Nook Color - First Impressions

I've been keening for a Nook Color since about Mother's Day. I don't really *need* a tablet or a newer eReader, but I wanted one, because I am a gadget queen. I didn't even want one when it was announced last fall, mainly because I was looking at the Viewsonic Gtab as a tablet and already owned an Aluratek Libre Pro.

The Nook Color is being advertised as "the most affordable Android tablet on the market", and a pretty nifty eReader too. It's finally in my hot little hands thanks to @hankito. I was actually going to wait to save up the $250 (it's $249 from Barnes and Noble) but we can't pass up a good sale!


Now for the interesting bits.

Unboxing
I was so excited I didn't bother doing an unboxing video, but I was eerily reminded of when I unboxed my Nexus One. By the way, my Nook looks like the big sister of my N1! First impression - ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! and then the let down as I waited 3 hours for it to charge.

I still booted up that night before going to bed. The color screen is amazing! I had to turn the brightness down a bit for playing with it reading in bed.

Weight
Girlish accessorizing bits aside, I am loving this eReader/tablet. Some people have complained that it's too heavy. I also have an Aluratek Libre, bought just over 15 months ago. I like it. The battery life could be longer, but it has served me well. And it is incredibly light. The Nook Color is just under a pound and feels comparable to a hefty hardcover. I can hold it in one hand comfortably for over an hour and not feel fatigued.

Formats and Media Storage
The main reason I chose the Aluratek over the Kindle was the formats that it handles. The same goes for the Nook:

• eBooks - EPUB (including Non or Adobe DRM), PDF
• Other Docs: XLS, DOC, PPT, PPS, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, PPTX    
• Graphics: JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP    
• Audio: MP3, MP4, AAC
• Video: MP4

I am not confined to one book store! I tested this by adding books I had bought from Borders to the NC. You need to have Adobe Digital Editions installed, authorize your device, and voila! Any book from NetGalley and Borders that I had previously purchased now reside on my Nook. I am a happy camper indeed. I also tested out safaribooks.com on the browser. You can read the books in the browser (the text flows beautifully), or download the PDF for offline reading. Win! I can also add to the included 8GB internal storage with up to a  32GB micro-SD card.

Screen
The screen is quite bright, but both screen brightness and font are customizable. You can choose between six different font sizes, six different page flows/margins, and six fonts - three serif and three sans serif.

I got a cover to go with the NC to protect it and give me that feeling of holding a traditional book.

The only thing I miss is the "Back" button, but I am getting used to pressing the home button or the "app drawer" that brings up the menu to go to my library, shopping, apps, the web, or settings.

Apps:
Of the pre-installed apps, I am addicted to the crossword puzzle game. Fair warning, to download any free books, apps, or even start your 14-day free trial of magazines you need to have a credit card on file. I did install goodreads and Seesmic since they are free. I have Angry Birds for free on my phone and didn't feel like paying to have it on my Nook. Right now most of the apps are premium, the main motivating reason for me to get it rooted. I want access to the Android Market.

The on-screen keyboard is amazingly responsive, as is  auto-rotate (which you can turn off in settings if you need to). I want to get HBOGo on it so I can catch up on episodes of Game of Thrones!

Things I still need to test out:

• Root with CM7 Nook mod
• Maybe install NookieHoneyComb 
• Test out the actual battery life. It's advertised as 8 hours of reading with wi-fi off
• Nook Friends and LendMe - I connected to twitter and Facebook and my address book and it found a few of my friends who also use the LendMe option. 
• B&N Specials
• Bring NOOK Color into any Barnes & Noble store to get exclusive articles from top authors, and great offers including cafe treats and unique deals.
• Read NOOK Books free when connected to the free in-store Wi-Fi®.  I can do this while the Teen browses for hardcover versions. He hates using an eReader.