The Nook Took. . .

Barnes and Noble’s Nook Color is a luxury model e-reader. The current model is one bug color touch screen. The Nook Color can be purchased at Barnes and Noble. It costs $249 at NookColor.com, as opposed to $139 monochrome Amazon.com Kindle. The Nook costs $100 more than last year’s model, and connects to the Web only using Wi-Fi. Despite the increase in price, the Nook Color has exceeded expectations of sales, both online and in stores, as of the second week in November.

The current model of the Nook Color is built on the Android 2.1 operating system. This is the same mobile operating system used to run on many smart phones. Currently users have access to a full web browser; early next year the Nook Color will upgrade to Android 2.2, allowing it to play Flash videos.

In order to access e-books, readers can use Barnes and Noble’s library of 2 million downloadable books and over 100 magazines and newspapers. ArticleView displays magazine articles in a clear, readable format. A LendMe feature allows readers to digitally lend books to their friends for 14 days.

The Beginning of the Galaxy

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is similar to the iPad. It uses Google’s Android operating system. The Tab is essentially a slick slate that performs the same actions as a laptop. In addition to the Google Android operating system, the Tab is also able to run a large variety of third party applications. The Tab was introduced by three major U.S. wireless phone carriers approximately three weeks ago. It costs $400 with a cellular date contract. The Tab costs $600 with cellular capability but no contract. The Tab does not come with a Wi-Fi only capability; you have to have cellular service to connect to the web.

The diagonal dimension of the Tab’s screen is 7 inches, as opposed to the iPad’s which is 9.7 inches. The area of the screens, however are significantly higher than those numbers would help predict. The Tab is less than half the size of the iPad. The Tab is much smaller and lighter, and you are able to navigate it with one hand. This makes the Tab sound less and less like a laptop and more and more like a cell phone! The Tab is two inches shorter and three inches narrower than the iPad.

The Tab claims it can last up to 13 hours on one charge – but this has been proven false. Walter S. Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal Online tested the battery life of both the Tab and iPad. He put the screens on full brightness and left the Wi-Fi on. The Tab lasted 6:50, but at 6:10 the screen dimmed so dark that the device was unusable. Last spring, Mossberg tested the iPad the same way and it lasted 11:28. Mossberg claims: “The Tab is attractive, versatile and competitively priced, though monthly cell fees can add up. It’s different enough from the iPad, yet good enough, to give consumers a real choice.”