Barnes Noble Second Gen NOOK STR Focuses on Dead Simple for E Reading Experience Barnes & Noble Second Gen NOOK STR Focuses on Dead Simple E Reading Experience

NOOK Simple Touch Reader Launched

With a display of half a feet and weight of less than 8 ounces, Barnes & Noble did it again with the introduction of their very own e-book dubbed Nook; the most recent endeavor by the bookselling giant to shift from print to electronic medium in a bid to move with trends preferred by their readers.

Not surprisingly, the unveiling of Nook by Barnes & Noble was preceded by an offer from Liberty Media Corp – owned by John Malone – to purchase the bookstore chain for a magnanimous one billion US dollars. Surely, one of the greatest aspirations by the personnel at Liberty Media Corp is to gain ownership rights to the Nook franchise itself.

With less than 48 hours to go before the Nook by Barnes & Noble goes on sale for US$ 139, it would be interesting to see how John Malone and his team of experts respond to this latest promotional move and if they come up with a better counter offer.

Review of Barnes and Noble Second Edition – NOOK Simple Touch Reader

Build and Design Features

The new Nook has been exclusively redesigned for readers and skips the web browser and music player. The design has been simplified to supplicate users with a quick and smooth reading experience.

B&N More In Store program gives you access to every freely available eBook at B&N, for an hour each day when you take your NOOK to your local B&N store.

Improvisations

The latest Nook, dubbed as the NOOK Simple Touch Reader or NOOK STR comprises of a six-inch eInk touch screen display, including Wi-Fi wireless networking.  The battery life has improved a lot, compared to the last generation NOOK and is designed to last up to 2 months between charges.

Usability

  • The home screen displays your current books and recent book list titles.
  • The scroll at the bottom displays some of the most popular books currently available in the B&N NOOK store.
  • While dabbling through a book you  have the options to highlight paragraphs, check up words and add bookmarks for later use.
  • The onscreen keyboard provides you the option to look up word meanings or jump through various sections of the book.
  • Font size and type adjustments are available for customizing your reading experience.

Availability

It was expected to be available on June 10, but preordered units were shipped out early. I received mine yesterday and wanted to share my first impressions, since the device should be available in stores this weekend. It sells for $139.