ...joo.

Joo.

[amneziac Posted Dec 9th 2009 7:29PM]

@(Unverified) You must prefer coloring books to novels too eh?

[miniskunk Posted Dec 9th 2009 7:42PM]

@(Unverified) This screen rocks. You have to see it in person. Very smooth fonts with no jagged pixels. The greyscale is also smooth and looks very photorealistic.

[GreatJava Posted Dec 9th 2009 6:53PM]

If you're looking for discussion from new nook owners there is a review thread on nooktalk...

http://nooktalk.net/forum/anything-nook/your-nook-review

[twiningstea Posted Dec 10th 2009 8:46PM]

@GreatJava Thank you!! So much!

[HektikLyfe Posted Dec 9th 2009 7:08PM]

That picture is perfect, seems to summarize all the first impressions.

"Nice first attempt."

I was excited until reports of that laggy response started coming in. I guess I will have to wait until the nook 2.

Or nooks? Or will it be cranny?

[Poop Chef Posted Dec 9th 2009 7:19PM]

I got my Nook today, how the hell do I call out on this thing?

[3rdsun Posted Dec 9th 2009 7:45PM]

Kim Jong iL just placed an order for 1000 Nooks

[JamesH88 Posted Dec 9th 2009 8:02PM]

is that Bill Gates?

[Dr Yusuf AlKindi Posted Dec 9th 2009 9:14PM]

No, it is Kurt Vonnegut

[DaHarder Posted Dec 9th 2009 11:37PM]

I just walked in the door to find my NOOK sitting on the dining room table... After a full charge, I'll be putting this baby through its paces.

First impressions are very good, I must say.

[Rara Posted Dec 10th 2009 7:10AM]

I got my Nook yesterday and as compared to the Kindle 2 (which I've had for awhile), I'm a little disappointed. For most of last night, I got "network unavailable" messages, even though I had plenty of bars, both on the Nook itself and my ATT smartphone. There are hardly any newspapers or magazines to choose from (I could have sworn reading that the NY Times would be available, but no sign of it), and because I couldn't get access to the system most of the time, also couldn't see the B&N specials being offered. I also think the navigation is far from intuitive (particularly as compared to the Kindle). I like the heft and shine of the Nook, but that's about it.

Additional thoughts: it seemed that the Nook screen was less bright than the Kindle, but then I realized it was because of the juxtaposition of the touch screen to the reading screen. I also found that because I could touch the touch screen, I naturally wanted to touch the reading screen for navigational purposes, but maybe that's just me.

The annotation tools aren't as good as on Kindle, which, with the five way toggle makes highlighting things much easier, if that's your bag.

All and all, kind of disappointed. After all of the hype, I'd expect (1) reliability around system access; and (2) far more content.

[Dragotequila Posted Dec 10th 2009 11:13AM]

@Rara Yeah ATT Network does suck, but did you set the WiFi on it? It came in handy.
I didn't see the B&N Specials either until I walked into a Barnes & Noble with the WiFi on. After a few seconds, a welcome screen cam eup with discounts and specials in the store. I'm still trying to find a way to browse the books in the store for free...That's what I heard we were supposedly able to do.

[Dragotequila Posted Dec 10th 2009 11:09AM]

Now arriving?? I've had mine since Tuesday

[TankerZ Posted Dec 10th 2009 12:57PM]

Unboxing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whi9ueUr4uc

[GregDele Posted Dec 10th 2009 1:26PM]

I received my Nook and also did an unboxing vid at YouTube..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjbV4h1orzo

After a day of use, I also did up a quick first look review next to our Sony 505. We live aboard our sail boat so E-Readers are very good for us. See the review with photos at:
http://www.svguenevere.com/grr/ereader/readers.html

Greg