Some people are selling Nook at Amazon.com. Nook is not currently available in B&N online store. If you order it now, you will probably get it after February 12. I found on the amazon store that some people are even selling it as high as $600. However, you can also find some rarely used ones at $275. If you’re very much interested in Nook, you can probably afford that. Here is the link to amazon store.

Barnes and Noble NOOK ebook reader

Original Article

i♥cabbages who happens to crack the kindle DRM with the program litled “unswindle” has also recently been able to circumvent B&N’s EPUB DRM. He writes, on his blog:

The basic idea behind the B&N EPUB scheme is the same as that used by the ill-fated eReader format B&N acquired – step 1: generate an encryption key from the book-purchaser’s name + credit card #; step 2: hope that they don’t like giving that information out to strangers. They like to call this a form of “social DRM,” although I believe a more appropriate term is “silly.”

He found that Windows version of the B&N’s eReader (desktop reader) contains only generated encyption keys, not the CC number for all the ebooks purchased on B&N. And this key is stored in sqlite3 database in plain text. That helped him to find a way to circumvent so-called DRM. He came up with two programs:

• A Windows-only key-retrieval script: ignoblekey
• Book-decryption script: ignobleepub

You need both programs: one is for key retrieval, the other one is for decryption of the key, aka, DRMless. Both scripts are written in python.

Tamrac 3548 Express Pack 8 (Khaki)Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)

Original Article

The person behind the NookDevs team rooting and hacking the Nook is Robbie Trencheny. He is an 18-year-old student now leading the team to run applications on Nook. Recently, Robbie gave an interview with Nookaholic. Among the other things, he said:

I was honestly shocked when we found out that the whole OS runs on microSD instead of the traditional NAND Flash chips that you see in embedded devices these days. I was further shocked when we found that the system was not encrypted… at any level, in any app.

Is that one of the reasons why Nook is sluggish, slow responsive to any gesturte on the LCD screen? If so, then no matter how sophisticated the software is, the problem will remain to a certain level. One of my greatest concern is that how reliable an microSD card which contain the system software to run the reader. Robbie has other concerns as well:

The way they built the software was basically taking a stock Android 1.5 (Cupcake) build, adding a few apps and tweaks here and there. I think this, along with the rushed timeline, causes the majority if not all the problems the nook is currently experiencing.

How an ereader with this level of sophistication by such a company is released to compete with other ereaders, specially Kindle, in the market? To me, it’s not only at beta stage in terms of software, but also at beta stage at hardware level.

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)Amazon Kindle Leather Cover (Fits 6” Display, Latest Generation Kindle)

Original Article

Now you can root your nook without any tear down. But still you need a linux machine to run the command. Here you can find the steps to get your nook softrooted. Follow the instructions carefully.

Be careful, if anything goes wrong you might end up with nook as just a ‘paper weight’. Also, the process doesn’t work on nook shipped on and after Decem 21, 2009. it has been tested on nooks running 1.0.0, 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 of the nook firmware.

It seems NookDevs team is making a solid good progress in jailbraking the nook. However, the team had made it clear that they’re not going to do anything to brake the DRM of ebooks for nook:

A number of nook owners have asked us about the nook’s DRM. Don’t steal books.

The team truly believe in developing applications for nook:

Barnes & Noble have built a really fantastic Android tablet for us. So far, it looks like it’s going to be an amazing platform for third-party experimentation and development.

There are several applications ported on nook already. The Dev team is also going to release a new application for nook. Here is the tweet from Robbie of NookDevs team:

so, very soon, I (@robbie) will be releasing the first nook android app: nookMail! Kindle mail for your nook, on crack! yay! more info later 10:22 PM Dec 22nd from web

Keep up your good works, NookDevs Team!

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)

Original Article

Since the nook has been rooted by NookDevs a lot of people got interested on usability of nook with respect to installing android applications. And it’s now possible if you have enough courage to root your nook.

It’s not an easy job since you have to take apart the nook first, and you must have knowledge how to execute commands on a linux machine. You’ll liable for any damage to nook in the process of rooting.

The steps you need to follow:

1. Root the nook if not done yet. The instructions are here.
2. After the rooting complete, if you find wifi connection drops, do the following:  Go to settings. Turn wifi off, turn wifi on. Go to the nook store to check it’s working now.
3. Before installing/running the apps you will need to connect to your nook through adb. This is because there is no launcher screen yet on nook. What does it means is that you first open a terminal on your computer while nook is connected, then cd to the android folder, then cd tools , then ./adb connect IP_OF_NOOK:5555 and lastly, ./adb shell
4. Now you need to VNC server to communicate with nook. Follow the steps here.
5. Once done, you can follow the instructions here to install three application as of now: internet browser, pandora radio, and busybox applications.
6. If wifi drops after opening an application, do the following:  adb shell mv /system/app/RadioPmSvc.apk /data/local

Hopefully nookdevs team will come up some easy way to install the applications, even the rooting process without taking apart the nook physically. If this can happen with iPhone, why it can’t happen with nook.

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)Amazon Kindle Leather Cover (Fits 6” Display, Latest Generation Kindle)2-Year Extended Warranty for Kindle (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)Clear LCD Screen Protector for the Amazon Kindle 2 / Kindle 2 International E-Book Reader

Original Article

Do you know there is a Nook Dev team? Probably not until now. Yes, the team has torn off the nook, took out the micro SD card which contains the whole Android OS. They have used a card reader connected to a Linux computer that has Android Dev Toolkit installed  to access the file system of nook. Here you can find the step-by-step procedure to open up your nook if you are geek enough. A whole lot of possibility is coming up. Stay Tuned!!!!!!!

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7” Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation)

Original Article

This is a follow-up because Nook-interested are very unhappy with David Pogue’s review, and he replies to some of it.

Also, the video he made to go with his review is clear that besides the navigational and lag diffculties that frustrated him, the marketing of features by Barnes and Noble was misleading, and the video makes sport of the “fine print” that was never mentioned.

 Most of his frustration would come from having used another ereader that does not have the many steps and long-waits reported and which are seeable in video examples on many review sites on the net, even from one site whose review was positive (which has been a rare thing this week).

 The Public Library loan ability was, strangely, not marketed by B&N, and B&N did not confirm that capability this week when asked, but it does work (perhaps inadvertently?) because the Nook does come with Adobe Digital Edition DRM reading capability), and this feature is a real boon for Nook users.

 If Nook fixes the many problems, too many of them caused by basic design decisions causing many steps to get anything done (font changes, book-formatting upon re-opening, the many steps to get searches done and then the one-word at a time search results, which those with e-reader experience will find frustrating), then there will be even more interested in buying.

That B&N kept calling it “The most advanced” e-reader, due to having WiFi capability that is ultra-limited (access to B&N store), was odd when a “less-advanced then” e-reader gives 24/7 free access to the web and does read-to-me for those who can use it when in a rush, even on articles and personal/business documents, and offers well acted Audible books — that was what was worthy of the treatment given in the video, in the eyes of those not happy with the half-truths in the advertising.  Fine print restrictions that are not given exposure will upset some people.

From the Comments section to the article:
Here are some letters to David Pogue and his responses to some of them.

---

Sam wrote: “3 seconds to turn a page? that’s ridiculous, and if it was what you experienced, you have a defective model.”

You can see the 3-second page turn in my video, side-by-side with the 1-second Kindle. Do I have a defective model? Barnes & Noble doesn’t think so —the company hasn’t challenged that result.

- regarding your faulty price comparison between Amazon and Barnes & Noble — To use an outdated comparison like this is simply bad journalism. 5 minutes on the Barnes & Noble discussion boards would have clued you into the price drops.

The data is a month old. That’s not bad journalism. I also hand-inspected the 175 NY Times bestsellers, and the proportion of cheaper Kindle books-to-Nook books is still there. Amazon is cheaper almost 100% of the time that there’s a price difference.

- ‘audible audio-book playback’? nook plays mp3 files as well, so I’m not seeing the advantage.’

Then you’re obviously not an Audible audio-book subscriber! They’re fantastic.

[Khurt wrote:] “The software update that fixes all those bugs will be out before the Nook is available to buyers.”

Not quite. The first software update, next week, fixes a small number of the most egregious bugs:

1) reduces the interval that the “FORMATTING” message is on the screen every time you open a book (but does not eliminate it).

2)Eliminates the SECOND tap required to open a book after your initial tap.

3) Fixes the bug that takes you to the Home screen when you tap the Down button.

They still have a LONGGGGG way to go after that!

Just got my own Nook and have seen very few of the problems David Pogue has described. I already own a Sony Reader and have found on my Nook that page turns are no slower than the Sony Reader. I have had 5 books download very quickly and I have not had the same formatting issue. I have found the touchscreen strip to be somewhat unresponsive, but so is my iPhone, occasionally. And isn’t generally available WiFi better than none? Maybe BN was quick to the draw, but so is a two day long review. You couldn’t give it a week?

I had the Nook for 6 days, same as all other reviewers.

The free google books were even slower, needing 30 seoconds of extra “formatting” before displaying, and left stange [sic] mangled artifacts on the screen.
[ No response to this one but I found it worth quoting. ]

No mention of the update B&N already pushed out Monday afternoon to address some of the early issues with formatting time and responsiveness?…
Was this written last week and you never bothered to follow-up with B&N at all this week?”

I was in constant contact with Barnes & Noble, up to, and even after, the review was published.

The other factor that you failed to mention (surprisingly, given your appreciation of the iPhone aesthetic advantages over its competitors) is that the Nook is *so* much better looking than the Kindle. I actually don’t feel there’s much between the Nook and the Kindle in terms of the primary capabilities - call me shallow, but the good looks of the Nook mean that its the one I want to take to bed with me!

[No response but I found it worth quoting.  I have always noticed that the looks were key here.]

Okay, so I went back to B and N today to check it out again. Three devices all freezing up, dying, and not working properly. THe pages flipped fine, but the rest of the device was bunk. Furthermore, B and N had a nervous girl who KNEW these things were not working right trying to sell them…I hope they pay her well, because there was a legion of confused potential customers disappointed in the device. Oh well, this review was harsh. In a world of dying newspapers, I think nytimes should be behind an e-reader movement to increase circulation and hopefully develop a new revenue stream.
[ Worth quoting as the writer preferred a softer review. ]

David, I got my Nook last night. It is a nice piece of hardware with some flaws in the software that should not be a deal-breaker for many folks. (I timed my page-turning whilst reading a book—less than one second.) I am happy with my Nook. I suggest that potential buyers try out a demo at the local B&N, if possible, and judge for themselves. It’s not as bad as your snide article suggests, but it’s not the Second Coming, either.
[ Worth quoting as a view from a customer with less expectations. Many will not care about the tougher navigation if they’ve not used another, good, e-reader in the past — and the Nook has its attractions. ]

Original Article

LATimes reports that five publishers - Conde Nast Publications, Hearst Corp., Meredith Corp., News Corp. and Time Inc. are going to form a joint online storefront to fight Amazon’s power in the market in digital content. We have already  listened unpleasant comments so many times from New Corp’s Rupert Murdoch regarding Amazon’s ebook business model. Some magazine publishers also raised their voices against Amazon’s revenue sharing model. Accoring to LaTimes:

The five publishers envision a Web store that would sell full-color, interactive digital versions of their newspapers and magazines that would be readable on next-generation touch-screen reading devices, said John Squires, the group’s interim managing director. He estimated that the store would open for business late next year, but that applications for smart phones, such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone, could be available sooner. For readers, the venture promises the ability to buy content once and then be able to read it on multiple devices. Currently, newspapers purchased on the Amazon Kindle reading device cannot be read on Sony Corp.’s Reader, for example. “Once purchased, this content will be ‘unlocked’ for consumers to enjoy anywhere, any time, on any platform,” Squires said.

It seems the publishers are not going to release any dedicated devices like kindle or nook, rather want to make content available across all platforms. Good news is that once purchased the content will not be locked to any specific device. Wall Street Journal also reports that two major publishers - Simon & Schuster and Hachette Book Group - plan to delay “by four months the electronic-book editions of about 35 leading titles coming out early next year, taking a dramatic stand against the cut-rate $9.99 pricing of e-book best sellers.” Definitely such decision will affect the ebook industry in the short-run, Regarding long-run it’s really very uncertain situation as the ebook industry yet to take a definite shape. If most of the big publishers only sell ebooks through some joint online storefront as LATimes reports and boycott Amazon then the story can be different; but how far the publishers can go that is still an issue of concern. B&N, though is selling nook, is much safer position as the publishers need to sell their physical books on it’s stores throughout USA. However, ebooks sell will be affected in any way.

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7” Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation)Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition - Red ( PRS600RC)

Original Article

This is from Gizmodo regarding how PDFs shows up on nook. Remember, recently amazon also released a software update for kindle that makes PDFs viewable on kindle but on kindle it doesn’t reflow texts. Nook rather offer text reflow of PDFs. Gizmodo has an update on this feature comparing kindle versus nook:

• PDFs are supported natively and use Adobe’s mobile PDF system
• You can’t  zoom, the only option is to change the font size
• Unlike the kindle, which only offer a screen rotation option, nook can  re-flowing the text and adjust the picture size.
• PDFs containing anything but text look pretty grim on either device, but for text-only ones, nook seems to be a wiser pick.

Pre-order $249

kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)kindle dx Wireless Reading Device (9.7” Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation)

Original Article

Nook got the first hand-on review on Gizmodo. The review is fair and balanced, and goes in favor of nook even though some features couldn’t be tested. Here is what Gizmodo says about nook, specially with respect to touch screen which makes nook different from other devices:

Nook preserves the same pleasurable reading experience, but tucks in the capacitive-touch LCD screen for added control. In its 1.0 implementation, Nook is not as fast or as smooth as it could be, but already it’s showing that the second screen is not a gimmick. …the second screen is not a sudden and miraculous cure for what ails ebook readers. It may prove to be, but B&N’s current implementation is conservative. As yet, there are too few occasions on the Nook when I notice an LCD feature and say “Kindle can’t do that.” …the LCD was how nice its keyboard was. Unlike the Kindle, the Nook’s keyboard is only visible when you need it, and as an iPhone user, I found it natural and accurate. The capacitive touch is a real boon, especially on a screen so small.

Other points:

• The little screen can display a directional pad for moving around text when highlighting or looking up words in the dictionary
• The LCD screen shows a search box and you can type notations;
• Music player pops up without leaving the page
• When the screen goes dark, you can make horizontal swipe gestures to turn the pages of the e-ink screen above (though response is little sluggish)
• The music player alphabetize all songs
• There is no physical volume button, but you can pull up a slider to adjust it, and another slider to jump around a song
• When you look up a word in the dictionary, the definition pops up on the e-ink screen, not the LCD
• Nook is little thicker than Kindle, but as a tradeoff, it’s a little smaller footprint
• LCD and other features mean less battery life than Kindle, but still adequate, “measured in days”

The biggest disappointment: The page-turning swipe gesture failed to work half the time when tried, and when it did work, it responded slower than pressing the physical page-turn buttons. Very Much Like a Kindle?

If I haven’t said much about reading books on the Nook itself, it’s because it feels very much like a Kindle, right down to the page-turn buttons. The screen is the same—there’s no discernible difference whatsoever. Aesthetically, the Nook is better looking, less busy, with a more proportionate bezel (and a wee bit more girth). I like the gray rubber backing as much as I loved in on the original Kindle—I still don’t know why Amazon abandoned that.

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7” Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation)

Original Article