Barnes & Noble have just announced an update to their successful e-reader/tablet, the Nook Color. Version 1.3 will be begin to rollout to devices over the air during the week but you can update to the latest version immediately be following the steps outlined below. The latest update brings some performance improvements, better Wi-Fi connectivity and parents can now disable the web browser before handing the tablet to their kids.
When we reviewed the Nook Color we really enjoyed it as a device for reading magazines, even calling magazines the “killer app”. The latest update now brings special interactive editions of Nook Magazines — People, Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Parents, and Fitness for now — which feature videos, audio, polls, quizzes and slideshows; imagine reading about a new exercise but also seeing a video demonstrating it.
Finally all you print subscribers to People, Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune can now get free Nook editions of these magazines. B&N is quick to mention that it has one of the largest collections of online magazines and that you can try all magazines and newspapers for 14 days for free.
To update now, rather than waiting for the automatic update, head over to this link. Download the update zip file and follow the detailed instructions.
Official press release:
Offers NOOK™ Customers More than 200 Periodicals, Including the Largest Digital Collection of Top 100 Magazines
Free NOOK Editions of FORTUNE, PEOPLE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and TIME Available to Print Subscribers
New Special Edition Titles Offer Enhanced Interactivity, Optimized for Award-Winning NOOK Color™ Reader’s Tablet™
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, announced today it is enhancing its best-in-class NOOK Newsstand, giving NOOK Color customers even more interactive versions of the country’s favorite magazines and newspapers. With the addition of top titles including FORTUNE, PEOPLE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, TIME, Parents and Fitness magazines, Barnes & Noble now offers more top 100 magazines than any other digital newsstand service. These newly added titles include a selection of interactive special editions optimized for NOOK Color’s stunning 7-inch color touchscreen with all the print magazine content along with an exciting array of bonus features. Print subscribers to FORTUNE, PEOPLE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and TIME can enjoy the NOOK Magazine™ versions on their NOOK Color at no additional cost. These new magazines and periodicals – totaling more than 200 – along with other enhancements can be enjoyed by NOOK Color customers through a free software update available at www.nookcolor.com/update or provided over the air (OTA) to customers connected to Wi-Fi beginning this week.
“With more than 200 of the top periodicals available in NOOK Newsstand for NOOK Color, Barnes & Noble continues to provide customers with the best digital periodical collection.”
An Even Richer Reading Experience
With the version 1.3 software update, millions of NOOK Color customers will get more from their favorite magazines than ever before. Starting with special edition versions of FORTUNE, PEOPLE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and TIME, Time Inc. will make all 21 of its U.S. titles including Real Simple, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly and Cooking Light available on NOOK Color by the end of the year. Additional special edition versions are expected this fall from Better Homes and Gardens and others. These NOOK Magazine special editions offer customers all of the great content in the current print edition, along with a host of extras, built right into the pages to get more of the story – from videos and audio podcasts, animations, photo galleries and other bonus features. With these embedded multimedia enhancements, magazine lovers will be able to watch celebrity interviews, see the week’s sports highlights, listen to podcasts, take quizzes, get how-to’s on arts and crafts, and even learn new exercises with fitness videos to stay in shape. These special editions also feature a portrait-centric reading experience that’s fun and simple to use, as well as the ability to get to desired content quicker. Just tap the article promoted right on the magazine cover or in the table of contents.
“We’re proud to work with leading periodical publishers to deliver an unmatched selection of bestselling digital magazines to NOOK Color customers,” said Jonathan Shar, Vice President and General Manager of digital newsstand at Barnes & Noble. “With more than 200 of the top periodicals available in NOOK Newsstand for NOOK Color, Barnes & Noble continues to provide customers with the best digital periodical collection.”
More Periodicals, Across More Devices
In addition to the six new special edition magazines available on NOOK Color, NOOK Newsstand now offers an even wider variety of popular titles including new additions such as Ladies’ Home Journal, Traditional Home, Siempre Mujer, Smithsonian Magazine, The Knot and more. Engaging digital magazines are offered in rich color, featuring Barnes & Noble’s innovative ArticleView™ which allows customers to customize the article text to their favorite reading style.
NOOK Color and NOOK™ device customers will also find an even greater selection of major market daily newspapers with many recently added titles. All periodicals are available for subscription with a 14-day free trial or via single copies. NOOK device customers can also enjoy Time and Fortune in digital versions, designed for NOOK’s crisp E Ink™ display. And most NOOK Newsstand titles are also accessible to iPad™ and Android™ tablet owners using the free NOOK for iPad™ and NOOK for Android™ reading applications (www.bn.com/freenookapps).
NOOK Color v1.3 Now Available
Through its latest free NOOK Color firmware update, Barnes & Noble has made ongoing enhancements for Wi-Fi connectivity, other performance improvements and is adding a new feature to give parents and organizations the much-requested ability to disable the built-in Web browser. The NOOK Color v1.3 software update is available at no cost via immediate manual download at www.nookcolor.com/update. A free over-the-air (OTA) update will begin rolling out to customers connected to Wi-Fi beginning this week.
Experience the NOOK Newsstand special interactive editions and other great new content at the NOOK Boutique™ or display in one of Barnes & Noble’s more than 700 bookstores across the country, hundreds of Barnes & Noble College bookstores or by visiting www.nookcolor.com. NOOK Color, along with NOOK devices, can also be found at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, Books-A-Million, OfficeMax, and Fred Meyer stores.
About NOOK™ from Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble’s NOOK brand of eReading products makes it easy to read what you love, anywhere you like™ with a fun, easy-to-use and immersive digital reading experience. With NOOK, customers gain access to Barnes & Noble’s expansive NOOK Bookstore™ of more than two million digital titles, and the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices. The award-winning NOOK Color™ Reader’s Tablet™, the best-value on the tablet market ($249), features a stunning 7-inch VividView™ Color Touchscreen to read all of the content you love, shop popular apps, connect via email, browse the Web and more. The All-New NOOK ($139), the Simple Touch Reader™, is the easiest-to-use 6-inch touch reader, with the longest battery life of any eReader. In Barnes & Noble stores, NOOK owners can access free Wi-Fi connectivity, enjoy the Read In Store™ feature to read NOOK Books™ for free, and the More In Store™ program, which offers free, exclusive content and special promotions. Barnes & Noble was the first company to offer digital lending for a wide selection of books through its LendMe® technology, available through NOOK eReading products. Find NOOK devices in Barnes & Noble stores, College bookstores and online at www.BN.com, as well as at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, Books-A-Million, OfficeMax, and Fred Meyer stores.
In addition to NOOK devices, Barnes & Noble makes it easy for customers to enjoy any book, anytime, anywhere with its free line of NOOK software, available at www.bn.com/freenookapps. Customers can use Barnes & Noble’s free eReading software to access and read books from their personal Barnes & Noble digital library on devices including iPad™, iPhone®, iPod touch®, Android™ smartphones and tablets BlackBerry®, PC, and Mac®. Lifetime Library™ helps ensure that Barnes & Noble customers will always be able to access their digital libraries on NOOK products and software-enabled devices and BN.com. Barnes & Noble also offers NOOK Study™ (www.nookstudy.com), an innovative study platform and software solution for higher education, NOOK Kids™ (www.nookkids.com), a collection of digital picture and chapter books for children, and NOOK Books en español™ (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooksenespanol), the first-ever Spanish language digital bookstore in the United States.
For more information on NOOK devices and eReading software, updates, new NOOK Book releases, Free Friday™ NOOK Books and more, follow us on www.twitter.com/ebooksbn and www.facebook.com/nookbn.
