I really don't believe that ebook readers should be consider competitors to the iPad. There is some overlap in functionality but equally there is some overlap in functionality between an iPod shuffle and an iPhone.
True, if your talking about E-ink devices. However the nook color WAS intended to be more tablet like. It has a full color touchscreen and is a very similar form-factor to the iPad. It runs a bastardized version of android, and has the android market completely stripped out. It was slow, laggy and very poor even for an e-reader. IMO, for a dedicated E-reader I think the kindle is tops. For an all around tablet, the iPad smokes the competition.
Or like calling iOS devices a competitor to Portable gaming Consoles.
Funny you should make that analogy, because Nintendo has admitted that they are losing millions of dollars to people buying ipod touches for games. Games, I might add, that are as good or better than many of nintendo's offerings.
It will be interesting to see what Barnes & Noble come up with. There really isn't a market for an lcd eReader without tablet capabilities unless it is dirt cheap. The smartest thing B&N could do would be to vastly expand the Nook's tablet capabilities (no more rooting necessary), keep the 7" screen, open the Nook to the full realm of android marketplace apps (even competitor's apps), hold the price at $249 and position the device as the everyman's iPad.
Then they should launch them exclusively at the Barnes & Noble brick and mortar stores for the first 6 weeks to drive foot traffic to stores and promote and burnish the B&N brand.
A well reviewed $249 tablet would be a game changer for both Barnes & Noble and the tablet market overall.
For those of us who go to the internet mainly to read periodicals and documents, and also download books and longer articles, this is what we always wanted. A very low power reader device with Wi-Fi capability and plenty of storage for text. I spend as much time reading downloaded newspapers and periodicals on my Sony PRS650 Reader Touch Edition as I do on my iPad. I watch videos mainly because they are so accessible on my iPad, but ny first choice is reading printed matter. I have been an Apple/Mac user since 2000 and am waiting with baited breath for them to use their superior design talents to turn out an E-reader with Internet connection. I have no problem turning on a light at night to read on the newest E-ink screens, which are very clear. I've never balked at paying a premium for Apple products, so I can utilize their superior software environment, and would jump at the chance to get a pricey E-reader that interfaced seamlessly with OSX. For now, Calibre is the best I can do, and it's pretty good on my Mac. And also, I wouldn't mind having iTunes on a reader so I could listen to my NPR podcasts.
My daughter asked my opinion of the Nook Color yesterday. Her mother-in-law let it be known at Christmas that she wanted one. She dropped a hint again this week, saying another one of her friends had one now and she just loved it.
She's probably the ideal consumer for something like the Nook. She's a voracious reader, and uses a computer for no more than checking email, looking up recipes and reading up on health issues (If there's an ailment known to man, she's had it or knows someone who does).
For her, an iPad would be overkill and a waste of my daughter's money. That $250 Nook is all she really needs.
Surprisingly, for a company moving into a new field, Barnes & Noble has got it spot on. The e-ink Nook was a very well built device with an excruciatingly slow OS. To their credit, they moved quickly and within a month had an update with greatly improves speeds (by e-ink standards). It uses open standards and apart from the books that I buy from their store, I can side load my own books and converted Kindle books. e-ink is fantastic for reading and within a week I was hooked.
I bought the iPad a few months later and while the book software is excellent, the lack of e-ink, the weight and size of the iPad made it a very poor substitute for an e-ink reader. After a few months of disuse, I sold the iPad.
I then bought the Nook Color. At $250, rooted and with the CyanogenMod ROM, it's a very capable tablet. It has the same problem of not being an e-ink deviceand I mostly use the e-ink Nook to read.
If B&N has a color e-ink which marries Nook Color and e-Ink Nook at the same prices that they have so far been selling the Nooks, they will have another fantastic product that I'll most likely be buying.
But as others have said, not for anything more than $250. I'll definitely be getting the Asus Transformer when it's widely available to replace the iPad I sold a few months ago.
Comments
I really don't believe that ebook readers should be consider competitors to the iPad. There is some overlap in functionality but equally there is some overlap in functionality between an iPod shuffle and an iPhone.
True, if your talking about E-ink devices. However the nook color WAS intended to be more tablet like. It has a full color touchscreen and is a very similar form-factor to the iPad. It runs a bastardized version of android, and has the android market completely stripped out. It was slow, laggy and very poor even for an e-reader. IMO, for a dedicated E-reader I think the kindle is tops. For an all around tablet, the iPad smokes the competition.
Or like calling iOS devices a competitor to Portable gaming Consoles.
Funny you should make that analogy, because Nintendo has admitted that they are losing millions of dollars to people buying ipod touches for games. Games, I might add, that are as good or better than many of nintendo's offerings.
Then they should launch them exclusively at the Barnes & Noble brick and mortar stores for the first 6 weeks to drive foot traffic to stores and promote and burnish the B&N brand.
A well reviewed $249 tablet would be a game changer for both Barnes & Noble and the tablet market overall.
Barnes & Noble will sadly soon join Borders as a memory.
Man... Borders... What a great brand wasted.
She's probably the ideal consumer for something like the Nook. She's a voracious reader, and uses a computer for no more than checking email, looking up recipes and reading up on health issues (If there's an ailment known to man, she's had it or knows someone who does).
For her, an iPad would be overkill and a waste of my daughter's money. That $250 Nook is all she really needs.
I bought the iPad a few months later and while the book software is excellent, the lack of e-ink, the weight and size of the iPad made it a very poor substitute for an e-ink reader. After a few months of disuse, I sold the iPad.
I then bought the Nook Color. At $250, rooted and with the CyanogenMod ROM, it's a very capable tablet. It has the same problem of not being an e-ink deviceand I mostly use the e-ink Nook to read.
If B&N has a color e-ink which marries Nook Color and e-Ink Nook at the same prices that they have so far been selling the Nooks, they will have another fantastic product that I'll most likely be buying.
But as others have said, not for anything more than $250. I'll definitely be getting the Asus Transformer when it's widely available to replace the iPad I sold a few months ago.