Nook Color Review- Move Over Kindle 3?

Barnes and Noble has stunned the ebook reader market by releasing the new Nook Color, so we’d better take a look and give it a thorough review. Is it time for the Amazon’s Kindle 3 to finally move over and make some room at the top? Or do the features of the Nook Color fall short?

New Nook Color

The Nook Color is a completely different product than the Nook, and the Kindle 3 for that matter, in a multitude of ways.

Color Touch Screen- The original Nook boasted an E-Ink gray-scale reading screen that was easy on eye strain when read for hours on end. Well, they’ve abandoned that idea altogether with the IPS color touch screen on the new device. This is the same exact technology found on the iPad.

So What’s the Difference Between the Nook Color and the iPad?

That’s a very good question. The Nook Color is much smaller at a 7 inch reading screen vs the iPad’s 9.7 inch. The Nook Color is much cheaper however, at under $250, vs the much more expensive iPad. The NC will act a little slower than Apples device as well, and not have any of the applications that are currently available for the iPad.

Remember…This is an Ebook Reader!

The Nook Color was released as a full color ebook reader, and that means it works well for situations in which you want full color, and a touch screen at the same time. For instance, if you are a magazine reader, then the NC would be a great choice for you. Publications are wirelessly delivered each day to the device, and you can peruse them with the touch of a finger.

Sales have been strong for the initial launch of the Nook Color, with pre-ordering starting now.

Nook Color Compared to the Kindle 3

I would argue that for a long novel, the Nook Color loses out to the cheaper Kindle 3, but if you are the type of person who wants to read a full color newspaper in the morning, a magazine on the way to work on the subway, and a novel at night all from the same device, then the Nook Color is a great option.

The Kindle 3‘s battery life is at 30 days now on a single charge, whereas the Nook Color is at only 8 hours…with the wireless turned off!  Plus the Kindle 3 is over $100 cheaper, offers 3G, is smaller, and can be used internationally. So there a few definite disadvantages to opting for the full color touch experience of the Nook Color.

An All In One Device As Well?

The Nook Color has a robust memory of 8GB that comes standard, with the ability to easily expand it with an SD card. Try THAT with an iPad. You’ll be able to store tons of music on it, watch videos, read books, surf the web, check your email, and a whole lot more on the device. The only thing that is lacking is the availability of apps for the device. Of course, developers are already taking notice of the new device and seeing the Nook Color apps as a viable market.

Children’s Books on the Nook Color

A big feature of the new Nook Color is the integration of children’s books. Barnes and Noble has put a lot of effort into making a whole section that offers children’s books that are touch integrated. Will this revolutionize the entire Children’s Book industry? We’ll have to wait and see. At the very least, this concept is very interesting.

How popular will the Nook Color become this holiday season and into the next year? We will see, but pre-ordering numbers are strong and it shows that good initial Nook Color reviews are translating into a lot of hungry customers. If you are a “purist” reader who only cares about reading novels, then perhaps you’ll want to look at the Nook vs. Kindle instead.