I don’t do a lot of product reviews, mainly because I don’t go out of my way to buy a bunch of things. However, I did write one last October when I purchase my Toshiba laptop, which I still love. What I didn’t talk about back then is that days after I bought that I bought my wife a Barnes & Noble Nook 8GB color tablet, which you see in the image there. I’m ready to review it now.
The reason I’ve waited to review it is that it took us a long time to figure it out. Actually, it took my wife a long time to figure it out, and since it was hers I stayed out of the way until she started asking me questions about it. Not that it’s overly complicated but she’s not technologically advanced; hey, she’d tell you that herself! lol
At around 7 ounces, 6 1/2 inches high and 5 inches wide, the Nook Color model is a beautiful thing. The colors are sharp and when you’re reading it’s really clear. Something this particular Nook has that none of the others versions have is its own light, which means you can read it in the dark or in dark places. And you can still read it in sunlight, although at this time of year in the Syracuse area that’s not a problem we have a lot of trouble with.
Just to throw this out there, CNET ranks the Nook higher than the Kindle Fire, mainly because of the screen resolution, the ability to expand storage to 32GB, and some physical controls. Oh yeah, PC World also ranks it higher; go figure!
It took us a bit of time trying to figure out where to add the chip, but we popped a 16GB chip in there instead. The sound quality is pretty good and you don’t need to use the earphones to listen to it. That’s a good thing because my wife loves listening to books on tape but hates wearing those suckers.
It can also access the internet if there’s wireless access, which we have in the house and which every Barnes & Noble store has. That’s a good thing because with the Nook, if you take it with you to their store you can access any music or ebooks on their system for free for up to an hour; I’m not sure if that’s total or each, but it adds a nice touch if you want to sample a lot of different things. My wife loves to sample the audio books sometimes when we go. And something else about the Nook is that the store offers classes that you can take; anyone know which Amazon store you can go to for classes… oh yeah, there are NO Amazon stores! lol
With the extra access, something else we’ve been able to do is load more books onto the Nook. You have to download a program so you can transfer files over, but you can put books on there that you can get from the library, which is pretty cool.
Frankly, my wife has never been a big reader, but suddenly she’s reading more, as well as listening to books, because she says she can read it easily and it doesn’t hurt her eyes, and she can also turn off all the lights and read if she wants to, which I’ll own up to as being rare because she usually immediately falls asleep once she gets too relaxed.
Anyway, I can say without reservation that my wife is glad we spent the extra bit of money on the color Nook, and look at this, now it’s going for $199, as when we bought it the sucker was $249. There are accessories for it, including cases, but they’ll cost you. Oh, one more thing; just like Amazon, Barnes & Noble offers free books you can download, but right now theirs are only on Fridays. Still, if you find what you like it’s not a bad deal.
If you’re thinking about buying one click on the book in this post or the upper link. Come on, you know you want to. 😉
I was torn between tablet and laptop and purchased the latter. A Toshiba L755 BTW. Since I facilitate workshops, I felt more comfortable with the laptop. Though, there are app’s for viewing PPT’s on a tablet. Again, my comfort level swayed towards the known quantity.
Toshiba’s Book Place offers many complimentary e-books as well.
It’s good seeing a review from someone you know. Mitch, thanks for posting.
Thanks Steve; glad to do it. I’m a laptop guy as well, but as we learn not everyone has the same feelings about things.
Hey Mitch,
Thanks for this review. I’ve been wanting a Nook for a while now, but have been reluctant because I just didn’t know how it compared to the Kindle. I’ll stick with getting my Nook. Sounds like a very neat gadget to have too. I can’t wait to get one.
Nice review!
Evelyn
Thanks Evelyn. Of course I wouldn’t be upset if you bought one through my link. lol My wife seems to like hers a lot, and I’m glad we spent the extra money to get her the color Nook.
I’m torn between the same dilemma, Mitch. But I might actually buy a tab. You’re right comfort is key. It’s hard to work if you’re uncomfortable with the product/tool you’re using.
Jian, it depends on what you’re using it for. Right now I’m sitting in a comfortable place on my laptop and not worried about the weight of it, which is much less than my last laptop. But the Nook can access the wireless connection as well and it might work as well, but since it’s my wife that part I won’t know about. lol
It’s a very good review Mitch. Especially considering that you don’t do many reviews. Nook is definitely better than Kindle Fire in my point of view. The resolution is better, that’s true. Even thou Kindle Fire has advantage on its pricing, but I don’t think Kindle Fire is good enough to beat Nook.
This is a nice review and thank you for sharing this. I am now into pads so I really need this for reference.
Thanks for this review Mitch, I find it very interesting on buying a tablet for the reason is, I can use it for making a website theme plate. I can easily draw and find a good designs for the theme plate. Yes, it is true that working in a comfortable way will make you more productive in doing those task.
A couple of months ago, I bought one, similar model almost the same spec, excepts the screen size. Honestly I think that it really help me to learn many thing. Most of the time I am using it as ebook reader or video player. I have pretty big collection of ebooks and video tutorials. So during all my free time, I am trying to advance myself.
Sigh…you really need to get over your aversion to Apple products. Yes, they cost more but are better products. Just my 2 cents. 🙂
One, no I don’t. lol Two, I didn’t even mention Apple, but no one really considers the iPad a reader like the other two products so it doesn’t count in this discussion. And three… no I don’t! 😛
Hey Mitch,
I appreciate your review because I have a Kindle and have been thinking of upgrading to the Kindle Fire but the Nook is another option.
It sounds like the Nook has many of the same features of the Kindle including instant downloading and loading of library books, which I really like.
Both the Kindle and Nook look like they’re running about the same price.
At any rate thanks for the review. BTW, I love my Toshiba laptop too 🙂
Blessings,
Liz
Glad to help Liz. I’m glad I had the opportunity to look at the Nook, and I think one of these days I’ll have to buy one for myself also.
I am using a Nook and I found it way much better than the Kindle Fire (which I believe is simply overhyped).
Thanks for the review, Mitch! As a matter of fact, I have had the same dilemma, but I finally bought a small 10″ laptop (from Dell), that is easy to carry with me when travelling, but on the same time it is a bit more powerful, than a tablet. However I like tablets better…
Not a bad purchase Julie. My thing is if it’s a laptop I need something bigger to look at, since with tablets & the like I tend to hold them closer to my eyes, thus making it hard to type at the same time. lol
Good review and thanks! Definitely caught my interest and am considering getting that Nook! I don’t think it’s reached Asia yet… either that or I’ve been out of these tech stuff for too long!
I don’t know if it’s in Asia either; not sure of the reach of Barnes & Noble.
You’re right, Mitch. I’d go with a tab because it’s lightweight and that’s a big plus because I can bring it whenever wherever. That would be also good for my scolio. LOL
Thanks Jian. The way I saw things a tablet is something I want, but I needed a laptop for business purposes. Doesn’t mean I might not get one for myself at some point but I have other needs first.
Mitch, Nice review. i also want to use my hands on Nook but in India i guess its not yet available. here is India the market of tablets is on boom. Hope nook will make it more high.
That’s too bad Pratik, but I guess if you don’t have Barnes & Noble stores over there it wouldn’t be as much use, although if you can access the B&N website I don’t know why you couldn’t download the books from there. By the way, if you really wanted one you could click on the link in the article or the image and buy one; impress your friends. lol
Great review Mitch. I really wander around the web for a genuine review before purchasing anything. I was wondering if a tablet would be good enough for me. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It was a great help. Now I know what I need!
Glad to help James. I’m now thinking about buying a Nook for myself; just have to pull the trigger. lol