It's shipping early and the reviews are pretty positive. Sounds like part of that is the potential for some tweaks and apps to take it from good to great. It should actually be able to compete with the iPad...for half the price!
Nook Color review -- Engadget
Barnes & Noble Nook Color Review: A Screen Caught Between Two Worlds
So now I am torn between getting a regular Nook and possibly some day in the future getting an Android tablet (when they will be cheaper, faster, and better) or just getting this instead.
Half the price of the iPad, nearly half the size, and fewer capabilities. Yes!!
Possible concern: if it's on a different version of Android and would require app makers to make yet another version of their software, this is going nowhere. App makers are already pissed off that they have to create for the Apple software (iPhone/iPad/iTouch etc), Android, Windows phones, and possibly others. They're very hesitant to get into additional markets if they don't have to. But if they make this nook compatible with the current Android apps then it won't be a problem. After reading the review it sounds like it's compatible with normal Android, but is running their own version of it. I can't tell.
I thought the point of the Nook was for its ability to make reading easy, like the Kindle. The iPad isn't made for reading, although it has that capability, but the screen doesn't have the same technology. The Nook is offered through Barnes & Nobles, which specializes in reading & books, so I'm not really confident in them making a product that would compete with an iPad instead of a Kindle.
People who want to use the colored nook for reading will probably find it harder to read for long periods of time compared to a Kindle or original Nook, unless they're using it for colored magazines. People who want to use it for other things will probably be disappointed because it's small and has fewer capabilities than an iPad (but maybe enough where the price is worth the dropoff).
I don't really see a point for some of these new gadgets. I've got a laptop. I've got a smart phone. I even have an MP3 player, which probably isn't necessary anymore between the laptop and smart phone. Regardless, I don't see what extra I can get out of these tablets that most people seem to be buying these days primarily to use...AT HOME, where they already have all of these other devices.
I get the Nook/Kindle idea, but the iPad, color Nook and similar products doesn't make sense to me. What could I possibly use them for? They aren't laptop substitutes, they aren't smart phone substitutes, they aren't MP3 player substitutes, so what's the point? Just another gadget to play on because we need new toys?
Do you do things like this on purpose?
