Overall Design and Size

The Nook looks pretty much the same now as when it was launched more than a year ago. Its 7.7 by 4.9-inch frame consists of shiny white plastic bezel in the front, and rubbery material at the rear portion. At the top of the gadget is found the Power/Sleep button, while the bottom part is where a small USB port, headphone jack, and a couple of speakers are situated.

This ereader is just half an inch thick and weighs 12.1 ounces. While noticeably bigger and heavier than the industry forerunner, the Kindle 3, it is not that bulky and is still reasonably compact to use for long hours of reading.

User Interface and Display

The Nook is unique in that its display area is composed of two parts. On the upper portion is the 6-inch e-ink screen that’s designated as the reading display and right below it is the 3.5-inch color LCD that’s to be used for navigation. The colored portion of the display adds a dash of brightness to the greyscale e-ink screen. But just how well suited are the two displays for their intended uses?

Well, there has always been a consensus among consumers and manufacturers that e-ink is the best type of technology for ebook reading, specifically long form reading. The Nook’s e-ink screen, which uses 16 shades of gray and is adjustable to 3 font sizes, is simply perfect. On the other hand, navigating within the device using the LCD touch screen can be a bit difficult. You’d have to remember to confine your touches to the lower part of the screen and this is not easy especially if you’re used to full touch screen devices like smart phones and tablets.

Battery Life and Storage

The latest Nook boasts of a battery life that can last 10 days with the wireless off. This is already pretty good and would prove to be quite useful when traveling for short periods. Still, this doesn’t come close to the Amazon Kindle’s battery that can last up to 30 days.

The Nook has 2G of internal memory which can store up to 1,500 books. If more is needed, then it’s easy enough creating extra storage via the microSD slot which can accommodate up to 16GB of added memory.

Nook Review: What’s the Verdict?

The upgraded Nook is definitely a value-for-money ebook reader that offers all the above features, plus. over 2 million titles in its Nook Bookstore, and technologies like LendMe, Stay in Sync, My Shelves, and Password Protect. You won’t regret shelling out $199 for the Wi-Fi with 3G model or $149 for the Wi-Fi only edition.

True, it still has some catching up to do with the Amazon Kindle such as with the battery performance and compact size, but judging from what we’ve uncovered in this Nook review, the Barnes & Noble Nook is now one of the best handheld ebook readers in the market today.

Drop by at http://ebookreadersresource.com/ for the complete Barnes & Noble Nook review. We also review other handheld ebook readers to help you choose the device that is best for you!

Size, Weight, and Design

Throw out your expectations of the Nook Color being just another ebook reader, only with a colored screen; this ereader may easily be mistaken for a tablet PC.

The first thing that makes it so different from our usual ereaders is its 7-inch, high-resolution LED-backlit IPS display. This display technology is actually the same one that Apple’s iPads and Macs are equipped with. Barnes & Noble however, improved the IPS screen by using its VividView technology which laminates the screen coating and reduces the glare.

Nook Color is slightly bigger and heavier than the e-ink Nook. It weighs 15.8 ounces, and is 8.1 inches in length, 5 inches in width, and 0.5-inch thick. The device’s display is surrounded by hard plastic framing in the front and a smooth back cover with a rubbery feel to it .

Performance

Inside the Nook Color is a program which has its roots from the Android version 2.1, an operating system popular with many of today’s tablets and smart phones. In this Barnes & Noble device, the Android-based software delivers the goods.

Those who have actually used this color ereader report of a zippy performance, a responsive touch screen, fast page turns, almost picture-perfect images, and crisp text. Even browsing through PDFs and picture galleries are said to be a complete breeze.

What’s New

In coming out with a colored ebook reading device, Barnes & Noble has also made sure that the attention that it’s gotten so far is not all hype. The Nook Color now has added functionality including web browsing, Pandora music app, email, and video playbacks, and it’s also designed to work with B & N’s new features and technologies.

The Nook Kids brand has over a hundred fully-illustrated children’s ebooks that will come alive when read on the Nook Color, and the NookFriends technology is a way of sharing meaningful passages to other Nook users through Facebook and Twitter. Then of course, Barnes & Noble also retains its book sharing feature, the exclusive LendMe technology.

Barnes & Noble Nook Color Review: The Verdict

The company has really gone out of its way to release an ebook reader that’s not only sleek and feature-packed, but is reasonably-priced as well. At just $249, it’s really quite a steal considering that you can already do a lot more than just ebook reading with it.

But of course, it’s far from being a perfect device. Its battery life for instance, is too short for an ereader. It is said to last for 8 hours without recharge and this is peanuts compared to what other e-ink ebook readers can do. And don’t forget that it uses an LCD display which isn’t the best for ebook reading. You’d most likely have to deal with reflective glare and eye strain.

The bottom line of this Nook Color review is that it’s all a matter of preference. If glossy magazines and children’s books are high up on your family’s list of reading fare, then it’s all worth the $249 you spend especially with the additional tablet features it has. However, for long form reading of mostly text ebooks, e-ink ebook readers are still the better choice.

Drop by at http://ebookreadersresource.com for the full Nook color review and find out how it matches up against other popular portable ebook readers.

At this time, the Kindle enjoys a staggering 60% share of the American ebook reader market. Recently the Kindle 2 was launched globally. Even if Amazon can’t quite replicate the same high levels of success on the international stage (though there’s really no reason to suggest that they won’t) the increased market size alone is going to boost Amazon’s results in 2010.

Certainly, there are those who maintain that a lot of the Kindle’s success up to now has been due to a lack of true competition. There may be some truth in the assertion that there haven’t, until recently, been many competing readers which could give the Kindle a run for its money – but the reality is that the main reason for the Kindle’s success is the fact that it was an innovative product which changed and redefined the market.

There’s certainly no shortage of alternative readers on offer today – with more due for release in the very near future. There is a lengthy list of competing manufacturers who either have readers available or have them in development. This is a very strong indication of the level of growth which can be expected in the ebook reader market in the near future. The market may be nascent and still developing rapidly, but it has received strong support from a wide variety of sources, including the normally traditional world of academic publishing and a number of different political bodies. A period of very rapid growth seems highly likely.

Another good indicator of the expected level of growth in this sector is the high volume of third party goods available to protect, customise and accessorise ebook readers. At the moment the majority of these items are intended for Amazon’s Kindle reader. If you want a Kindle cover, Kindle reading light or a spare charger then there are plenty of independent manufacturers ready and willing to meet your needs. The choice for new readers, such as Sony’s Daily Edition and the Nook reader from Barnes and Noble will gradually expand as their popularity increases.

Just as 2009 was a good year for Amazon, we can expect 2010 to see ebook readers in general become more and more popular. Amazon’s dominance will be challenged and increased competition will drive prices lower – perhaps to the point where such readers enter the mainstream consumer electronics arena.

Many industry insiders seem to agree that a price somewhere in the region of $ 150 is what will trigger this. With the high level of competition that seems likely for 2010, together with the amount of development work currently being undertaken, it’s just possible that we may see this being achieved sometime in 2010.

Check out the Kindle ebook reader and see the full range of Kindle accessories available to help you personalize it to suit your needs.