Nook Color

As of software revision 1.1, here’s what I am finding to be lacking in the Nook Color or areas that could easily be improved.

  • ePub files cannot be viewed in landscape orientation (!)
  • None of the “Library” application’s screens can be viewed in landscape orientation (looking at a book shelf, navigating folders under My Files, etc)
  • No Flash (Youtube works)
  • O’Reilly “Head First” PDF files are missing all images when viewed (images are shown when viewed on a PC with any typical PDF viewer)
  • Double-tap in the browser zooms. Double-tap in the PDF viewer does nothing, and could. Dumb.
  • “Back” button is in a different location in just about every application that has one
  • Browsing “Library > My Files > Pictures” I cannot long-press on an image to set it as my wallpaper (only option is “Open”). Dumb.
  • Browsing “Library > My Files > [anything]” if you change the view mode via the upper right menu, you lose your place and are taken back to the top of “media” which contains “My Files”. Dumb.
  • There is no real overall consistency. Every application or function appears to have been written by a different group of developers.
  • Some files I’ve placed in “media > My Files > Books” result in “Failed to obtain item details” when long-pressed while trying to add them to a shelf or home screen. Awesome.
  • “Sideloaded” books (not purchased from B&N) cannot be pinned to the main desktop. This makes the desktop almost entirely useless for me.
  • ADDED 1/28/2011: The 1.1.0 update from B&N fixes none of these items.
  • ADDED 1/28/2011: Viewing in landscape mode, selecting the quick settings (lower right) changes everything to portrait mode while you change your settings. When you’re finished, everything goes back to landscape mode.
  • ADDED 1/28/2011: Pinch-zooming in the browser was added in 1.1.0. It is buggy and inconsistent.
  • ADDED 1/28/2011: Moving a web page in order to bring up the +/- zoom buttons, then clicking + (zoom in) almost never does anything at all the first time.

Everything else works well for me so far, but it may be going back to the store or get rooted. The finish quality on the software is really poor.

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