At a Glance: the B&N Nook

These days e-readers seem to be coming out of the woodwork from all over the place.  Every time a new one pops up, I wonder if someone’s finally made something better than Amazon’s Kindle.  I love my Kindle, though I do make an effort not to be biased when I look at other products.

Today I went to the Barnes & Noble at Union Square to play with a Nook for the very first time.  I’ve read about it, watched videos on it, looked at pictures of it…but this was the first time I actually got to touch and interact with one.

My first thought: ooh, shiny.  I have to hand it to B&N — they definitely made a very aesthetically appealing e-reader.  Perhaps the most aesthetically appealing of them all, at the present moment.  The rubbery back made it feel comfortable and sturdy in my hands, and the front of it is definitely a sleeker design than the Kindle.

But once I turned it on, I discovered that actually trying to navigate through the Nook is a bit of a nightmare.  The tiny strip of color touchscreen at the bottom tries to imitate an iPhone setup, but completely lacks the intuition that makes the iPhone fun and easy to use.  (Side note: the touch screen layout is not the only part where they’re blatantly copying Apple.  There’s a whole Nook area in the B&N store at Union Square where Nooks are on display and Nook specialists are waiting to help you. I’ll give you three words for where that idea comes from:  Apple Genius Bar.)

Between the black and white E-Ink screen and the color touch screen, it’s kind of hard to decide which your eyes should be looking at when you’re trying to navigate through the books and documents.  On the Kindle there is only one screen for everything to go to, and Amazon’s developed a logical system for organizing things.  It may not be the most efficient at times, but at least it’s intuitive.  The Nook, on the other hand, organizes certain things on the E-Ink screen, but sorts other things on the touch screen.  It’s hard to figure out where to look for what.  And because you keep your fingers out and at the ready for doing things on the touchscreen pad, you find yourself repeatedly tapping the E-Ink screen, attempting to work it like it’s also touch-sensitive.

After just a few minutes, I gave up trying to figure out how the Nook worked.  Aesthetics are always good, but it’s crucial to strike a balance between the pretty and the ease of use.  I had my Kindle figured out within a matter of seconds after the first time I charged it up, and I’ve never been confused about it, nor have I ever read the manual for it.  If you’re looking to hit the mass market, that’s the way your product needs to work.

What B&N has really been trying to promote is the Nook’s lending feature and how it’ll let you read any book for free when you’re in an actual Barnes & Noble.  Yeah, these capabilities might sound pretty good in an advertisement…until you read the fine print.  First of all, you can only lend a book if the publisher has agreed to this option (and not very many have).  Then the book disappears from your own Nook for fourteen days while it’s being “lent” out to your friend…and then guess what?  You can never ever lend out that same book ever again.  And the read-for-free-in-a-store option?  Apparently it’s limited to just one hour.  All in all, these features aren’t really worth the money, especially when you consider that Kindle books tend to be cheaper.

Barnes & Noble can be smug about their device all they like, but I suspect they were forced into releasing the Nook really as a strategy to retain those once-loyal customers that they were in danger of losing to the Kindle.  It’s too bad that business has to work like that.  I think if B&N had waited a little bit longer for the E-Ink technology to improve some more, they might actually have had a shot at creating something more interesting than just another e-reader trying way too hard to be something it’s not.

And for comparison’s sake, here is the Amazon Kindle: