The Disappointing Color Nook

I have an eReader from Augen.  It cost $89.00 at Kmart.   It is a bit quirky regarding some downloads
but for the most part it works as an eReader.
There is no, make that NO technical support from Augen.   It does have a color screen that is NOT
touch.  I have loaded in some family
photos and music.   I can read and listen
to music.   I can surf the web at speeds
akin to my old 56k modem.   It is not a
great eReader but it was cheap.

After much research I decided that the Nook was worth
looking at.   It has a color touch
screen, supports Flash and WIFI surfing.
From my reading it seemed like it is a thinly disguised iPad want-to-be.   The price compared to any other name brand
tablet is ridiculously cheap, $249.00.  

I have had a craving for a tablet ever since my dearly
beloved sister’s two week visit and her insidious purchase of an iPad2.   I don’t need any kind of tablet, I have an
adequate eReader,  a working laptop and
desktop so I really don’t NEED anyone’s tablet.
However there is no explaining lust and I sadly am in a stage of tablet
lust.   

Today I went to Staples to look at the Nook.   It was somewhat akin to the prince
discovering Cinderella was really the ugliest of the step sisters.   Now I will offer the caveat that it was the
Staples display model.   This caveat will
allow Barnes and Noble the opportunity to claim that the display model was
defective and truly it may have been.  If
after waving my arms and kneeling in subservience I had gotten someone from Staples
to come over and talk with me, I may have discovered that the display Nook was
not representative of a fresh, out of the box Nook.   Since none of the aforementioned behavior
was able to attract a Staples sales consultant, I really don’t know if my evaluation
of the Nook is accurate. 

It seemed a tad heavy but solid feeling.   The touch screen was more like a jab
screen.  It certainly didn’t have as
sensitive touch as my beloved Droid X.
It was slowwwwwwww.   Trying to
move from screen to screen was dreadfully slow.   Again, no comparisons to the Droid X which
is just a phone.   Who knows how surfing
would be as the browser said the settings were wrong for wireless and the unit
would not allow entry to the settings to check them for the wireless connection?  The single story I got to load was a cute
little color picture book featuring an elephant.   The story paged well after it loaded and
really that is crucial in an eReader.
Overall my sampling of the Nook left my tablet lust feeling as if a bucket
of ice cold logic had been dumped on me. 

 I really wanted to
like it so I could convince myself to buy it.
Comparing it to the Augen at $89.00 and zero tech support, I have to
feel a little better about my Augen.   Be
careful what you read!  I have read many
kudos for the Nook but my personal experience has been less than stellar.  

Attention Kmart Shoppers, Augen Electronics Support Stinks

 How is that for a start.   I have the Augen eBook.   I reviewed it last July.

Overall it is a good product for the money but you do get what you pay for.   In this case that is a non-existent technical support department.   The reader has not worked well with DRM books from the start.  DRM is digital rights management and it is a protection scheme by the powers who dictate that kind of thing.  If you google it you will find many articles on “cracks” for DRM.  It is obvious I am not the only one that finds DRM annoying and I am an author.   The problem is that DRM causes books to behave badly.  

In my case, DRM handling by Augen means periodically dropping lines of the story.   Since I review books on Pick of the Literate and Azure Dwarf’s Horde of SciFi and Fantasy I get a lot of books protected by DRM.   Dropping lines can have an impact on the plot and the enjoyment of the story.

I went to Augen Electronics website and found that they had a fix.  Sadly the fix does not work.   In fact the fix, locked up the eBook every time I tried to use it.   The Augen site claims to have online chat for tech issues but I have yet to see the icon indicate that anyone is there.   The readme files on the “Fix” are either a result of a horrendously bad translation program or someone whose first language is definitively not English and who has obviously been indulging in some mind altering substances prior to writing the information.   In other words, the “Fix” is useless.   I have emailed Augen multiple times for help and get an automated response that someone will get back to me.   Thank goodness I didn’t hold my breath or I would be long, long dead.

So as an amendment to my original review of the product,   it is still a fair value for the money however with the Kindle now at $139.00 and a color nook and tablets dropping in price, I would suggest saving your money and purchasing a product that actually works the way it is suppose to and that perhaps has technical support that exists.

Alas Augen Electronics the bloom is off the rose and Attention Kmart shoppers, don’t touch Augen products with a 10’ blue light special.

Best eBook Reader for the Price The Book by Augen

5/15/11 UPDATE  Zero Tech Support must disqualify my recommendation  on  this unit.

Augen's The Book is an excellent value for the money.   $89.99.
Read my review at Money Saving Tech Tips.