Barnes & Noble Nook receiving horrible reviews
The first reviews of the Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader have started pouring in and, well, they aren’t exactly pretty.
The Nook e-reader was announced with much fanfare back in October, and before the first unit was shipped it was announced to be sold out for the holidays, as well as already facing its first lawsuit. What was missing from all of this coverage was an actual hands-on review of the device. Well, that coverage has now started to appear, and from the general feeling of the reviews, it is safe to say that Barnes & Noble would probably like to return to the old coverage.
We will let some of these key points from the reviews speak for themselves:
Peter Svensson, The Associated Press:
I’ve been trying Barnes & Noble Inc.’s $259 Nook for a few days, and I’m not eager to prolong the acquaintance.
David Pogue, The New York Times:
So O.K., the Nook is a mess, clearly rushed out the door in hopes of stealing some of the Kindle’s holiday cheer.
Walt Mossberg, All Things D (The Wall Street Journal):
At launch, the Nook has the feel of a product with great potential that was rushed to market before it was fully ready.
Joshua Topolsky, Engadget:
In the end, the Nook is an intriguing product launched by a powerful force in the world of booksellers, but the initial offering feels long on promises and short on delivery. With the right software revisions, the Nook could be a tsunami, but as it stands right now, it’s only a mild swell.
Harry McCracken, Technologizer:
A mostly appealing collection of features add up to the Kindle’s most formidable rival. It’s definitely a 1.0 product, though, with a slow, sometimes clunky interface.
In short, things are not looking good for the Nook at this point. There is no doubt it is still going to sell, but it definitely sounds like those who end up with a first generation device are going to be the equivalent of beta testers for Barnes & Noble.
And, if you think this is going to have no impact on sales, well, I canceled my Nook order last night. I must admit I sank my teeth into all of the hype, but luckily the reviews hit before mine had shipped. Sorry, but I just have no desire to be a guinea pig for a book seller.
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December 11th, 2009
Well, aesthetics are important to me, and the Nook is beautiful. The Kindle is hideous, and though I hankered for one for two years, I would never buy it because of its lack of beauty. Since Barnes & Noble can fix software through OTA updates, I am willing to be a beta tester for them.
December 26th, 2009
I have been trying to register the !@#$%%^% thing for more than 24 hours now, and only get ERROR messages. The nook looks fine, but I want an e-reader, not a pretty object. I am totally disgusted with the nook’s lack of performance and B&N’s apparent lack of ability to fix it or provide helpful customer service to the many who are experiencing similar problems.
As soon as I can get to a B&N, I’m getting my money back.