Today Barnes & Noble unveiled a new electronic book (eBook) reader named "nook" that will compete with Amazon.com's Kindle. Dubbed as "The World's Most Advanced eBook Reader", it has a compelling set of features that ultimately made me decide to put my pre-order in today. Read on to find out all about the nook, and why you should pre-order too.

 

What's An eBook Reader?

Any device that can read an eBook is an eBook reader—this includes smart phones, PDAs, computers, and devices specifically built for eBooks such as the Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble nook. 

But what makes devices like the nook stand out is that they use a special technology called electronic ink, or e-ink, to display the words on the page. E-ink was developed in 1997 based on research from the MIT Media Lab, and is now manufactured by a Cambridge, Massachusetts company co-founded by MIT Professor Joseph Jacobson, called E Ink Corporation.

 

How Does E-ink Work?

The E Ink Corporation puts it best:

The principal components of electronic ink are millions of tiny microcapsules, about the diameter of a human hair. In one incarnation, each microcapsule contains positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles suspended in a clear fluid. When a negative electric field is applied, the white particles move to the top of the microcapsule to become visible to the reader. This makes the surface appear white at that location. At the same time, an opposite electric field pulls the black particles to the bottom of the microcapsules where they are hidden. By reversing this process, the black particles appear at the top of the capsule, which now makes the surface appear dark at that location.

 Source: David Caputo's Blog: "The Kindle, E-Ink and You" 

It's similar to an Etch A Sketch, where the inside surface of the glass screen is coated with aluminum powder which is then scraped off by a movable stylus, leaving a dark line on the light gray screen (Wikipedia).

 

Why E-Ink Matters

• Ultra-low Power Consumption: E-ink is bistable, meaning that the display is able to retain an image even after the power has been shut off. The result? E-ink only draws power when the content on the screen changes.
• Practicality: Most LCD screens in notebook computers and mobile devices today are difficult to read in direct sunlight. E-ink fixes this, as it can be used in direct sunlight with no glare.
• Accessibility: Since e-ink emits no light, it doesn't cause eye strain.

 

Introducing The Nook...

The nook is a game changer in the eBook reader world because it incorporates a ton of features, both technology and process, that no other reader has had in the past. Overall, it makes for a compelling product.

Technology Features

• Dual-screen benefits: The nook has a 6-inch e-ink screen for reading, and a 3.5inch LCD screen on the bottom. With two screens, you can do things like change the font size or style without having to leave whatever it is your reading. You get the added benefit of instantly seeing if the change was the right one—instant feedback, a huge usability plus. Other benefits include being able to control your music while reading.
• Color Touchscreen: The 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen lets you swipe to browse your library displayed via full-color book covers or pull up the full keyboard to search for a new book or lend one to a friend.
• Wi-Fi Connectivity: nook is the first eBook reader to ever offer Wi-Fi connectivity, a huge plus to those who want connectivity while traveling to areas where the AT&T 3G coverage isn't available. In contrast, Amazon charges U.S. customers a $1.99 fee "when downloading books or single issues of periodicals wirelessly from your Archived Items or the Kindle store while traveling internationally".
• Expandable Storage: nook has an expandable microSD slot. If you buy an extra 16 GB memory card you can store store up to 17,500 books.
• Natively Supported File Types: nook natively supports the epub format, a free and open eBook standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum. Also natively supports PDF.
• Power: nook features a removable, rechargeable battery that can be charged via USB to computer or power adapter. Charges in 3.5 hours from wall outlet, and lasts up to 10 days on a single charge.

 

Process Features

• LendMe: Just as with physical books, you can now share favorite eBooks with your friends, family, or book club. Most eBooks can be lent for up to 14 days at a time. Simply choose the book you want to share, enter an email address and optional message, then send it to your friend's nook, iPhone, iPod touch,  BlackBerry, Motorola smartphone, PC, or Mac (support for Windows Mobile is coming). You can keep a contact list of friends, and as long as they have the free Barnes & Noble eReader software installed, LendMe will work.
  
  Note: I have tested the Barnes & Noble eReader software on Windows 7 and although not officially supported yet, it does work.

 

• In-Store Wi-Fi Specials: B&N tells us to "visit the store, turn on your nook, and see what pops up on your screen. It's as simple as that. You will get exclusive content, special discounts and more. And soon, you will be able to read entire eBooks for free at your local Barnes & Noble".

 

The Competition: How Nook Stacks Up

Device	Kindle	Kindle DX	B&N Nook	Sony Reader Daily Edition	IREX DR800SG
Price	$259 ($279 for international access)	$489	$259	$399	$399
Screen Size	6 inches	9.7 inches	3.5 inch LCD/6 inch epaper	7 inches	8.1 inches
Touch Screen	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rotating Screen	No	Yes	TK	Yes	Yes
Storage	2GB not expandable	4GB not expandable	2GB Expandable up to 16GB	2GB expandable via Memory Stick and SD	No on-board memory, comes with 2GB SD card
Wireless	Sprint 3G	Sprint 3G	AT&T 3G and Wi-Fi for worldwide use	AT&T 3G	Verizon Gobi chipset for worldwide use
Bookstore	Amazon	Amazon	Barnes & Noble	Sony eBookstore	Barnes & Noble
Content Availability	350,000+ books newspaper, magazine, blog subscriptions	350,000+ books newspaper, magazine, blog subscriptions	750,000+ books “Users can purchase books, newspapers or magazines from a wide variety of sources”* *not available over 3G unless purchased through built-in bookstore	100,000+ books One million public domain books via Google* Participating local library rentals* *not available over 3G	750,000+ books “Users can purchase books, newspapers or magazines from a wide variety of sources”* *not available over 3G unless purchased through built-in bookstore
Natively Supported Formats	Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible, MP3, MOBI, PRC	Kindle (AZW), PDF, TXT, Audible, MP3, MOBI, PRC	ePub, “multiple DRM solutions,” PDF	ePub, PDF, JPEG, BBeB, RTF, TXT	ePub, “multiple DRM solutions”
Formats Supported via Conversion	PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP	HTML, DOC, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP	Word, more to come	DOC, HTML, “other text file formats”	Not sure yet, will update when more info is available
Web Browser	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Other Features (lists may be incomplete)	Bookmarks, annotations, dictionary, Wikipedia, search, audiobooks, iPhone sync	Bookmarks, annotations, dictionary, Wikipedia, search, audiobooks, iPhone sync	Dictionary, LendMe, annotations, audiobooks, in-store Wi-Fi specials	Highlighting, annotation, dictionary, handwritten notes with included stylus	Bookmarks, search, included stylus, “users will have the ability to download content to the device while traveling abroad next year”
Available	Now	Now	Nov 30 ‘09	December ‘09	October ‘09 (Europe in mid-2010)

Source: CrunchGear

 

The Nook: Not Just A Kindle Killer...

As someone involved in the user experience field, I am constantly evaluating products I see from the average user's point of view. It's clear when you look at what the nook has to offer that the Barnes & Noble user experience team went to great lengths to design a product that not only took on competitors in the eReader space, but took on the true competitor—the physical book.

Consumers will not have reason to switch to an eReader device until it at least meets all the functionality that a physical book has. Prior to the nook, one of the biggest drawbacks to eReaders were that you could not lend a book to a friend. With LendMe, Barnes & Noble has solved the lending problem, creating an efficient and easy way to mimic the physical book world, and take it one step further. Never before would I lend a book to a friend across the country from me. But now its simply a matter of entering their email address and hitting send.

Never before would I lend a book to a friend across the country from me. But now its simply a matter of entering their email address and hitting send.

Taking it a step further, the Barnes & Noble nook team decided to appease all those who cherish relaxing inside a B&N for the night and reading through a good book—for free. Take your nook into any B&N, connect to the free Wi-Fi, and they'll "stream" entire books, for free, directly to your device.

Furthermore, the nook is built on Google's open source Android operating system, which allows for the display of texts in PDF and epub formats. Why is this great? Users aren't limited to only buying books directly from Barnes & Noble, a restriction that some eBook readers have, including Amazon's Kindle.

Finally, there is an ever-growing community of developers creating innovative and useful applications for the Google Android platform. This creates a future of interesting possibilities for the nook.

 

Why You Should Pre-Order A Nook Now

So far, eBook readers have yet to take off. Michael Norris, senior analyst at research firm Simba Information was quoted in the New York Times as saying:

Only 8 percent of the U.S. adult population bought one e-book in 2008...so it's a device that is extremely important to everyone except 92 percent of American adults.
-Michael Norris, Senior Analyst, Simba Information

Yet, things are quickly changing. Sony introduced its first eBook reader in 2006, Amazon's Kindle launched in 2007, and now we have America's largest book store chain entering the market—clearly these companies are doing so for good reason.

The reason is twofold.

1. Sales are slumping in the book and music industry and have been for years now. The recent recession has only added insult to injury, as consumers cut back on discretionary spending even further.
2. Its a nod to the inevitable transition to the digital distribution of content. Music transitioned with Napster and iTunes, movies & TV with Netflix and iTunes, and now finally it is the paper books turn. The centuries old medium that lasted through countless wars and revolutions is no match for the convenience of the digital age equivalent.

eBook sales are on the rise—from $29.8 million during the first half of 2008 to $81.5 million in the same period of this year. Forrester Research predicts 3 million eBook readers will be sold in the U.S. in 2009, and double that in 2010. With products like the nook, focused on a solid user experience, its easy to see why.

Ultimately, the Barnes & Noble nook offers a compelling package, both in terms of technical and user-based features. It fills almost every gap that previous eBook readers had, and at the same price as its competitors.

For these reasons, I just pre-ordered the nook, and I think you should too.