My Barnes & Noble Nook Adventure - Part III
(Part I and Part II of my initiation into the world of eReading were posted in January, 2010)
So a month with the Nook and here I am - sold on the concept, but with a few caveats and a cautious patience in this rare instance of my turning out as an “early adopter”. I’ll say it loud and proud from the first, I love my Nook. And I stand by my assessment of its general (if subtle) superiority to Amazon’s Kindle.
I’ll move straight to the negatives just to get them out of the way so that I’m able to end on a high note (which I could - and seriously should - only attempt in attitude and in writing; never in singing.)
First, there was the bookmark issue. The Nook didn’t hold your place, and in an eight-hundred-and-some page eBook, this was not a clever thing. It was such a fundamental flaw that I could only imagine that the function had worked properly at some point and then a software tweak trailed a wake of disaster through the parts that had already been tested. I know a couple of IT developers; these things happen. On February 9th, B&N released a software update, sideloadable or drifting into your Nook’s ear on the 3G network, that not only seems to have solved the bookmark issue, but it livened up the already decently responsive touchpad, as well.
The battery life is reasonable, although to hear some, it’s an outrage. I’ve only had mine a few weeks and find, now that my Nook’s been charged and depleted a few times, that I can reliably expect eight or so days of reading to a full tank. If this is a problem, I would remind the disgruntled and the inconvenienced that they probably sleep at least once every two weeks and could probably simply charge it then.
The bigger trouble surfaced just this morning. The case cracked at one of the page-turn buttons. This is especially troublesome considering how careful I’ve been with my new prized toy. (The fact that you will never be able to hurl an eBook in a fit of literary letdown like you can a paper-and-binding volume is just a something that will have to be accepted - like death and taxes.) A quick scan of B&N’s message boards revealed that this was a known issue. So I called Customer Service and after a dismally long (though fully warned) wait, I was treated excellently by a young man named Mike who, without quibbling, set me up for a replacement that is due to ship out on Monday.
I asked Mike about the likelihood of it happening again, speculating that my new Nook might very well be made from the same batch of plastic as my old Nook. He was honest, if resigned, and admitted that it could happen again, but that they’re changing materials. So with my warranty, I’ll eventually have a Nook that can stand up to my oh-so-gentle buffing and polishing and cooing at it. (Yes, I love it that much.)
Beyond that, the convenience of the Nook, its shape and heft, the pleasant font settings in the eye-easy eInk, the fact that it stays open to the page when I’m on the elliptical trainer, have all made me a believer. It’s a sleek gadget and I’m not usually all that swayed by sleekness or gadgetiness. I love the instant gratification of purchasing a book as soon as I’m reminded that I want it. I can put hundreds of books (they say fifteen of those hundreds) in my purse and be off.
And I am not immune to the sidelong glances of curiosity and (dare I say it?) envy of those stuck in line at the Post Office with a heavy hardbound - or worse, nothing at all - to read.
There is another thing, though, that has spurred me to a pause of the not-so-gleeful variety. It’s is not a Nook-specific issue, but a point of industry knowledge that I didn’t understand. I had blithely bought into the idea that eBooks, because of their lack of paper, binding, glue, cartons, storage space, shipping costs, and whatnot, were substantially cheaper to produce than their traditional counterparts. I’ve been convinced, by people who know more than I do, that this simply isn’t the case. The estimates are that an eBook may be, at best, $2 to $3 cheaper than its hardback fraternal twin. So, if I just paid $9.99 for Stephen King’s, Under The Dome, instead of its $35 cover price, am I doing harm to the very industry I hope to sustain and have sustain me?
Ultimately, I have high hopes that eReaders and eBooks can be a shot in the arm to modern publishing. So far, I’ve found it a terrific way to buy and read what I want, when I want - all in a slick little Nook that makes me feel “with it”. (No small feat. I’m sadly most often far afield of “it”.) But I do have to examine my reaction to a $25 sticker price on an item that will provide eight to ten hours of insight and entertainment, when I barely grumble anymore at a $10 movie ticket. Priorities, Jamie Mason. Priorities. What the hell is wrong with me?
AuthorScoop
February 13th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
[...] I’ve wrapped up (barring any major developments) my review series of the Barnes & Noble Nook, and the eReading experience in [...]
February 13th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
I missed where you addressed why and how it is superior to the Kindle.
And personally, I still have trouble understanding why something digital, meaning it doesn’t exist except as electrons, would still be as expensive as a paperback, which requires materials (paper, binding), and the physical act of printing, storage, etc.
February 13th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
From episode II -
“I helped my mother-in-law set up her new Kindle and it’s very nice, but I actually find the Nook’s organization more intuitive.”
In addition, I’ve also said that navigation is easier on the Nook, because the joystick on the Kindle easily slips instead of depresses when you try to select something. Don’t like it.
As for the second bit, I’m hoping to recruit a recap from someone in the know, but it turns out that the majority of the publishers’ money is spent on paying the author, paying the editor, and promotion. Beyond that, now instead of paper, press, and shipping, the publishers pay for e-formatting, proprietary coding, and anti-piracy measures. Comes out to nearly a draw.
February 14th, 2010 at 4:12 am
[...] My Barnes & Noble Nook Adventure – Part III | Author Scoop [...]
February 14th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Hi Jamie,
You state that you have been convinced that ebooks are not substantially cheaper to produce than printed versions but did not go into any detail as to why.
This would be a great topic to explore in more depth.
I still don’t believe that the costs to prep ebooks need to be anywhere close to printing and distributing hardcovers and paperbacks. That is not to say that the way publishers are doing it now does not make it almost as expensive… or, actually, it may be the way they do their cost accounting slight of hand magic that makes it expensive on paper.
But why are they making it so expensive? Where are the major costs in prepping a text file for the Kindle or Nook or the super-great must-have Apple iPad?
For a text-based novel, without any special graphic issues incorporated in the body of the work, the costs, including labor, should be well south of $10K.
The cost of producing one digital file, reproduced and resold over and over again cannot even compare to the cost of producing a physical book. In fact, the concept of applying a per copy cost to ebooks is faulty. Are they serious in suggesting that each digital copy cost them $20 or $25 or $30 to produce? This is absurd.
If the cost o copy a digital book file matches the cost of producing a traditional book, the industry is doing it wrong.
Maybe I am missing something here - so it would be great to explore it further.
February 14th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
You’re right, Michael. I’m definitely looking into it further. The short version explanation (of which I’m hoping to recruit an expert longer version) seems to be that, as it stands right now, the majority of the publisher’s money is spent on acquiring the new book (paying the author and the editor) and promoting it. Those costs would not change, obviously.
Now if eReader technology takes off and people start reading more and, of greater fiscal importance, buying more, I think electronic books would prove much cheaper to produce in the long haul. And it could regain some ground lost to video games and visual media for reading-as-pastime, which would be great for the industry, but even greater for our culture. They’ve proven that reading stimulates parts of the brain that visual images just don’t.
Right now, from what I’ve learned, things are teetering on a fulcrum. Say a certain book in hardbound is expected to sell 100,000 copies. If 25,000 or even 50,000 of those people buy electronic copies for their shiny new eReaders instead of the hardbound, but the book still sells its expected 100,000, it’s no good for the publishers. If however, the ‘neato’ factor and a reduced price makes many more than the expected 100,000 shell out their $10 instead of $25, then it’s worth it.
Hopefully, I’m not trampling the information I’ve been given with a great big, lumbering lack of understanding. Stand by. I shall try to find out.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Let’s set aside for the moment my fawning commentary on your prose.
As well, let’s ignore my reluctance to accept a backlit screen as a substitute for the sensuous pleasures of a book - the gentle sound of a turned page scraping against its neighbour; the gentle scent of paper, new or old; the satisfying wedging of a thumb opposing the spine to keep the book splayed open.
I can’t help but think that e-books must be the direction of publishing; it’s no good ignoring the technology and forcing people to stay with paper. I mean, I love LP’s. I miss the twelve-inch-square artwork, the liner notes, the joy of finding that rare album you’ve been hoping to find for years, even the pizzamaker-like flip of the record to play Side 2.
But, even though I feel ripped off when I download music - and both glad and disappointed that it’s so damn easy to get anything - there’s no disputing this is progress, and it’s basically for the best. e-books will be the same eventually, once the delivery mechanism is sorted out and the devices achieve critical mass in terms of ownership saturation.
But let’s keep a bookshelf. And I’m setting up the turntable again.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Oh. Duh. You could never flip a pizza like that; terribly inapt simile. Dang.
February 18th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
You’re very kind to me. And just so you know, it’s not a backlit screen. That’s one of the advantages. It’s an amazing technology, electronic ink - thousands and thousands of little particles: white on one side, black on the other. When you turn the page, the particles reshuffle and the black ones turn up where the letters should be. Amazing.
There’s no backlight and it reads just like paper. You can adjust the font and the font-size to your liking. It’s really cool.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Wow. I hadn’t bothered to look into them, because I assumed our choices here would be severely limited, and the pricing would be ridiculous. A quick glance tells me I was right.
They cost as much as a notebook PC here, and the range is woefully small. I won’t be getting one any time in the near future; that’s the price one pays for living in an island paradise.