I have had my Nook now for 6 weeks, and am extremely happy with my purchase. I spent a considerable amount of time researching it and its competition before my decision to buy it. My experience since then has added even more reasons why I am glad of my decision. The display is really excellent, and the engineering of the device is so good that I often forget I am reading using an electronic device, and find myself reaching up to turn a page! The design of the casing makes it really comfortable to hold the Nook, and the side buttons on each side for turning pages become second nature to operate after just a little use. I really like the design of the touchpad on the bottom of the page. It has an enormous range of capabilities, and is not too hard to learn how to operate. I really like how unobtrusive it becomes when not in use - it turns itself off when not in use and simply becomes a smallish dark band at the bottom of the reader. Its color display of bookcovers I find to be an extremely nice and fun feature. I like the simple web browser it has - it allows me to login into the secure WiFi system at work, and download books and other material while I am at lunch there. I think one of the most important features of this particular reader is the support given by Barnes and Noble. If you have a problem or a question, you can just go into the local store and ask them there for help. I was very impressed to overhear help being given to a senior lady who had come in with her new Nook with some questions on its operation - the assistance she was given was truly impressive, and a primary factor in my decision to get the Nook. I am also very, very impressed with the ebook offerings of Barnes and Noble. Its free book Fridays are also great. Its offering of almost a dozen classic books every week for almost three months was also great. Since getting my Nook I have found myself reading again regularly for the first time in years. It has made the experince once again an extremely pleasurable one. I am very glad I decided to buy the Nook.

I've had the Wifi-only Nook for a few days now and I would have to say that I am pretty impressed with it. Originally, I was looking to purchase the Kindle but after doing some research on the Nook I realized that it might be a better overall product. First of all, the Nook uses e-ink technology which not only makes it resemble a book page, but it also allows the reader to use the Nook in bright sunlight. Unfortunately, this also means that the Nook does not have a backlit screen. However, using a book light will remedy this problem and these are fairly inexpensive. Bookstores do not have to pay shipping and publishing fees so the books are less expensive. I've heard that this has forced writers to take a pay cut which is really unfortunate for fledgling writers. Also, the Nook supports EPub which allows the user to access books from the public library. I'm a huge fan of free content so this was also a major plus for me. There are some drawbacks to this device. The keyboard is painfully slow, so much so that I don't use the internet. That said, I am aware that I bought a Nook and not an iPad so this is not a huge deal. Also, the Wifi only version comes with a white backplate that will quickly develop brown spots around the edges so beware. The 3g version has a gray back plate so I'm not sure if it has the same problem. Something else to note is that the Nook is not very intuitive so it might be a good idea to take one of Barnes and Noble's Nook classes to familiarize yourself with the product. Finally, it takes a good deal of time to start up which makes it enticing to leave the device in sleep mode. Also, downloads take some time to reach the device. Finally, I wish the Nook came with a clock. This may seem trivial, but it would be very convenient so that I quickly check the time. All in all, this is a good product and I'm not sure that 3g is really necessary since Wifi spots are everywhere, however you may not have to contend with unsightly marks on your Nook.

I have been thinking about an e-reader for a few months now. For years I have bought books almost exclusively at Barnes and Noble, so when I heard about their product I was instantly drawn in. Unfortunately, the early nook suffered from many problems. That coupled with a relatively pricey tag had me hold off. A few software updates, and a huge price drop later, an I broke and bought one. I haven't regretted my decision for a moment. It has worked perfectly without any problems. There is one problem I think that people have when researching the nook. As stated above, the nook has improved greatly with the software updates it has receive, making it much better than it was at launch. Unfortunately, many reviews on the internet are referring to the state of the nook at launch last year without updating the review. This leads to many people thinking the nook is still just as sluggish and buggy. Advice: check the date of the review and try to find one posted in May 2010 or later. As for Wifi vs 3G, I say that Wifi is perfect if you have home wireless. I find the nooks web browser to be largely a novelty and something I don't really need/use, so the only time I need internet connectivity is to purchase books. With a home wireless connection, I can buy books whenever at home, at a BN store, or anywhere else with wireless (in the US) . I have never been in a situation where I NEED to buy a book immediately somewhere and can't get to a hot spot. That extra 50 bucks is nice to buy a case (which I strongly recommend) ad a book or two with.

I think it is also important to know how a product works after a year, not just the first impression. It downloads well for ebooks from BN and library books through Adobe software. The battery life is my major issue and the system stability associated with it. Even with the wi-fi turned off, the battery drains quickly. With normal usage, it barely lasts 4~5 days when new and a year later it needs charging almost daily and even that doesn't prevent unpredicable system freeze. Nook is designed to turn itself off (not just sleep) when the battery is low. But in the last few month, the batter will drain so quickly that it causes Nook to freeze (showing the screen saver) with the only option being to open up Nook, remove the battery, plug it into the power outlet to force it to wake up, then put the battery back. It is annoying, tedious and unpredictable (I was stuck in a plane more than once with nothing to read because of this even though I just fully charged it the night before). While it is known that batteries gradually lose their functionality, this is dying too quickly and the system is not stable enough to recover without removing the battery. The casing cracked because I open it often. My wife's Kindle has no battery or system issue at all after a year. The key problem preventing me from buying more Kindles is that it can't get library books. Nook is a functional MP3 player with the ability to see and choose the songs but it often freezes even without the battery issue. Its browser is a whole lot slower than Kindle though neither is good for web. Nook also exhibits other stability issues that will require a hard shutdown (push the button for more than 10~20 seconds). Bottomline is, it is a great ebook reader but there is no excuse to need a new (expensive) battery every 6~9 months.

I have had the Nook for about two months, and I would have recommended it highly even before the software update, but now I really have to recommend it. The pages turn very fast now, which was a complaint before (not that they were slow, but they were not as fast as the Kindle). Also, the addition of "shelves" to put books on, if you are an avid reader, is a very nice way to organize the books in your library. The touchscreen/e-ink combination is a great way to add touch without eating too much battery power, and while it is true that if you are reading a lot you will have to charge your Nook more often, if it is sitting without being used in a low-power state, the battery will last a week. Page changes can be done with the touch screen, and it takes the barest touch to change a page. In addition, this has a consumer replaceable battery, expandable memory via a micro SD card, which takes about two minutes to install, and you can lend many e-books that you have purchased to other Nook users. I have already formed a small circle of friends that I can do that with. You cannot do this with a Kindle. You can also borrow books from libraries that are nowhere you if you get a card, and many libraries are willing to give cards as there is no danger that a patron will walk off with an e-book. You cannot do this with a Kindle.

I received the nook as a birthday present for my birthday. i love it!!! so far i have had only one problem with it, putting the default credit card on the account (required). I tried contacting Barnes and Noble, don't bother, the customer support is terrible, either take it to Best Buy and see if they can figure it out. or try to figure it out yourself. Other than that i have had no problems. They claim that the battery lasts for 10 days, i disagree. But i don't turn it off when i'm done with it, i just push the power button on the top and it puts it to sleep, because it takes about 2 minutes to start up if you shut it off completely. I usually get about 5 days out of it. But i also take it to school and use it everyday. When my parents purchased my nook Best Buy had a deal (buy and e-reader get a free cover) which was a HUGE plus for me because i got a $50 cover for free. My suggestion if your going to take your nook to school purchase a book cover and wrap it with that, even with the case it still gets dirty! The main reason i chose the nook over the kindle is because i can download books from my public library for free, and with the kindle you have to use amazon only. I hope i was helpful in your decision to buy the nook!!!

I purchased the Nook after a lot of research into e-readers. I had narrowed it down to the big 3: The Nook, Kindle, and Sony e-reader (or at least that is what I perceive as the big 3). I eliminated the Sony e-reader as it had to be paired with a computer (no wi-fi option). The Kindle is a nice looking device and is slimmer and lighter. I also probably prefer the keyboard vs. the Nook's touch screen as the touch screen is finicky. However, the Kindle is very proprietary and wouldn't allow for the addition of ebooks loaned from the library or most other free sources (there are some sources for free books for Kindle outside of the Amazon site, but very limited). So I chose the Nook and I couldn't be happier. It works well. They have updated the software to make page turns fast. You have the choice of pressing a button to turn a page or swiping the touch screen. Purchasing a book is simple and putting epub books not obtained from Barnes and Noble is fairly easy (but you need a PC and, for library books, Adobe Digital Editions to manage your loaned copies. It is a free download. So, I highly recommend the Nook. The wi-fi version was good for me, but for those who have limited access to a wi-fi connection, the 3g version may ne worth the extra money.

I orginally purchased the first nook 3G/WiFi and then about a week later I noticed that they had released the WiFi only version which I figured would better fit my needs. I took back my 3G/WiFi nook and received my WiFi only nook on Friday. This nook is virtually the same as the orginal one with the exception of the 3G service, the new 1.4 software update, and it sports a white rear cover instead of the gravel one. The only thing I have noticed with my new nook that I didn't notice on my first one would be ghosting. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the new software update or not, but I notice it whenever i'm flipping between pages in the settings options. I don't experience ghosting whenver i'm reading a book though. The quality of the e-ink screen is incredible and very clear. I feel that the touch screen is more responsive now with the newer software update. I love the design of the nook and I find it hard to beat among the other e-readers out there. I think that the e-ink screen and touchscreen combo makes this the best e-reader available out there. I am impressed with my nook so far and I find it hard to put down!