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Using a Nook in Canada: My Take

94K views 71 replies 33 participants last post by  rainey 
#1 ·
To paraphrase Francis Church " ... yes Virginia, you can use a Barnes & Noble Nook in Canada."

I recently acquired a Nook to replace a Sony PRS-505. I also own a Kindle. The background on the Nook decision is relatively straightforward. The PRS-505 is a great reader, but feature limited. Primarily lacked connectivity, dictionary, and highlighting/annotating features. While the Kindle has all these, it is does not support ePub as a native format and has poor PDF handling (the update to 2.5.2 improves PDF handling somewhat). With ePub as the emerging standard used by most eBook merchants (including Kobo, Sony, and Barnes and Noble), I consider this a significant limitation on the Kindle. While conversion to an Amazon compatible format such as mobi is very possible with tools such as Calibre, there are three reasons why I prefer to have both a Kindle and a native ePub reader: conversion does produce strange formatting at times; ePub appears to be a superior format; and the tools necessary to load rights-protected content from non-Amazon sources onto a Kindle are soon to be considered illegal in Canada. While format shifting is currently, and will remain, legal ... the act of breaking a digital lock will become prohibited.

In looking at ePub readers, I considered the Kobo reader but ruled that out for the same limitation issues as the PRS-505. I also looked at the newer Sony models, but they use different screens from the 505 and the reviews and user feedback all point to more glare and less readability.

What attracted me to the Nook were three factors: the same basic eInk display approach that the PRS-505 and Kindle use which has outstanding readability; the Android OS which has been softrooted and has third-party apps; and the Wi-Fi connectivity.

So ... what does it take to use a Nook in Canada? Well, first ordering one. Two ways to do it are through Barnes & Noble, but you need to use a third-party shipper like Bongo or MyUS.com; or eBay. Once you get your Nook, you need to set up a B&N account (like you do with Amazon), connect your Nook to your WiFi network at home, and login to activate it. From there you can purchase content from B&N (more on that in a second) or "sideload" eBooks using either Calibre or Adobe Digital Editions. Sideloaded content appears as a separate library ("My Documents" instead of "My Books") which is a bit of an irritant. Fortunately, a soft-rooted Nook can take advantage of the "NookLauncher" and "NookLibrary" apps which substantially improve the user experience. I have loaded eBooks purchased from Kobo, Sony, and B&N without difficulty. It it's an ePub (or PDF) it's no problem. In other words, in terms of function as an eReader ... the Nook is completely usable and functional in Canada.

Where Amazon locks you substantially into their ecosystem, Sony and Kobo are the other extreme. They use simple ePub with standard Adobe DRM so that their content is readable and loadable on any reader that supports ePub. Barnes & Noble steer a course between Amazon and Kobo/Sony. Their device loads ePubs/PDF natively allowing you to load content acquired from most eBook retailers (except Amazon). However, Barnes & Noble use a different encryption scheme to wrap ePub files, so B&N content is locked to B&N readers (either software or Nook). Like all eBook formats, there are tools out there that restore full format shifting flexibility, but those tools are not necessarily something that everyone is comfortable with, especially with pending legislation change. As long as you have a Nook, you shouldn't be concerned with this, but if you're next eReader is something different you should be aware that you may have an issue porting your library. This is also true of the Kindle. Amazon abandoned a previous eBook format and left users out in the cold. Microsoft did the same thing with PlaysForSure although they did back off partially in the face of major criticism (although only to 2011). The worry about abandoned formats is not an idle concern and one cannot assume that Amazon or B&N will always do the right thing ... they haven't in the past and there is not guarantee that they'll always be a thriving concern and not a bankrupt one.

A couple of paragraphs above, I mentioned that I would add something about purchasing B&N content in Canada. Like with all eBook retailers, geographic restrictions are an issue. From my observation, B&N has very few books that it has secured retailing rights for Canada. It isn't that big an issue in that B&N's pricing is not usually better than Kobo, Sony, or Amazon. That said, like with Amazon, there is a workaround for these geographic restrictions.

Last thing is the actual usability of the Nook. The eInk display is outstanding. The stock fonts are much better than the Kindle's making for a better reading experience. To get the same experience from the Kindle, you need to use a font hack which gets broken with every software update from Amazon. Page turning speed is identical. Instead of a keypad like the Kindle, the Nook has a small LCD touch screen occupying the bottom portion of the device. I find the Amazon dictionary better and easier to use. I find the navigation on the Nook (especially using NookLauncher and NookLibrary) to be superior to both the Kindle and the PRS-505. Battery life is a little shorter than a pure eInk device because of the LCD display.

The Nook is extremely comfortable to hold (as is the Kindle). The Kindle has the worst hard button layout of the three eReaders I've owned. The Nook is probably the best, but it has the advantage of not needing hardware buttons for functions that are easily managed from the touch screen.

The Nook is a little buggy still but B&N have delivered several firmware updates with more on the way that improve the reader with every iteration. All in all, I like the Nook. I find I am preferring it to the Kindle right now so much more of my book purchasing is at Kobo instead of Amazon. Once I get a longer view of the Nook, I'll probably update this thread with more specific "review" like thoughts.
 
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#2 ·
I give you credit. You were willing to take the risk I wasn't. I almost walked out of a B&N store with a Nook back in March. However, I wasn't willing to take the chance it wouldn't work here in Canada.

I had noticed the lack of Canadian rights in the B&N bookstore. Actually, there were more available before March 1 (I use all the e-reader apps on my iTouch) when the Agency Model favouring publishers took affect.

The Nook is a really nice unit, my first choice actually. In the end I decided to purchase a Kobo, mostly due to the Canadian component.

Thanks for the information! Good to know in case I ever change my mind.
 
#3 ·
I had done enough research to be reasonably sure ... but not quite 100%. Also, I forgot to mention that 3G doesn't work in Canada ... only Wi-Fi (and obviously you can connect via USB). Activating over Wi-Fi is what takes some patience because it wants to register the unit right away (as it would in the US over 3G) but you have to configure your wireless first. Took two or three tries before I got it setup properly.
 
#7 ·
One thing to add. The latest hardware revision to the Nook cannot be soft-rooted at this time. Serial numbers starting with 1003 cannot be rooted by the means currently available.

That would obviously affect the content of my original post (as NookLibrary and NookLauncher cannot be added).
 
#8 ·
What if you don't have a wi-fi network setup at home. Can you still register the Nook when it is connected to your computer or is Wi-Fi the only way to do this?

I'm torn between the Kindle 3 and Nook. I'm leaning towards the Nook because you can get content from multiple sources but am worried about the ordering process for Canada and how usable it is here (Ottawa).
 
#10 ·
I was checking out the Barnes and Noble website to check out titles I'd be interested and authors and they had nothing. What are some of the other options for getting books for the Nook.

If I can't find a resonable source for titles I want it looks like I'll be choosing the Kindle 3 as Amazon has almost every title I'm looking for right now. This is killing me cause I really like the Nook.
 
#11 ·
Any eBookstore that sells ebooks in ePub format. The Nook is a native epub reader. B&N encrypt their epub files slightly differently as a DRM scheme, but that does not pose any problem for using generic epub files with the Nook.

Sony's Reader store (you need to use Sony's software to download to your PC, but the files are epub), Kobobooks, Borders to name a few. A good idea is to use Inkmesh a do a search for the titles/authors you have in mind and then look at the stores listed to see what formats they support. As long as it's epub (or Adobe ADE) you'll be fine with a Nook.
 
#13 ·
Oh, I have questions... I have been trying to decide on a good reader, and have also been split between the Kindle 3 and the Nook. The big thing I am wondering about with the Nook is annotations—how do they work with the Nook? On the Kindle, highlighted text appears underlined, and annotations appear as little document icons next to them. [See below]


So here are my questions: How does highlighting loo on the Nook? How are annotations displayed? Is it possible to view them at the same time as the content? Can annotations and highlights be added to PDFs? (This now work on Kindle 3 AFAIK)

I've been searching for answers about these questions, but the best thing I've found for either Kindle 3 or Nook is the above video.

Thanks so much!
 
#17 ·
Nook in Canada

Thanks for your comments regarding using a Nook in Canada - especially in the Vancouver area. I've heard that B&N are planning on making the Nook accessible in Canada in December this year. We'll see but meantime I'm curious whether anyone has had success at loading books directly with a Canadian address or if sideloading is the only option.
 
#19 ·
Buying Nook to Use in Canada

Congratulations to the moderator for an excellent assist on using the Nook, it definitely appears to be the eReader of choice at the moment. I will be able to give you first hand feedback on use in Canada shortly but meanwhile here's some remarks and questiions.

My daughter lives in the USA and has a Nook, she loves it and downloads there from B&N no problem. She uses my Canadian Mastercard registered to my Canadian address but it still works to make purchase transactions, note she is a registered user with B&N using her US address.

She will be bringing her Nook home to Canada for the weekend, do you think she will still be able to download a an eBook from B&N while on my home wireless network in Canada? Or will the fact that my IP address is Canadian, "block" the purchase?

If not if we drove just over the US border to the B&N store or an US based wireless cafe I presume the B&N eBook download would work for sure there, correct?

Which 2-3 websites do you recommend to purchase eBooks for the Nook while on line in Canada and at a good price?

What does sideloading mean exactly? Do you mean to purchase and download an eBook to your desktop/laptop computer first, save it in a folder, then using a transfer USB cable, copy it into the Nook to read but you still have the original download on your computer?

I understand that in those situations the file is in a different location in the Nook than eBooks downloaded directly into the Nook, correct?

Can you describe in more detail what those additional Nook app features do to enhance the experience?

When you download an eBook to your computer first does this mean you could copy the same eBook file on your computer to 2 different Nooks like one for my daughter and one for myself to effectively share the book between two users? Hope you can answer these questions!
 
#20 ·
They may indeed block the purchase if the book is geographically restricted to the US. Using a VPN service like AlwaysVPN or Hotspot Shield is one of dealing with that.

A download from a WiFi hotspot in the US would work fine.

I recommend Kobo very highly. It's a joint venture between an Chapters-Indigo, Borders, and a couple of other international booksellers. Indigo is the largest shareholder. I also recommend the Sony Reader store as well.

Sideloading is exactly what you suggest. Loading an epub or pdf file via USB connection. The book shows up on the Nook's "My Documents" function, not under "My Books".
 
#21 ·
Hey folks, I just got a Nook sent to me by my mother-in-law who lives in the States. I haven't gone through the registration on the device so far, which appears to be the key to getting access to the B&N library to download content from there. Even without registering, with the wifi enabled, I do seem to be getting content showing up under "The Daily". So far I am just sideloading free downloadable content with Calibre via the USB cable, haven't tried purchasing books for it yet.

It is a version 1.4.1 reader, which apparently can still be softrooted (just with a slightly different procedure than was done with older firmware). I do want to try that at some point..

Anyway, I like it so far - I picked up a capacitative stylus from ebay as others here have suggested for use on the touch screen. It works not too bad and I will probably make use of it for typing in the web browser or whatnot, but for the sudoku game, my fingers work OK. :)
 
#22 ·
I've read online elsewhere that you can indeed download contents from B & N directly to your Nook in Canada, as long as you register with a US address, any US address, and use the US address as your credit card billing address. Apparently they don't verify the billing address. You cannot download in any other country but apparently Canada is exempted from that restriction.

I take it the Nook you guys have been discussing is the original Nook using e-ink technology. Has anyone used the new Nook Color, which functions more like an iPad or Galaxie Tab, with an LCD screen? The downside is battery life more akin to that of a netbook, and inferior sunlight legibility. But it has a full color touch screen and a proper web browser, so you can use it for web-browsing, whereas on the orginal Nook web-browsing is a tedious, if not torturous endeavor. My thinking is as long as the battery is good for 8 or so hours, it should be workable. And as for sunlight legibility, how often would you read outdoors? But the advantage of the Nook Color is that you essentially get a poor man's iPad. Just wondering if anyone has had any direct experience with the Nook Color and could comment on it.
 
#23 ·
Nook Working in Canada Just Fine

Even though the last question was asked 3 weeks ago and the OP might have given up I thought I would comment on my Nook experience. I live near the border and purchased a Pandigital Colour eReader from Koles over the weekend. It has a 7" LCD screen and I believe it's also called the Nook. I brought it back to my home in Canada and set it up on my WiFi network. The unit is running a closed Andriod system which is interesting because I have an Andriod phone from Sony which I also use as an eReader. The Nook is one of my wifes Christmas gifts but she is using it now. After the network connection was made I went to the B&N store and setup an account. I have an exsisting account with eBooks which I have purchased several books from so setting up the B&N account seemed straight forward. I put in my Canadian address CC # and I selected my first book for purchase. At this point I got some message that indicated I couldn't purchase the book because my account had a non-US address. Not sure why this didn't come up during the account creation and before I supplied and they confirmed my CC# but I was given the option to edit my account. I looked at my Koles receipt from Watertown NY which had the stores address so that's what I supplied and my download went through. Not sure about the legality of this but I just wanted to see if it would work. I loaded some other non-DRM epubs directly to the units eReader folder and they worked as well. I haven't tried loading any of my previous books that I have on my phone which I purchased from eBooks but eBooks will allow me to download them to a new device so I will give that a try as well. So with a small work around the Nook does work in Canada. You will have to decide if you are comfortable with the address work around. BTW my wife is really enjoying the eReader itself, its a nice size and the display while not being eInk but LCD is still very readable. Web browsing and email are nice bonuses and the price is certainly right.
 
#26 ·
Pandigital Novel eReader

GSMfan - I just realised based on your question that the device I purchased might not be a Nook which is too bad since I posted in a Nook thread, but I think it is very close. My device is a Pandigital Novel which is a 7 inch colour eReader running Andriod. It comes pre-configured with the B&N Book store appearing on the home screen as soon as you turn it on. When you go to the B&N store withit, it automatically goes to Books for Nook. It doesn't however look exactly like the pictures I found for the Nook on the B&N site. The two are identical in size and shape however the switch configuration on the side of the Nook appears to be slightly different then on mine. So I think they are both the same device with some minor cosmetic differences. I suspect the Nook is only available at B&N while the Pandigital is slightly more genaric and is sold at other stores. It certianly is preconfigured to go to the B&N book store so there clearly is a tie between the two devices. The specs on the Pandigital Novel which is for the White one (there is a black) are 1Gig internal memory, SD card slot, mini USB data port, WiFi, modified Andriod 2 OS. Touch screen, default Andriod Web Browers and email. Plays MPEG4 videos and has picture and music players. It's very close to being a tablet except you can't access the Andriod market to download apps without rooting it. I paid $169 - $20 - 15% Koles discount So total before tax was = $126 US. No duty at the boader when I declaired it.
 
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