Today, we are reviewing the nook Color electronic reading device, this device can be categorized as somewhere between a dedicated reading device (Like Kindle or the original nook) and a full blown tablet computer (such as Apple iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab).  It has similarities to both categories of devices.  The nook Color can handle reading regular books as well as periodicals and magazines on its 7" color touchscreen.  In addition to using the nook Color as a reading device, it can also handle web browsing, games and other applications.

Hardware

The first thing you notice when you pick up the nook Color is that it doesn't feel cheap. It feels well made and solid.  The industrialized look and design of the nook Color make it a pleasure to look at.  As we all know, some ebook readers are poorly designed, ugly and/or hard to use, nook Color is not one of them.  Barnes and Noble spent some real time thinking about this device and it really shows.

Nook Color Specs:

Height: 8.1 inches

Width: 5.0 inches

Depth: 0.48

Weight: 15.8 ounces

The bottom of the nook Color has a small hook or space where a lanyard or other accessories can be attached.  This hook is very original and no other tablets or electronic book readers have this.  We are not sure how useful it will be in everyday use, but nonetheless, it is there if you need it.

The back of the nook has a soft rubbery feel, which feels nice in your hand.  The rubber backing gives the allusion of durability, even though the entire device is made of plastic.  We think this device could definitely take some decent drops and survive, although don't try it merely on our word.

Near the top of the nook Color lives the power and sleep button as well as the volume rocker switch.  All buttons feel responsive and solid.  On the top right of the nook, is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Software

This device uses the Android operating system and the majority of the time spent with the device, felt very responsive and quick.  On a few occasions we felt the device getting a bit sluggish, but we attribute that to opening everything we could to test it out.

Upon starting the device, the screen has a combination of books and periodicals as well as downloaded content and other options for the user.  The "home" screen is useful and easy to navigate.  Leaving the home screen, you will find a standard tab on every page which serves as your navigation, this tab allows you to access the library, shop, internet, settings and search features.

The cool thing about this device is that it has access to apps specially designed for it.  While not specifically calling it an "App Store", they do have hundreds of applications available to download to your nook Color.  Games such as Angry Birds as well as other classic apps such as Pulse news reader and Epi, among others.

Geek Specs

The nook Color sports a 7" 1024x600 pixel color touch screen, with IPS technology. IPS is the same technology used in the Apple iPad and gives the screen a wide range of viewing. The processer being used inside is a Texas Instruments OMAP 3621 CPU clocked at around 800MHz, which gives the device enough power to handle pretty much anything that is thrown at it.  The nook Color has 512 MB of RAM, and 8GB of storage capacity built in.  If you need additional storage, just pop in a microSD card up to 32GB.  Nook employs 802.11b/g/n wireless networking, and connecting to your home network is a breeze.

The nook Color has a speaker on the bottom backside of the device, running through our tests had no real problems.

Reading with the nook Color

Let's be clear, this device does not have an e-Ink screen. It has a color IPS LCD touch screen, similar to what Apple uses in their iPad device.  We generally wouldn't recommend a non e-Ink device to hardcore readers who spend hours a day buried in their books, and the nook Color is no exception.  If you don't mind reading materials on your iPad or computer screens then the nook Color should not be a problem for you. However, for many people reading on an LCD screen is tantamount to torture of the eyes.  It is more a personal preference, it depends on the reader and how they want to view their books.

While you may not prefer to read regular books on an LCD screen, the screen is great for viewing magazines and other specialty books such as children's titles.  We have no qualms about the screen, as far as they go this one is top notch.

Price

The nook Color retails for $249 which in 2011, puts it in between a regular ebook reader and a full tablet device.  Electronic book readers are averaging about $100-150 and tablets are generally $400-$600.  With prices falling in the dedicated reading device market, the world might see this reader fall below the $200 mark by next Summer. At any rate, we think the price tag is just right and you get a lot of value for you money, whether it be books, magazines, apps, web browsing, games or e-mail this reader really packs a punch.

Supported Formats

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

Not Supported: LIT, AMZ (Amazon), LRZ/LRX (Sony)

Battery

The battery life on the nook Color is decent, although we would have been happier with a bit more power.  Barnes and Noble claim about 8 hours of battery life with the wireless off, we ran it through about 6 hours although we were really running through the tests. Actual mileage will vary, depending on what you are actually doing.

The nook Color has a non-replaceable battery, which always is a bit worrying. Non replaceable batteries are becoming the industry norm, unfortunately.

Final Thoughts

Nook Color is a solid device, well made and really fun to use.  As stated earlier, if specifically reading books is your thing you may want to look at a more dedicated device such as Kindle or regular nook.  Those who like to do a lot, this may be the device for you. But just remember, this is more of a tablet computer than an actual book reader.  While Apple and Samsung hold the cards in the tablet world at the moment, Barnes and Noble have just proven that they can make a great tablet, cementing themselves in the below three hundred dollar tablet category.

Read more about the nook Color:

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