A Comparison of Nook Models
The Barnes & Noble’s Nook family of electronic reading devices includes three models, as of August 2011. The company released the original Nook in 2009, the Nook Color in 2010 and the Nook Simple Touch Reader in 2011. Although the devices are similar in terms of design and intended applications, they differ somewhat in terms of size, screen, hard drive space and connectivity capabilities.
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Size and Battery
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The original Barnes & Noble Nook measures 4.9 inches wide, 7.7 inches tall and 0.5 inches thick at its thickest point. It weighs 11.2 ounces before optional upgrades and accessories. The Nook Color is slightly larger and heavier, measuring 5.0 inches wide, 8.1 inches tall and 0.48 inches thick at its thickest point. It weighs 15.8 ounces. The Nook Simple Touch Reader is the squattest and lightest of the three devices, measuring 5.0 inches wide, 6.5 inches tall and 0.47 inches thick. It weighs 7.48 ounces before optional upgrades and accessories. All three devices are powered by integrated rechargeable lithium-polymer batteries.
Displays
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Barnes & Noble equipped the original Nook with a 6-inch black and white E Ink screen that measures 600 by 800 pixels and displays up to 16 levels of gray. The original Nook also has a secondary color 3.5-inch TFT active matrix touchscreen display that is used to control content on the larger screen. The Nook Color has a slightly larger 7-inch LCD screen with touchscreen functionality and a resolution of 1,024 by 600 pixels. The screen on the Nook Simple Touch Reader is similar to that of the original nook, measuring 6 inches diagonally and having a resolution of 600 by 800 pixels. Unlike the original Nook, however, its screen is touch-sensitive.
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Operating System and Hard Drive
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All three versions of the Nook run on Google’s Android operating system. The original Nook came preloaded with Android 1.5, the Nook Color with Android 2.2 and the Nook Simple Touch Reader with Android 2.1. For storage, the original Nook and the Nook Simple Touch Reader come with 2GB of hard drive space, while Barnes & Noble outfits the Nook Color with 8GB of hard drive space. All three devices also have microSD memory card slots compatible with cards up to 32GB in size.
Connectivity
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The original Nook has Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities. Barnes & Noble also released a Wi-Fi-only version of the original Nook. The Nook Color and the Nook Simple Touch Reader only have Wi-Fi capabilities. Owners of all three devices can use the Nook’s Wi-Fi capabilities for free when inside Barnes & Noble stores. All three devices can also connect to computers via micro USB ports.
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References
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