Barnes and Noble has been featured in the last few weeks with a veritable flurry of announcements. First its distribution and retail deal with Best Buy to have the Nook available Nationwide in their stores. Tuesday we saw Barnes and Noble announce new versions of the nook, the Nook 2 and Nook Lite. They also released a new commercial yesterday to promote the Nook and today we see the firmware update details on a new Web Brower, games and faster page turns.
Barnes & Noble’s Nook uses Google’s Android as their main operating system. The games, which includes chess and Sudoku, are the first Android applications. Each of the games will feature multiple levels of difficulty They are also offering a new BETA web browser to allow their users to surf the internet in E-Ink, similar to Spring Design Alex’s new internet application. You will also now be able to check your email and receive updates with the new 1.3 firmware.
The bookseller also said on Friday the new firmware update will also allow users to browse complete books in Barnes & Noble stores for up to an hour a day at no cost, even if the book isn’t in the store. This is a great new formula for users of the Nook to still interact with the bookstore, with their digital devices.
These new games and apps are available with the updated NOOK software now available via manual download at www.nook.com/update. If your NOOK is registered and has Wi-Fi connectivity (Airplane mode should be OFF and Wi-Fi should be turned ON and connected to a hotspot), the device will automatically download the software and install it on your NOOK within the next week. If connected to Wi-Fi and you’d like to get the update sooner, you can tap ‘Check for new B&N content’ under My Library. However, if the update does not start automatically, please try again in a couple of hours.
The process takes approximately 5-7 minutes via Wi-Fi or 4-5 minutes for the manual download (depending on your connection). You should NOT turn your NOOK off while the new software is being downloaded. Once the software update is completed, your NOOK will automatically restart and display the Home screen. The software update will preserve your personal settings, including your registered account information, content, display settings, and Wi-Fi settings.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
