Saturday, February 4, 2012

Nook Color: Initial Thoughts After Some Hands On.

Alright, so I got my Nook Color yesterday, did my setup stuff and then dove into the usual gadget exploration/familiarization mode. Matter of fact, I might owe some people(my wife and kids included) a quick apology. Sorry guys, I was riding a wave of excitement while playing about, and I hope I didn't overly annoy  them with posts/tweets etc. It happens. I did however manage to get a feel for the device and have come to a few conclusions.

First off, I have to admit I am very surprised with the Nook Color. From a hardware standpoint alone, it is a solid little device. The battery lasted far better than I expected. After a full charge, I managed to surf the web, install apps, any number of things and didn't receive the low battery warning until sometime after noon today. So, some on and off serious use from about 3 p.m. yesterday until about noon, that is about 21 hours or better by my figuring.

Secondly, I've had issues, and some bad opinions of touch inputs for years. I used a touch screen terminal years ago on a daily basis, with a decent enough degree of resentment. So, it's safe to say that while I am familiar with the experience I have been a long time supporter of more traditional input systems. Having said that though, the screen on my Nook has me impressed. It is very responsive and not nearly as daunting to adapt to as I feared. While it does still lead to the occasional miss click and the like it is actually very accurate and quite satisfying of an experience.

Thirdly, and this is something I cannot stress enough to anyone considering getting a Nook, a Kindle, or any other similar device: you have to bear in mind your intended use of the product. The more I tool around the more I cannot help but see B&N's lack of free apps and the like. A standard Nook Color does come with a very nice selection of a few apps and games but when it comes to free ones their offerings pale in comparison to Amazon. And with the stock OS locked from non B&N software you can't expect to expand your options without rooting or loading a full version of Android. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some nice and very handy free apps and games available. I really like some of them, and they can provide some great added functionality. But I have to admit, if your buying a Nook, odds are your not buying it for an extensive app market. Your buying it for it's easy customization and flexibility.

Without rambling on and on, I think I'll leave it at that for now. I still have to have to say I am thrilled and continued to be impressed with my little Nook Color. And if you are curious yourself, by all means let me know if there is something you'd like to know or hear more about.

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