Playing some Sudoku and reading Engadget
on our Nook? Yeah, we are! Obviously, after hearing about the
Nook 1.3 firmware update this morning, us bookworms nabbed the latest software to check out the added features. The over-the-air update took about a total of ten minutes from start to finish, and when the e-reader had restarted the new Games, Wi-Fi, Audio, and Web shortcuts were more than obvious on the main menu. The browsing experience, which is clearly marked beta, is very similar to that on the
Spring Design Alex -- you input the address on the touchscreen and an expanded view of whatever site you're visiting appears on the E-Ink display. You can use the LCD to navigate the page, though the physical page turn buttons work as well, which is actually a nice trick. It isn't the fastest browsing experience, but it'll definitely be useful for quickly reading some news or checking the weather when you are near a WiFi network – we got a page not found message over 3G.
As for the Sudoku and chess games, it's all pretty standard -- the boards appear on the E-Ink screen and you use the touchscreen to input numbers or move pieces. We weren't near a Barnes & Noble to check out the borrow-a-book feature, but the navigation seems to have gotten even snappier since the
1.2 update, and the lower screen is refreshing noticeably faster. Our early verdict? Those
Best Buy shoppers are getting a heck of a much better Nook than we did
a few months ago.
posted April 23rd 2010 3:13PM
The big question which everyone bases success on isn't answered yet. Will it run Flash? lol
If doesn't, you know you're not viewing "the real" internet as you are missing 95% of it.
Didn't have much time to play, because I updated the nook, ate breakfast while fussing around with it, and then left for work. Browsing experience is pretty sad. It takes a while to render a page. Secondly, the color screen is used to display a slice of the webpage, which is indicated on the e-ink display by a thin-bordered rectangle, which can actually block text you are attempting to read in the main screen. Controlling the page with the forward/backward buttons are nice, but for engadget, as an example, pressing the left side down button makes the page jump to the next headline, not a single page down.
Actually, the chess and sudoku are not very good either: you look and manipulate the small screen at the bottom, but then you look at the e-ink display to see the overall picture (the color display obviously only shows a slice of the complete picture). Not very comfortable. Haven't had time to check page turning speed and overall UI responsiveness yet.
Another problem is that for reading, I set the sleep timer for the color screen to a short interval. So when I tried browsing or sudoku, I had to always take the extra step to touch the "n" button to wake up the display and then execute a command. It would be nice if one could set the sleep timer independently for games/browsing and for reading.
I love reading on my nook, though, and for that single purpose, it is awesome. Browsing and games thus far are pretty much "meh" for me.
@jok One more thing - looking at the pictures posted for the article, I believe Joanna just lost all geek cred - how can she have the nook wallpaper still set at the default?? ;-D
Nook is the the best e-reader around. Period.
@The Missing Link
Based on what exactly?
@The Missing Link
You should've added an exclamation point after "Period" to show your excitement.
@admlshake
He said "Period"! That what other arguments do you want?!
@admlshake http:://www.overdrive.com
Try doing that on your iPad or Kindle.
@shol74
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8
Try doing that on your Nook or Kindle
Some of you guys that compare the nook to the ipad are just idiots.
Two totally different devices, for completely different uses.
The nook is for reading books and the ipad is for using the internet.
The nook costs 269 and a 3g ipad costs $600+data.
I've tried the ipad and there is no reading a whole book on it, unless you like headaches and blurred vision.
Me personally i love the nook.
What i do feel it's missing is a better selection of magazines.
The ipad? i'll stick to a $300 netbook tethered to a cell phone for free.
How about telling us how the web browsing experience is?
Amazon put one of the most popular development environments on their signature ebook reader, and then they ignored it. This annoys the hell out of me, the Nook runs Android dammit! Just open it up to community development. And then they release a prettification update instead of listening to the community of users.
Do yourself a favor and just buy a Kobo, it does almost all the same things, and doesn't leave you with defeated expectations.
@Dinochicken
That should have been Barnes & Noble. Sorry wires crossed.
lol i love how people complain about needing color e-readers. because books and newspapers are in color.... give me a fucking break.
Get your grammar right: "Playing some Sudoku and reading Engadget on our Nook? Yeah, we are! Obviously, after hearing about the Nook 1.3 firmware update this morning, us bookworms nabbed the latest software to check out the added features."
It should be: "Playing some Sudoku and reading Engadget on our Nook? Yeah, we are! Obviously, after hearing about the Nook 1.3 firmware update this morning, we bookworms nabbed the latest software to check out the added features."
Learn the difference between the object and subject pronouns for the plural, first person.
The 3G limitation is because you're in a "walled garden" on the AT&T environment - namely, instead of the default "internet" APN, the Nook uses a custom-made APN for the network - "cellone.bn.com". Thus, within cellone, you are restricted to the Barnes & Noble intra/internet services for the Nook's various features.
This update is amaaazing ! When reading a book, switching from page to page is so much faster... great !
Perhaps the official updates would be called Crannies? Whatever, just a thought. Chastise me if you must.
the nook is turning into what the iPad should have been. Soon it will have flash:
http://www.newphoneinfo.com/index.php/news/article/Adobe+halts+development+for+the+iPhone/12