Linkified for your convenience.
Chief Technical Officer
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http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/?cds2Pid=35700
Here it is: a full color ebook reader. This could be a handy way for us to reference books at the game table. Please consider this technology for future releases.
Thanks.
Done. According to this page, Nook uses ePub and PDF formats, among others. We use ePub for electronic books that consist mostly of running text (so far, that's just Pathfinder Tales fiction) and we use PDF for electronic books that benefit from precise layout of images and special textual formatting (that's pretty much everything else).
It was suuuuuuuuper cool seeing people using our books via iPads during Pathfinder Society events at Gen Con. If the nook color makes our stuff look even half as future-elegant as those did, new users are in for a treat!
Another good thing about the colornook is that you can transfer files directly from PC to Nook and not have to "email" them to your reader. This also eliminates any maximum filesize email restrictions some ISPs may have.
If anyone gets one of these, post back about their PDF support please. They mentioned on the nook page that some PDFs containing something (I forgot what) may not open, etc.
If the built-in pdf support works well, itll finally tip me into the "buy a reader" crowd.
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Another good thing about the colornook is that you can transfer files directly from PC to Nook and not have to "email" them to your reader. This also eliminates any maximum filesize email restrictions some ISPs may have.
If anyone gets one of these, post back about their PDF support please. They mentioned on the nook page that some PDFs containing something (I forgot what) may not open, etc.
If the built-in pdf support works well, itll finally tip me into the "buy a reader" crowd.
Like with the iPad?
You just drag and drop the files into iTunes when connected.
Sean
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+1I love my iPad, I just wish they would fix that stupid issue that Mac has had for a very long time with A's and sometimes scrambling text.
Like with the iPad?You just drag and drop the files into iTunes when connected.
Sean
Since it has been like that now for years i think, I don't see them fixing it.
On the Mac it is ok since Adobe reader does not have that problem only the Mac reader does, but because iPad developers are not allowed to play around with the OS they can't put out a PDF reader that works because it is part of the OS.
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I really only notice it now when reading "A-heavy" words... like Alahazra etc. Actually there are only two things that annoy me are that the A's don't print (even when using Adobe Reader), and Taldor/Qadira faction missions never print correctly either. Other than those issues my eyes have gotten pretty used to the missing A's...
The Nook Color runs on Android, so if anyone has experience viewing PDFs on Android devices, it'll probably be similar to that. I'm seriously considering preordering one of these as well -- if I do, I'll try to get a review up so others know how well it performs.
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The Nook Color runs on Android, so if anyone has experience viewing PDFs on Android devices, it'll probably be similar to that. I'm seriously considering preordering one of these as well -- if I do, I'll try to get a review up so others know how well it performs.
I've used the Adobe Reader on my Nexus One in conjunction with my Paizo downloads and it's surprisingly fluid, but that's also in reference to the smaller books, not the 40 page sections. If the experience is at all similar, it might actually be a pretty darned good alternative.
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The Nook Color runs on Android, so if anyone has experience viewing PDFs on Android devices, it'll probably be similar to that. I'm seriously considering preordering one of these as well -- if I do, I'll try to get a review up so others know how well it performs.
I read part of one of the new PFS scenarios last night on my Moto-Droid. The only issue I ever had was once i ran into an "out of memory" error while loading a page from one of Paizo's PDFs. I expect that the NookColor will have more memory than my cellphone.
I'm looking into one of these for my wife's birthday.
-Skeld
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One thing of note though. The Android on the Nook will not be full-blown Android. It will not interface with the Android store, and it will operate as a stand-alone OS. So the fact it runs Android is kind of a misnomer.
On the other hand, the beauty of Android is that somebody will have it rooted a week after release. Just don't expect it to function as an iPad out of the box.
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Another good thing about the colornook is that you can transfer files directly from PC to Nook and not have to "email" them to your reader. This also eliminates any maximum filesize email restrictions some ISPs may have.
...
The first nook worked like this as well.
==AKA 8one6
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I just finished rooting my brand spankin' new Nook Color.
Final result? Paizo PDFs are outright painful to view. Six seconds per page turn, and since they use a proprietary Android, the PDF reader that's built in is terrible (no search function for example). The Magus Playtest (right around 8 pages) was awful, and trying to work through the chapter version of the APG was worse.
I'm still seeing what I can find out on the Market that can help, but the standby of ezPDF isn't working either due to the aforementioned parts of the system that don't work terribly well because of the proprietary system.
I just finished rooting my brand spankin' new Nook Color.
Final result? Paizo PDFs are outright painful to view. Six seconds per page turn, and since they use a proprietary Android, the PDF reader that's built in is terrible (no search function for example). The Magus Playtest (right around 8 pages) was awful, and trying to work through the chapter version of the APG was worse.
I'm still seeing what I can find out on the Market that can help, but the standby of ezPDF isn't working either due to the aforementioned parts of the system that don't work terribly well because of the proprietary system.
Well, that's certainly disappointing.
I also couldn't help but notice that their video ad made a point of having the Nook held only by small women or even smaller little girls to make the screen look bigger. The only guys that were shown with one was the one husband glancing over at his wife's Nook.
Do they come with a free woman to turn the pages for you or something?
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I have a NOOKcolor and really like it. Many PDFs work well on it. However, the Paizo PDFs don't. They take forever to load and turn pages.
ePub would be a good format, even if there are no graphics and very light formatting -- page turns are downright snappy for ePubs. As my collection of books grows, they are starting to stretch the capacity of my handy haversack. No doubt when the Bestiary 2 and Ultimate Magic come out, I'll have to find another way to transport my books to gaming sessions.
As a workaround, my GM has a wireless network, so I can just go to pathfindersrd.com if I want to see the rules on my NOOKcolor. Still, I would really be interested in seeing ePubs.
You can convert PDFs to ePub files, it's not perfect, but you can do it.
My issue with the Nook color is that it's so close to what I want in a tablet, but falls just short enough that I can't justify getting one. If it came with 3G (or 4G) and the ability to play flash at the current price I'd have bought one on release.
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I have a... Script I use to convert my paizo PDFs to sixteen level grayscale for use on my iPad. It cuts file size by about ninety percent and they render much faster. they are super fast but you can't search them.
It takes a bit of knowhow to get it going so maybe not for eeryone but if anyone is interested I can share my script.
As for getting files on and off the iPad, I agree it's a bit of a pain in the butt. I use Delphic which works great but it annoys me that the best way to get files onto my iPad is by going over the Internet when I have a nice high speed wifi network at home.
Had a friend over today who works for Apple.
The Bonus Bestiary loaded on his iPad and looked nice but took forever to render.
We also tried out one of the Pathfinder character sheet templates someone had made. That was a lot faster and nicer.
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Well, that's certainly disappointing.
I also couldn't help but notice that their video ad made a point of having the Nook held only by small women or even smaller little girls to make the screen look bigger. The only guys that were shown with one was the one husband glancing over at his wife's Nook.
Do they come with a free woman to turn the pages for you or something?
The screen isn't that small. In fact, I rather like the 7" profile over the 9". In landscape mode PDFs are a perfect width, and they're just as readable in portrait.
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Painful fact of the matter... the Nook does not have the memory or processing power of the iPad. You can't expect the same performance level.
No they're not the same, but here's the deal: it shouldn't matter.
The only, and I stress that again, only PDFs I have a problem with anywhere are the ones from Paizo. I have a dual processor work PC that has issues rendering their PDFs quickly and god forbid I try to do a search. Even on my powerful home computer they take ages to print, they take craptons of memory, and they're still noticeably slow to open and search through. Compare this with every other PDF I've ever opened and the difference is staggering. I'm not the only one that's commented on this either; this is something regularly spoken of as more low-cost e-readers come up on the market. So the fact of the matter is that the lower-powered processor speed isn't the issue here, it's the fact that Paizo has yet to find a reliable and reasonable alternative to their huge ungodly PDFs. For the Nook Color, no it may not have as fast of a processor but I have yet to notice a slowdown on any of the applications I regularly run, even when multi-tasking (this is in part to how Android prioritizes processes) so commenting on this difference really doesn't fix the fact it's the PDFs, not the device.
Well, got a Nook Color for xmas from my better half. :)
I transferred some Paizo and Goodman Games PDFs to it, so far so good.
Paizo pdfs look fantastic though you need to zoom in for bigger text. I tried older PDFs like Burnt Offerings, and newer PDFs like the Serpent Skull AP. They all look great.
Goodman Games PDFs for some reasons are hit and miss, but most likely from the PDF formatting itself.
DCC 51.5 Sinister Secret of Castle Whiterock opens flawlessly with all pictures intact. Castle Whiterock PDFs however do not render the images, and there is a red thin x that covers the entire page. It doesnt block text though so the PDFs are still perfectly readable.
All in all, Im pleased with it.
Hope this helps anyone on the fence about getting one as a mobile PDF reader.
*** late edit - Performance wise, the bigger the PDF and the more artwork in it the slower it may open (at least thats what Im assuming). It opens fast enough for me though and it seems like the more time you spend in the PDF itself, the faster the next pages seem to load. Skipping a few pages load fast and slower (assuming because of the different amounts of artwork).
Regardless, its fast enough for me. Tablet PCs are not for me. If anything I would have bought a netbook instead if I wanted a handheld PC (bought my better half a new Asus Netbook for Xmas, those are pretty cool).
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/?cds2Pid=35700
Here it is: a full color ebook reader. This could be a handy way for us to reference books at the game table. Please consider this technology for future releases.
Thanks.
I would suggest that Paizo look into creating art-lite versions of the rulebooks specifically for ereaders, or better yet, completely artless versions (like the version of the srd you can d/l at d20pfsrd). I've tried the books on my NookColor, and while they do indeed load, they are s-l-o-w. I'm sticking with the srd until the android 2.2 update comes in January - that's supposed to speed up the OS by a considerable rate. When it comes out, I'll update and post results and thoughts then.
Of course, as fast as these things are cranking out, by next Christmas this entire conversation will be mostly irrelevant, as we'll be controlling asteriod dogfights by waving and snapping our fingers at our touchscreen ereaders...err...datapads.
From PDFs that come with "printer friendly" versions, it seem like removing the background textures might help. I don't know how easy it would be to do that, but it would probably be easier than removing art without SNAFUing the layout, or lowering art resolution without negatively impacting text resolution.
But I haven't touched a desktop pub program in a decade, so I am mostly clueless. :)
So I am about to drop money on something to view PDFs at the gaming table. Debating between the NookColor and the ipad. Which one will serve me better?
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So I am about to drop money on something to view PDFs at the gaming table. Debating between the NookColor and the ipad. Which one will serve me better?
I love my iPad!,, so does my 2 1/2 year old son. In fact my wife but a hard shell case that makes it look like an Etch-A-Scetch. Make it a little more "Liam" proof! To my aggravation that he is using it, or rather "gets" to use it more than daddy at times.
That doesn't answer your question but he definitely knows how to navigate it. Which in a user point of view is good.
Never touched a Nook thpugh so it could be just as user friendly. I do believe it does have a slightly smaller screen though. Plus do not know if it has the pinch to zoom on the screen like the iPad.
I find with out zooming the screen on the iPad it is a perfect size for reading Pazio's PDF's.
Do not envey your decision though.
Sean
PS Vic supposedly the new iBook version makes it easier for visual/art intensive "books"/ PDFs to be converted to ePub. Didn't know if you guys already were looking into that or not. Or already did and wasn't a help to Pazio.
Not that the PDFs are a pain at all in the iBooks app.
I just know I do like the Pathfinder Tales in it. Mainly because I can dim it or put into Sepia mode so not so bright in bed.
So I am about to drop money on something to view PDFs at the gaming table. Debating between the NookColor and the ipad. Which one will serve me better?
Of the two, if you want to drop the money and will use it for stuff other than just gaming pdfs and such, I'd spring for the iPad. If you're just looking at getting something for pdfs and to function as an ereader, I'd go for the Nook. They're both great buys, but I wanted the Nook because I'll only use it for reading, and the wife and i have amassed a ton of physical books already.
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http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor/?cds2Pid=35700
Here it is: a full color ebook reader. This could be a handy way for us to reference books at the game table. Please consider this technology for future releases.
Thanks.
Ok picked up the Nook Color last night, I haven't even rooted it for Android 2.2, but am trying to use it right out of the box.
Setup was easy, and I loaded the Paizo ePubs and several PDFs easily: Simply plugged it into my computer and dragged them over to the reader.
I moved both the full rule book and the individual chapter rendition over to see the difference in loading and paging over. Both went very well and was able to open the PDFs easily.
Bookmarks are not enabled (this is using the default pdf reader on the Nook Color), but there is easy controls to go to page # (blah, blah).
The unit flips to the side easily and there is two ways to easily zoom in, either fit to page (left/right) or fit to page (up/down) or simply pinch and zoom. Easy to use.
It was easy to open the different chapters, and navigate to the pages quickly either by flipping to it or going to the page number. Page numbers are the physical page, not the logical designated page number (ie not the page number as identified by Paizo).
My herolab charactersheet PDFs come up quickly.
So for $249, I am definately in love with this reader and I haven't even hacked it to get a full Android machine.
From my understanding Barnes and Noble have announced that they are implementing the FULL Android 2.2 on the machine in January.
I have to admit that I like the 7" reader much better for portabilities sake than the larger iPad (and this is coming from a Mac Fanatic).
So I would highly recommend this purchase for anyone looking for an inexpensive PDF reader that they can bring and use at games.
Setup was easy, and I loaded the Paizo ePubs and several PDFs easily: Simply plugged it into my computer and dragged them over to the reader.From my understanding Barnes and Noble have announced that they are implementing the FULL Android 2.2 on the machine in January.
Setup is definitely a win on the Nook, Apple still requires you to go through a major hassle to get PDFs and other files onto the iPad.
And unfortunately, my understanding is that B&N is still holding off on a full Android release. The January release will be a B&N version of Android 2.2.
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Setup was easy, and I loaded the Paizo ePubs and several PDFs easily: Simply plugged it into my computer and dragged them over to the reader.From my understanding Barnes and Noble have announced that they are implementing the FULL Android 2.2 on the machine in January.
Setup is definitely a win on the Nook, Apple still requires you to go through a major hassle to get PDFs and other files onto the iPad.
And unfortunately, my understanding is that B&N is still holding off on a full Android release. The January release will be a B&N version of Android 2.2.
Ummmm
You just drag and drop like it was just mentioned was needed for the nook. Major hassle?
Setup was easy, and I loaded the Paizo ePubs and several PDFs easily: Simply plugged it into my computer and dragged them over to the reader.From my understanding Barnes and Noble have announced that they are implementing the FULL Android 2.2 on the machine in January.
Setup is definitely a win on the Nook, Apple still requires you to go through a major hassle to get PDFs and other files onto the iPad.
And unfortunately, my understanding is that B&N is still holding off on a full Android release. The January release will be a B&N version of Android 2.2.
Ummmm
You just drag and drop like it was just mentioned was needed for the nook. Major hassle?
Can you? My understanding is that is was the same email/wi-fi kludge that was required for the iPhone/Touch.
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Can you? My understanding is that is was the same email/wi-fi kludge that was required for the iPhone/Touch.
Both iPhone and iPad are just drag and drop to get them into the phone. Just drag the books into iTunes, it's added to your library then (like music). And during synchronizations check what books you want to sync, press sync and it goes. It's the exact same process as music, videos, etc.
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On a related topic, does anyone have any experience with the Pathfinder PDFs on the Kindle? I don't really need a colour screen to look up some rules, and I like that the battery life on the Kindle is measured in weeks.
The Kindle is not really made for reference documents... and this is coming from someone who LOVES his Kindle. :)
For using PDFs at the game table, the best tool (right now) is the Ipad.
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On a related topic, does anyone have any experience with the Pathfinder PDFs on the Kindle? I don't really need a colour screen to look up some rules, and I like that the battery life on the Kindle is measured in weeks.
I have to agree with Elf. My wife and I each got Kindles for each other for Christmas. You can read PDFs just fine (if you orient the screen to landscape, PDFs are quite legible) but you can't search them, you can set your own bookmarks, but, author bookmarks don't seem to show up. And it is a bit slow on large, graphic intensive PDFs like Paizo's. For comparison, the Core Rulebook actually takes upwards of 20 seconds to flip a page. I have a Microsoft Press eBook with almost twice the number of pages and I hardly notice the difference between it and a Kindle formatted book.
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Just wanted to get a heads up for those interested:
I rooted my Nook color and by doing that, it provided me with a full Android tablet.
Since that time I downloaded both the adobe PDF reader for android (from Adobe) and the ezPDF reader from the android market.
With them I can do searches for words (a little slow), goto pages quickly by page number or by fliping through the thumbnails and via bookmarks.
I have loaded Paizo PDF books both by chapters and by whole books.
The pinch and zoom and easy page browsing is a pleasure. To be honest the hardest part for me is that I have never owned an android system device (phone or tablet) before, so I have to get use to using it (tap, pinch, flip, etc). As I have become more comfortable over time I have become more proficient in using the tablet.
Of the three pdf readers that I have used so far (the built in Nook Color reader, Adobe PDF reader and the ezPDF reader app) I have found the Nook Color to be the worst and the ezPDF reader to be the best. I would have been happy with the Adobe PDF reader, but the features of the ezPDF reader are much better.
I used it recently during a home game and without it plugged in, the device displayed easily the entire 6 hour game and still had charge to spare.
So for $240 USD, this has been a very good investment for me as a gamer. My back thanks me also since now I only need to bring my reader loaded with my books and my character sheets pre-loaded.
If I am in a place that has wi-fi access then I also have immediate access to the PF SRD on the web.
All of this for a fraction of the price of its closest competitor.
How do you "root" a Nook? Is it necessary to get the maximum performance? If so... why isn't it already set up that way?
I think I'm going to get a nook but the ipad is very tempting...
I think "root" a Nook is hacking it and opening it up to all programs
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You don't need to root it to get the Market to work. Check this out. I don't think the 'blowing up' part will be an issue, but hey.. think of it as gnomish tech and you'll be fine :P
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Rooting it is simply opening up the operating system, and adding to its functionality, not "hacking" it.
It is explained here:
XDA Forum on autonooter to root Color Nook
This is the most recent information and surprisingly it was easy to accomplish and it does no harm to the basic programs installed on the Nook.
If you simply want a ebook and pdf reader then the Nook Color is good by itself. The rooting (upgrade) of the system makes it an EXCELLENT PDF reader, by adding access to the complete android store.
Lets be honest, Barnes and Noble invested in it to sell books, ie why it was focused as an ebook reader.
It is rather like placing a speed and gas governor on a Ferrari.
I am ecstatic by my acquisition of the Nook Color and it does what I want. Read the Paizo PDF books electronically, and allow me to use them for a LONG period of time during a game. All the rest of gravy!!
I rooted it because I wanted a better pdf reader and that is why I reached out. Some users will be happy with the stock Nook PDF reader.