Nook COLOR upgrade: Closing the gap, but on what?
Jinfo Blog

By Nancy Davis Kho

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Barnes and Noble announced a major software upgrade today for its color eReader, Nook Color. The move pushes the Android-powered device one giant step closer to being a fully-functioned tablet computer, but is that really the end goal?

The v 1.2 upgrade will bring Nook owners functionality expected in tablets like a native email application, Flash support for web browsing, and a proprietary social networking app that ties into Facebook. It also has the Nook equivalent of the iTunes App Store, with 125 apps available for users to download through a Wi-Fi connection, most priced at US$ 5.99 or less. Given its heritage and the focus that the first version of Nook COLOR had on optimising the reading experience, it's no surprise to see the v 1.2 upgrade also includes improvements like enhanced support for multimedia books, slide page turn animation, colour presentation of selected periodicals, and improved interactivity for children's titles.

While these enhancements certainly support the argument that the Nook COLOR is fast becoming a fully-functioned tablet computer (especially given its $249 price point vs. $500 and up for most tablets,) the limited number of apps available in the store prevent it from being a serious threat to more fully realised tablet products. Nor is the embedded video in its titles or the improved interactivity for kids likely to wow anyone who has seen an iPad 2.

The real competition, as Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey points out in his blog post today, is with the Amazon Kindle. For someone still on the fence about buying an eReader, or considering upgrading from a first generation Amazon eReader, there's an awful lot to like about the enhanced Nook COLOR, the integrated email and web access being high on the list.

Sure, this "Reader's Tablet", as it's referred to in press materials, has many of the bells and whistles to meet the needs of price-sensitive tablet buyers. But it’s the eReader consumer who will feel like they got the best product-for-price equation for their needs.

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