Should You Buy a Book Color?

Technology has changed the way we do just about everything, including how we read books. With an eReader, you can read almost any book you want anytime, anywhere. No more travelling all the way to the bookstore to pick up a copy. No more trying to find extra space on your shelves to store all those books you just can’t get rid of. No more weighing down your backpack or luggage with reading material. No more paper cuts. EReaders are similar in design to tablet computers, but they’re less expensive, lighter, and don’t do much else other than their main purpose – allow you to read books.
In the beginning of eReaders, you could only read books in black and white. In most cases, people aren’t bothered by the lack of color even if they could imagine the benefits of it, because they spend the majority of their time reading simple black text. Traditional eReaders are simplistic. The Nook Color changed things when it was introduced as a color eReader. But if you’re going to purchase an eReader, do you really need anything more than simple? In other words, should you buy a Nook Color?

Color vs. Black and White
The benefits of color for an eReader are plentiful. It totally enhances the way you can view your magazine subscriptions, photographs, illustrations, children’s books, and more. The Nook Color makes the reading experience of these types of materials much more enjoyable than other eReaders. Traditional eReaders, however, use e-ink technology, which is a unique technology developed to make reading with it extremely similar to reading actual books. Color e-ink technology does not yet exist for consumers in the US. Therefore, the Nook Color is backlit and does not use the same technology as black and white eReaders. The backlighting is good because it makes it possible to read in the dark. However, it can strain your eyes or cause headaches after long-term viewing, similar to a computer monitor. This doesn’t happen with the e-ink used for black and white eReaders. You’ll have to weigh the balance – is the ability to view color more important or necessary for you than the ability to read for hours and hours with no eye strain? If so, you should purchase a Nook Color. If not, you shouldn’t.

More Functions
An additional benefit of the Nook Color is the ability to run thousands of Nook apps. There are apps for just about everything you could need, without the overwhelming selection of Apple or Android apps. It also plays music. If you want your eReader to do a lot more than just read books, the Nook Color might be for you. However, the Nook Color is still limited in what it can accomplish, and if you have a tablet already, there’s probably no real need for the additional functions other than entertainment. There is also no 3G available, so if you don’t have access to Wi-Fi, you can’t use most of those additional functions, anyway.

Cost
The Nook Color costs $199, while the black and white Nook costs $99. For the additional benefits of color and apps, it’s not too steep an increase in price to justify paying more. It’s also a lot cheaper than just purchasing a tablet. If you’d like to purchase an eReader and can afford to pay a little more, the Nook Color is certainly worth your consideration. But if you prefer simplicity and only want an eReader to do what it’s intended for, go with a traditional black and white e-ink eReader.