Barnes and Noble's Nook: More like a Book Than Kindle

If you are ready for the next step in handheld E-readership, Barnes and Noble's Nook is here and available for
pre-order, to be available on November 30^th. The price is $259, competitive with the Kindle 2. Coupons, member discounts, and employee discounts will not be available for Nook, but you'd better believe there's plenty of perks.

Nook Style

Nook is overall slightly smaller and thicker than the Kindle 2, with its screen divided into two parts. The top part is the book viewing area and measures about 4"x5". The bottom part of the screen is the menu bar that is touch sensitive in the manner of the iPhone, with smooth swipe scrolling and bright colors. Since there is no button keypad, the overall look of Nook is very streamlined and beautiful. If you are in your local Barnes and Noble, pick up a pamphlet they've put out that matches the dimensions of Nook exactly, so you can get a feel for how it will fit in your hand and bag.

Nook Function

Everyone is completely geeking out about Nook partly because its platform is the Android operating system, the darling of Google fanatics everywhere. Nook's wireless connection will be powered by AT&T (not surprising since Barnes and Noble uses AT&T for their free wifi hotspots), but what's great is that books can be downloaded on the 3G network as well. This massively broadens the spectrum of possible places in which books can be downloaded. Finished your last book while on a road trip? Don't bother finding a free wifi area because if you're driving through a city that has been made 3G capable, you can just download it on the go!

Nook is also outfitted with a removable battery, a slot for an extra Micro SD card, and a USB outlet for connection to a computer. The battery on Nook is slated for a maximum time of 10 days with the wireless connection turned off, where the Kindle 2 claims 14 days. However, since the battery is removable, you can carry extra charged batteries and ensure that you've got a charge whenever you need one. Nook comes with 2 GB of memory, touting a volume of 1500 books, but an additional 16GB Micro SD card is available, making the total library a possible 17,500 books.

Nook also allows subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and the purchase of audio books in addition to ebooks. The biggest, most exciting feature of Nook is that you can actually transfer files from a computer to your Nook. Pictures, PDFs, music are all supported and yes, you can transfer entire ebooks to Nook. This opens a wide doorway for copyright infringement issues, but it is the reason that many people will choose Nook over Kindle. Fortunately, Google's Book Project is paving the way for ebook legislation and titles that are public domain are simply free.

How Nook is Like a Book

Kindle has come out with applications on the iPhone and iPod Touch that allow you to access your library from these devices in addition to your Kindle device. Nook allows you to access your library from Nook, iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, PCs and Mac laptops and desktop computers. All you need to do is download the free Barnes and Noble E-Reader application and sign in! If you've already begun downloading ebooks on your phone since the e-reader's release, your ebooks will be waiting on your Nook as soon as you sign in. Just as books can be taken anywhere, your ebooks can be read anywhere.

Nook allows you to lend books! To lend a friend a book, you will simply be able to send them an email, allowing them access to your ebook for 14 days. In addition, if you enter a Barnes and Noble bookstore with your Nook, turn it on and be surprised with random savings and coupons from Barnes and Noble. Enjoy sitting in your local Barnes and Noble and reading entire books for free? Barnes and Noble knows you do, and Nook will allow you to do just that as well. If the particular store doesn't have your book in stock, you can just flip on your Nook and read in a comfy chair to your heart's content. Of course, once you exit the store only samples of books will be available, but really who's complaining?

Nook is the new obvious choice for people who haven't yet committed to Kindle. What your question to the ebook lawyers should be is this: I purchased a copy of the book, why am I limited in it's use? We already know their answer, but you should question whether or not it's really fair. Nook is the closest we've come to matching digital fair use with printed fair use, and because of this Nook will inevitably earn your respect and your cash.