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Barnes & Noble establishes German base: Will the Nook visit Europe?
While Americans have more than one way to consume those e-ink verses, those in the old country are largely stuck with Amazon's still-expanding Kindle family or e-reader hardware lacking the clout of a publisher. But Europeans may get the chance to pick up a Nook in the future, following news that Barnes & Noble has filed for a new digital company in Germany. Add in the publisher's recent (and slightly bizarre) meet-up in London with app developers and it looks likely that we'll be seeing some European presence from the bookseller in the future -- hopefully with all the associated content already seen on the other side of the Atlantic.
Hack enables fast refresh mode on Nook Simple Touch (video)
As anyone who's used an e-reader knows, page refreshes aren't the most elegant feature of E Ink. Well, if you've got a Nook Simple Touch a hack released by XDA Developers member marspeople could put an end to your page-changing woes. You'll need to root your device and install an .apk, then simply activate fast refresh mode by a four-tap gesture -- sadly, not the Konami code. What is impressive, is just how fast the screen refreshing actually is. Fluidly browsing documents and the web on e-readers suddenly has the potential to be a whole lot less frustrating. Check the video after the break to see a demo, and touch the source link below if you want in on the fun.[Thanks, Nate]
Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: e-readers
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. The e-reader space is really -- if you'll pardon the expression -- heating up just in time for the holiday season. Industry leader Amazon dropped the gauntlet yet again, with the introduction of three new devices, including the entry-level fourth generation Kindle (which starts at an enticing $79 for the ad-supported version) and the Kindle Fire, which is helping to further blur the lines between the e-reader and tablet worlds. Not to be outdone, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Sony are also offering up impressive new devices for the holiday season. All in all, there's never been a more exciting time to give the gift of reading.
Nook Simple Touch upgrade hands-on (video)
The Tablet may have gotten most of the glory at today's Nook event, but there was plenty of love to go around across the line. The Color got some solid multimedia upgrades, courtesy of Hulu Plus, Pandora, Rhapsody and the like, and the Nook Touch -- now known as the Nook Simple Touch -- received a few bumps of its own, beyond that price drop to $99. The Nook Simple Touch 1.1 software upgrade brings among other things, longer battery life -- which, for obvious reasons, we can't actually test effectively at the moment. According to B&N, you should get two months of battery life reading an hour per day post-upgrade, versus up to two months reading half an hour each day pre-upgrade. The upgrade also promises a crisper display, and holding a pre- and post-upgrade Nook next to each other, the difference is certainly detectable. It's not a huge difference, but the slightly darker text does improve the reading experience, over all. Also on the list of improvements is a faster turn rate. Indeed, there is a slight difference, with the updated reader scrolling through a bit faster (though the two readers did go back and forth as we had them scroll through a book) -- the upgrade, according to B&N, will save you a fraction of a second per page, so don't expect to be wowed on that front. Both readers have roughly the same refresh rate, doing a full page refresh every six pages or so. All in all, some welcome changes to a nicely discounted reader, making the Nook Simple Touch a solid contender for this holiday. Video of the page turns after the break.
Barnes & Noble makes $199 Nook Color, $99 Nook Simple Touch official
Not that it wasn't official the moment that Best Buy lopped $50 off of the thing, but those with any lingering doubts with regards to Barnes & Noble's intentions to make the now-dated Nook Color cost competitive with with the Kindle Fire can now consider themselves amongst the believers. The company pulled the trigger at today's Nook event in New York, pricing the color reader-turned-tablet at $199 -- a nice drop from its introductory price of $249. Also on the price cutting board is the touchscreen Nook -- now known officially as the Nook Simple Touch -- which is priced at $99, putting it more on-par with the likes of the latest Kindle. And best of all, says Barnes & Noble, "no annoying ads." Ouch.
Web browser found hiding in latest Nook, no root required (video)
We're expecting to see plenty of new features crop up for folks that have rooted their new Nook WiFi, but it looks like those not willing to go that far can still expand their options a little bit. As it happens, the new Nook has an experimental web browser of its own, which you can access simply by typing a URL into the search bar. Of course, Barnes & Noble has likely kept this feature under wraps for a reason, as actually browsing the web using it seems to be somewhat hit and miss -- see for yourself in the video after the break courtesy of The eBook Reader.
Rooted Nook WiFi loaded with Angry Birds, soars then stalls (video)
That was fast. The Nook WiFi just hit the streets and already it's been rooted for less reading and more gaming -- with Angry Birds, no less. YouTuber JFreke has posted the results of loading a custom ROM on the Android 2.1 e-book reader, and it isn't exactly glamorous (read: playable) as-is. The refresh rate on the device may be quick for page turns, but the mid-sling freezing doesn't quite make a case for after school utility. Still, it probably won't stop some users from wanting to join in on this Android exploiting pastime; if you dare, J says the code will be released shortly, but for now you'll find the footage by breezing past the break. Update: If you're still feeling brave enough, you'll find the root guide by hitting the Nook Devs link below. [Thanks, Linus]
