I've posted a few times before, voicing my opinions on e-readers whilst I debated buying one. Well, I've had one for a couple of weeks now, more specifically, the Nook, thanks to a lovely birthday present from Habib. I thought I'd give a little review.
I love it even though it's far from perfect.
It like the touch screen at the bottom instead of Kindle's calculator-like looking keyboard. Makes it look sharper. While not as aesthetically pleasing as a book, the text is clear and easy to read, with 3 different fonts and 5 sizes to choose from. It can read all of the common and popular e-book formats, plus pdf files and other text documents. The screen is easy on the eyes as I've spent an entire day reading (6 hrs. +) and I suffered no discomfort to my eyes, similar to a book. Comparing it to a similar reading time on a low light laptop screen I've done before, my eyes are usually tired and strained at the end of the day. It's lighter than 99% of the books I read, mostly because my books are usually well over 500 pages long if not twice that much. I can have all my books in one place, accessible at the click of a button. For someone who is often reading around 2 books at a time, this is neat.
It's got wi-fi access, which can be turned off to save battery. So you can buy, sample, and download you books without a computer. Books that are in the public domain (roughly anything pre 1926 I think), are available and free to download. So I'm catching up on a little Jane Austin and Bronte reading. They've also added a couple of new apps, so now you can web browse (useful but with a few limitations), and play things like Chess and Sudoku, which let me tell you is so nice on a long plane flight. Nothing like chess to make time disappear. One game on a Dallas - Tucson flight ate up 2 hours, and I wasn't even finished yet.
It can play audio books or music, which is nice, but I haven't tested that yet.
Some of the things I'd like to see evolve in the technology in the next few years:
I'd like to a see a smoother screen refresh rate. That is, make flipping a page as smooth as it would be on a laptop. Maybe even fast enough to play videos.
I'd also like to see color. It's currently being heavily developed, now that I think some companies have seen the expanding market for e-reading. One company already has a prototype color screen that shows color by mimicking the way light is reflected off a butterfly's wings. It's still a soft pastel coloring, but it's a definite step in the right direction. Although Steve Jobs after viewing it, apparently said "It's not ready for prime time".
I think if they can figure out how to do these two things, then the sky's the limit for these devices. They could really go way beyond e-reading.
Most importantly, this means when "The Wise Man's Fear" comes out 1st of March next year, (I absolutely can't wait!!), even if I can't right away get my hands on a hard copy (and rest assured I will as soon as I can find one), I will still be able to buy the book and read it on the release date on my nook. I can save future re-reads for the book.
By the way, if you're looking for a good fantasy read, which I somehow doubt because I seem to be the only sci-fi and fantasy geek in the family, I very much recommend, "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. It's part 1 of a trilogy, and the above book is the second one. I would give a summary, but I don't like to. I believe the best and most enjoyable way to read a story, is to start out not knowing what to expect, and let the author surprise you. Honestly, the first time I opened that book and read the first one page prologue, "A Silence of Three Parts", I was hooked and sold. If the author's skill in story telling was anything remotely close to that little piece of descriptive and mood setting prose, I was sure it was going to be well worth reading the 661 pages. I was not only not disappointed, it was so beyond any of my expectations, I actually for the second time in my life, apart from J. K. Rowling, looked up an author's website and started following their blog. Imagine my pleasant surprise when the author happened to have a regularly updated and really fun to read blog.
Anyway, I seem to have drifted off topic, as it seems is always the case with me :)
Cheers
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