Barnes and Noble just released their new Nook Color, which means it’s time for a detailed Nook Color review. Is this a good product or just a strange hybrid between a tablet and an e-book reader? Let’s take a detailed look at the new product and see what it’s all about.
The “NC” has some very different features that differ from the original Nook, which is still available as a B&N product.
The Nook Color touchscreen Obviously, this is THE main difference between original and colored Nooks. It is equipped with a 7-inch color touch screen with “Vivid View” technology.
This screen is an IPS screen that displays more than 16 million colors and allows up to 178 degrees of viewing. This is the same technology that is used on the iPad, so if you’ve seen the iPad screen, then you know what the Vivid View screen looks like. It also switches from portrait to landscape mode by rotating the device 90 degrees.
Social reading features The NC comes with a few features that take advantage of social media. You can share thoughts, lines from a book, favorite books, etc., via Facebook and Twitter.
Games and apps The NC comes with Sudoku, Chess and Crossword games (3 games). Beyond “Loan Me” and the “Nook App” for PCs and other phones, etc., apps are still not a thing of the past with Nook. But since it uses Google’s Android technology, there may be new interest for developers.
Pandora Radio has jumped on the Nook bandwagon and also offers its service on the device.
Loan me application The “Loan Me” application allows owners to loan books to friends and family who also have the application. Access to the application is more available to the user with the color touch screen.
Memory- The memory capacity is 8GB, allowing thousands of books, pictures, songs, etc.
Kids only- This new Nook section at Barnes and Noble offers a line of children’s books that work with the Corner color. They are interactive to the touch and have the ability to be read by the child by selecting the function.
Battery duration- Battery life is just 8 hours, compared to the 10-14 day battery life of the original Nook with E-Ink display.
Browsing the Web- It also allows you to surf the web (not with 3G, but wirelessly). So you can open the browser to visit sites and check your emails as well as compose them.
Overall, the new Nook Color is well reviewed. It’s a bold step for Barnes and Noble, and a much-needed bold step at that.