Nook Simple Touch vs Kobo Touch eReaders

I didn’t bring a book to Turks & Caicos… I brought an iPad with some books on it via the Nook application. I had never really tried to read outside with the iPad, but found it, well, not possible. There was simply too much glare and the back-lit screen isn’t bright enough. When I got home I decided to invest in an eReader.

I knew that I didn’t want a Kindle or the Sony reader, and the new Nook Simple Touch and Kobo Touch seemed very appealing.  I read reviews and summaries but couldn’t decide which to get, so I got them both and took back the one that didn’t measure up.  I’m not going to get into specifics comparing the hardware specs, since Kobo has an accurate comparison chart right on its website.

First and foremost, lets talk about the content.  Nook is a Barnes & Noble product and has an excellent selection of books, as well as a more active social community reviewing books.  This makes shopping easier since most of the books have at least one user review and a few stars to average out.  I had a more difficult time finding books on the Kobo store, since the user community is actively reviewing and rating them with the exception of the best sellers, which all get high marks anyway.  (Kobo is partnered with Borders book, but as my experience and research, this doesn’t appear to have really effected the book selection)  Barnes and Noble edges out the Kobo store  in regards to access to magazine and news papers, although this seems notably slim on both devices.  When cross referencing content between Kobo, Nook and Kindle, there were only a few technical books that I could find in some stores and not others, but otherwise prices and selection remain consistent across the board.

The Kobo does have an advantage of being an international reading device.  I found more books came in multiple language formats than on the Nook.  It should also be noted that on some forums users complained that they were unable to access or download books on the Nook when traveling abroad.  So if you plan on taking your Nook out of the USA you may want to fill it with all your reads prior to departure.

Actually reading the devices is great on both and will probably come down to personal preference.  The Pearl eInk displays are all sharp and clear, with minimal ghosting from page turns.  (Ghosting is very light grey text from the previous page that appears at times)  Both devices will cache up to 6 pages which reduces the ‘flash’ when turning pages.  The Kobo touch has the upper hand here in that you can set how many pages to cache before a full page refresh which can reduce ghosting.  However, I found the actual page refreshing quicker and more fluid on the Nook.

The Kobo is slightly less wide, thinner in depth and a bit lighter.  Its rubberized, ‘quilted’ backside made it a bit more comfortable to hold for long periods of time.  Despite this, I feel the Nook gets the upper hand in ease of use and comfort because of its physical page turn buttons.  Even though the touch screen is responsive and easy to use on the Kobo, I found having to tap or slide every time a bit tedious.  When trying to read one handed, it took a bit of dexterity to click the screen or swipe.

The interfaces of both are essentially the same while reading.  As of the last firmware update, the Kobo actually gets the upper hand on text display formatting, with easy slider adjustments for changing text size, fonts, line spacing and margins.  I preferred the homepage of the Kobo as well for its simplicity.  A few headers at the top to show you your full library, link to the store or view your Read On accomplishments and then clickable covers of your last 5 reads.  It doesn’t suggest new books or clutter up the screen with store suggestions.

Lending and access to Library books is better on the Nook since its built in.  Lending is currently not an option on the Kobo, although its said to be available by end of 2011. Kobo does allow viewing of more file types, but many of them are obscure and most likely never used by your average reader.

PDF support is better on the Kobo, with zooming and scaling much smoother without distorting the content.  Tables and images in a PDF on the Nook don’t display correctly when zoomed in, and often times don’t display at all.  Initially, PDF support was my primary reason for wanting a Kobo over the Nook, but after trying for an hour to read a work PDF, I gave up.  The screens (on both devices really) are too small and full page eInk refreshes every time you move around a PDF while zoomed in are too obnoxious to really make eReaders a viable option for PDFs at the moment.  With its Android base though, I feel the Nook is more likely to catch up and get advanced PDF functionality sooner than the Kobo.

Bottom line:   Both devices are well made and as far as simply reading go, function fantastically.  I’m keeping the Nook though.  The fact that library checkout and lending are available now, the physical page turn buttons and longer battery life are the pros that stick with me.  I love the simplicity of the Kobo’s interface, the slightly lighter smaller form, and the fact they don’t jam their store down your throat every time you turn on the device, but these weren’t enough to give it the edge.

Logitech Revue w/ Google TV First Impressions

Let me start out by saying the Logitech Revue with Google TV is pretty sweet. I’m calling this a first impressions post though, since despite it being a production release, I still feel it is in its infancy and slightly unfair to judge just yet.   I also do not subscribe to any sort of cable/satellite service, so I’m not able to test its full functionality. From what I’ve heard, having it hooked up to a subscription service really makes the product shine as it helps control your TV and DV-Recorder.

The packaging for the Revue is nice, and on par with any Apple product.  It sounds funny to say, but I was impressed that not only did it come with Duracell batteries, but they were pre-installed in the keyboard.  The device itself was very easy to install, and guided you through the setup process quick and painlessly.  Between the device, keyboard and RF blaster (included – it also looks like the device itself has a few RF blasters built in it to hit those devices near by) it functions splendidly as a Harmony Remote.

The app selection for Google TV is a bit slim at the moment, and lacks the marketplace application Google is developing to get more.  (Some say that Google is actually asking hardware makers to stop including GoogleTV in their systems until they can further developer it)  Notable apps  included are Pandora, YouTube, Netflix and Twitter.  All of them work great, although the Netflix browsing seems a bit clunkier than on the X-Box 360 or AppleTV.  Perhaps Twitter will tie into your other apps or TV watching (Do you all want to know what I’m watching?), but I don’t see myself bringing up the Twitter app during viewing to post – I have a phone, iPad or laptop to do that.

My other gripe is the Android platform.  I like Android, but it has some issues with its multitasking. Similar to Android based phones, its not clear which apps are running, and sometimes even less clear how to shut them down.  I’d love to see the addition of a task panel which shows all the apps running and gives quick access to enter them and/or close them.  This was especially a problem when multiple apps are running audio at the same time.

The search function of GoogleTV is awesome – even without a subscription to cable or satellite services.  Type in “Will Farrell” and suddenly you have a list of YouTube movies, websites, and movies that star him.  The Kevin Bacon (embedded below) is no joke – it really is that easy.

The Google Chrome browser is top notch and with the included Flash Player, you have access to many videos online.  Unfortunately, a lot of major sites block the GoogleTV from watching its shows (notably Hulu).  It boggles my mind why content providers would opt for this route.  I’m guessing it has to do with licensing issues, but this is the future folks – get in now and get it right before someone else does!

If you buy it now, you need to be ready for the typically early-adopters pros and woes.  Honestly, at the $250-$300 price, I can’t fully recommend it at the moment – maybe the future app store will change my mind.  At that price point, I’d recommend going for an X-Box 360 since you can rent movies, stream NetFlix, Last.FM and (come January) have access to HuluPlus with your Gold Membership.  If you want to have the latest tech toy though, the best web browsing experience on a TV to date and be able to search TV, web and other content sources lightening fast – the Logitech Revue may be for you!

AppleTV Review & Tips

The original AppleTV didn’t excite me much.  While the HDD space seemed huge at the time, I knew that if I really committed to it, I would eventually fill it up.  Since the new AppleTV streams all your media digitally, you are only limited by the size of your own HDDs.

The Good:
One stop shop for all your digital video needs (and traditional media – see tips below).  Affordable instant streaming rentals, a great interface for NetFlix, and browsing your own digital library couldn’t be simpler.

One of the greatest features is that the iPad and iPod Touch can function as a remote, media browser and keyboard.  Need to search for a movie on YouTube or within Netflix?  The iPad onscreen keyboard pops up and your keystrokes are transferred to the AppleTV.  Want to decide what to watch next?  Easily flip through all your media on the iPad and send it to the AppleTV for display – never interrupting the currently playing selection.  Great for sharing podcasts, music and short clips.

No iPad or iPad Touch?  I was able to easily set up the AppleTV to work with my Logitech Harmony H-659 for easy control over volume and navigation.

The Bad:
My number one complaint is that there is no true server mode for iTunes. I don’t want to invest in another computer, and I don’t like the fact that iTunes needs to be running on my laptop anytime I want to use media from my library.  The AppleTV has a USB port in the back for ‘service and support’ but it would be great if we could use this to hook up an external HDD with an iTunes library on it, or if Apple wrote a ‘server’ mode for iTunes that could run in the background.  Really, I don’t even mind that iTunes is running, I just wish it wouldn’t show up when I alt-tabbed around and flip through applications – I’m not concerned with the hit on processing.

While I appreciate how small and portable the device is, I would have liked to see a few other video out features.  I thought the AppleTV in combination with my laptop would be a great way to bring and share all my movies when visiting friends or traveling.  Despite the prevalence of HD TVs, I’ve still found plenty of friends, hotels and lodges that do not have them.

Tips and Tricks:
I converted my entire DVD library to digital using RipIt and HandBrake.  During the day I’d swap one DVD after another, and then add it to a compression queue that I run in the evening.  This took about 2 weeks to do because I have over 300 movies…  The results were well worth it though!

A handful of my DVDs wouldn’t rip, and I have a decent size collection of Blue-Ray discs which are impossible to convert to digital.  I wanted this to be a one-stop-shop for picking a movie, so I actually created a short 10 second clip in iMovie that says “This title only available on disc” and added in all my Blue-Ray titles as well.

Titles that are only available on Blue-Ray get a “Blue-Ray disc border.”  If I have both the digital version, and Blue-Ray disc (either because the BR came with the digital copy, or I have the DVD to rip as well), I put the little icon in the bottom right corner.  This way I never need to pull out the giant flip books of discs unless I know I want to watch one.  No one gets left behind!

Over all, I’m quite happy with the AppleTV.  For $100, you can’t really go wrong.  If you already own a PS3 or X-Box 360, there isn’t a lot here that you can’t do with one of those already.  I’ve never rented a movie on my PS3 or 360, but I can’t imagine its much more difficult or costly.  It was really the full access to my entire media collection that appealed to me most.  If I ran a Windows based computer, or installed a media server somewhere, I’m sure I could get the PS3 and 360 to do this just as easily, although I’m not sure if browsing and navigation would be as slick.