Nook Color: the e-reader/tablet for the masses?

You've heard about the recent run on the HP Touchpad tablet, but users have to wonder, will this product be supported in the future? If you have problems, where can you turn?

Well, folks who actually purchased a tablet/ereader like, say, the Nook Color (NC for short), don't have such concerns, as Barnes and Noble stands behind its product, with both in-store help as well as telephone customer support. (In addition to other goodies for Nook users who use their tablets in a brick Barnes and Noble, such as discounts and free 1-hour reading of e-books, in addition to access to its free wi-fi.) Oh, and don't forget Free Friday!

Just as important, the Nook Color is itself a well built and designed device, which only costs $250 [brand new] at Barnes and Noble and other retail outlets; you can occasionally find refurbished ones cheaper at overstock.com. It has a gorgeous touch screen (touch capacitive), which is quite responsive, with pinch to zoom. Yes, it has web access via wi-fi, which means no extra monthly bills. Web and many apps can be seen in either portrait or landscape orientations. Frankly, it's been $250 well spent, as I've had a hard time putting it down the last few months. As its capacities have been increased, with access to flash as well as some apps made available (with a few useful ones), it's been easy to spend loads of time on it. All good reasons why the Nook Color is the only other tablet next to the iPad that's come even close to being a real success, with over 3 million shipped. (And this was before the Touchpad fire sale.)

The screen generally looks as good as the photo of the home screen above, if not better. (Forgive my photographic skills.) Its backlit, with a high pixel density, so photos and text appear clear and bright. Makes me wonder why so many people on the (often dark) subway platforms put up with the similarly dark Kindle screen (and its weird flaking when the user turns from one page to the next).

Admittedly, I was inclined to view this product favorably when I first found out about it a few months ago, as I like the cute name, the logo, as well as the kiosk setup in Barnes and Noble (as well as a live salesperson) to answer questions and allow you to try it. My opinion of the device increased when I bought it home, and opened it. Its packaging is sane and does not inspire wrap rage, as I only had to crack open the (hard cardboard) box, and slide the tablet out. No risk of getting cut, or of breaking the Nook Color while attempting to open its box. All electronics should be packaged so smartly.

A screen that's close to 7 inches long is much easier on the eyes than a smartphone when attempting to view websites or read e-books, yet small enough to easily put in your purse.

The text is quite clear when reading an e-book, and the pages turn swiftly with a flick of the finger. (No buttons needed for this.)One of my favorite apps, Get It Done, a free one which I like better than Springpad (and some other similar list making apps), as this one does not require me to sign in to use it, and is quite intuitive. The American Airlines app is another nice free app.

In fact, using the Nook Color in general is quite intuitive and easy. The NC comes with a short (paper) user manual, and has a more extensive one pre-loaded, which can be accessed on the home screen.

The navigation buttons at the bottom of the above screen can be accessed by pressing that half circle with the arrow that's always in the middle of the screen, at the bottom.

The same screen (a youtube video) without the navigation buttons. Oh yeah, video runs pretty well. The browser in general, while not the fastest, is decently fast. (Faster than my smartphone browser, in fact.)


Downloading books takes only seconds. While I've purchased a number of books, Barnes and Noble also offers e-book samples (which also take only seconds to download), which can be stored on your device, and viewed as many times as you like; they tend to range from 20 to up to 50 pages. You can access PDFs, as well as the epub format used by libraries, but I haven't tried the latter yet, or the loan-me feature. (However, it's been noted that Kindle only recently allowed the epub format; it was the first popular e-book reader--what took so long?)



Many tech types have purchased a Nook Color because its stock operating system is based on Android, giving them an opportunity to have a cheap yet decent tablet that's completely to their liking. But as you can see, your Nook Color straight out of the box is an excellent value--an excellent e-book reader with instant access to Barnes and Noble's extensive online offerings, web/video access via wi-fi, and many fun and productive apps. (Oh, and the children's book features and online magazines are also highly rated, and more publications are being made available all the time.)



My only real beef is the battery life, which could be better. (Someone commented about the crappy battery life of Android products--perhaps this will be improved with the rumored upcoming Nook Color 2?) This becomes noticeable because the more the features improve, the more you use the NC, and the more the battery life goes down. The other, more minor, quibble is of the boring covers available for the Nook Color from Barnes and Noble; I choose to get mine from javoedge.com, which has a greater variety of pretty, useful covers, which is appropriate for my pretty, useful Nook Color.

Fresh World supermarket--a fresh concept (aka eatin' good in the 'hood)?

It's still a relatively new store, this Fresh World market. A friend said a mutual friend comes here weekly to get stuff; I said I heard about it from someone else, which brought on a trip to this market on Marlboro Pike (in a former Giant supermarket), a spacious experiment of a store. Experiment because I don't know of any other international food store of this size in Prince George's County, and certainly not inside the Beltway, and not providing such a variety of foods, at reasonable, often less expensive than elsewhere. Which is saying something, considering there's an Aldi's in the next parking lot!

One (gawking) trip turned into another, and another. When you hear that Asians tend to eat more fruits and vegetables than Americans, you get visual confirmation merely from stalking the produce section, with its array of both exotic and familiar edibles, often at nice prices:

The produce sale prices here are cheaper than Shopper's--and the regular prices, too!

More fresh herbs for the same price as other grocery stores (even if the herb's name is sometimes misspelled).

Some of the wide variety of Asian vegetables, especially greens such as yu choy.

Korean cabbage, large and flat, next to "regular" cabbage, both at a great price. There's also lots of packaged tofu at inexpensive prices.

On the left is lemongrass, and on the right is fresh turmeric--how often do you find that? (Of course, I had to get some turmeric.)

Even frozen durian--which is not for the faint of heart! (Not that I've personally tried fresh or frozen durian, but made the mistake of buying (but not trying) durian-flavored wafer cookies; couldn't eat them because of the stench that flew out when I cracked open the wrapping. And this was a dried, processed durian product!) No way I'd try a fresh or frozen durian, as it would make me faint outright from the smell.

And that's just the produce section! Don't get me started on my favorite section, the tea area (and its reasonable prices for good-quality ordinary green tea):

There is also a wide variety of Thai tea, as well as more tea and coffee than you can shake a stick at. Oh, and there are aisles of Jamaican/Indian food, as well as Latin American/Peruvian food, Japanese and Korean noodles, Asian snacks and desserts, as well as American breakfast cereal, sundries, Mexican cheeses and beverages, seafood (which was larger than the meat section), and the wonders of the frozen food aisles. There's also a pasta section, which even includes whole grain pastas, as well as pizza and spaghetti sauce, as well as breads (with a focus on Latin American breads and pastries), with a smattering of Filipino breads. Hey, where'd the yummy Filipino purple yam bread go?

Not sure if they're pictured here, but I enjoyed the black sesame frozen pops--tempted to try varieties like the taro and jackfruit flavors shown above.

Now, you hear complaints about some international stores about the smell, especially from the seafood. There are occasional problems with that here, but as the store is fairly large (and relatively neat), you only notice it when you get close to the seafood section. Even Mom mentioned that other grocery stores had this problem at times, if the seafood's not also kept on ice.

With its wide variety of foodstuffs, and the diversity of clientele, as well as neighborhood people shopping, this store has potential to be an asset to its community. It's in a fitting locale, in the same shopping center as a large (and also reasonably priced) gym, the Capital Sports Complex, the former Run 'n' Shoot. Speaking of the nearby fitness center, seems that many of the fitness minded flock to this market. Hope that many more join them.

Not for kids only, part 3 (back to school and other August sales)

It's that time of the year, when we're inundated with back to school sales ads, commercials, ad nauseum. Might as well take advantage of the situation, even if you don't have children. How so? Well, if you have a home office, like to do crafts, or volunteer with a community organization, or frankly just need to purchase something, this is the time to head to the store (mortar and brick and online), as many stores are now getting in on the act, like Costco and Staples, as well as the usual suspects.

For instance, last summer, the swivel chair I had in the den finally gave up the ghost, so it was time to find its replacement. As it happens, with all the back to school hoopla, I was able to find a cheap, decent chair. Actually, a few--a couple from Staples, and one from Target.

Of course, because college students must go fully equipped to college, just about anything conceivable is on sale at this time of year. So, Costco currently is having a such a sale, particularly for cell phones. As you might have guessed, Amazon couldn't be far behind, and it's participating in such a sale, too. (I was looking in its grocery section, and noticed such a promotion in the coffee area, presumably for college kids needing their caffeine fix. I'm sure it's having a back to school promotion in other parts of its site this month.)

I always have to make the pilgrimage this time of year to Staples, because office products that might be too pricey come down to earth, more or less. For instance, you get 100% back in rewards (rebate/discount) if you buy a ream or two of copy paper. The regular Staples copy paper is about $4.99; however, I buy the 100% recycled, which is normally $6.99. With rewards of 100%, I'll be getting a coupon for that amount (6.99) or more (since I recycle my ink cartridges, which automatically gets you $2 in rewards per cartridge[but it used to be $3--oh, the economy]). And other items are directly on sale, so paper clips, etc., anything that you might need, come and get it!

Now you too can be this excited, even if you don't have youngsters...

Comfort eats on the cheap--indie edition

(View from the Amsterdam Falafel Shop.)

Sure, most of us have been metaphorically tightening our belts, as money's been tight. But sometimes even budding chefs want to get away from their own kitchens. Of course, there are choices for cheaply treating yourself without picking up food from a national chain, which often don't care what's in their food.

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The hearty aroma of fried food that a family was eating outdoors lured me to the Amsterdam Falafel Shop (although I actually ate elsewhere that evening), so I decided to quaff the in-house lemonade, for three bucks. While waiting for my liquid refreshment, I practially drooled at that giant salad bar, aka toppings bar, with all sorts of unusual things to top the fried garbanzo cutlets--fried squash, eggplant, beets, as well as the usual toppers. I have to go back--fried nutritious food and french fries (to be followed with delicious lemonade)--is too much to resist forever. After all, a half pita filled with three spicy fried bean balls for $5.50--with three kinds of salads, two kinds of sauces, and assorted pickles--this could fill you up for a couple of days.

Instead, I went to the bar down the street, the venerable "dive," Madam's Organ. Of course, the music playing and the company was all great, and it's a decent sized space, but the food and drink are, shall I say, the right price, with considerably sized portions. (What else could you expect from an establishment with its famous mural?) You can mix and match with the veggie plate, so I chose coleslaw (they don't stint with the cabbage, although it's a bit sweet), fried okra (just so-so), fries (I don't care for batter-fried fries), but the homemade cornbread is awesome. All at close to $9. However, cornbread and beer sounds like a good way to pass the time while there, so that's what I'll get next time, although the macaroni and cheese is calling.

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To fortify myself for a rough day, I recently headed to the Teaism at Penn Quarter, this time to get lunch (usually breakfast is my meal there, of ginger scones and anxi oolong tea). The time I came was the sweet spot, early, so it wasn't yet crowded. Thus, it only took five minutes for my sweet Japanese green tea (only $2) and stir-fry seitan (just under $10).

If you're thinking there's a lot of food on that plate, you'd be correct. Spinach, macadamia nuts, chile pepper, seitan, and brown rice, in a slightly sweet and spicy sauce equals yum. Again, no skimping on ingredients (although there was slightly less spinach this time than a previous visit, but I quibble). That also means that after this delicious, filling meal, there was no room for dessert, which was a shame. Maybe next time. (I haven't had the chocolate torte and green tea ice cream in a while. Uh oh.)

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Haven't had pizza in a while, so a craving may be coming on. I normally make my own, but if I eat pizza out anytime soon, I want one of the fantastic pies at Matchbox again. We had the terrific "Fire and Smoke" pizza (which was preceded by tiny brioche balls as appetizers); not only is that pizza rich and smoky, with a thin crust, but the place also has a reasonable (as in, you won't fall down laughing when you see the prices) wine list.

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I did fulfill my craving for Caribbean food when I went to the local chain, Tropicana, to pick up the small size of the brown stew tofu, a rich, mysterious, delicious concoction which comes with rice and peas and cabbage. Did I mention that I got the small size? For under $9, it was enough for dinner for two, plus lunch the next day for one. I'm curious to see how many people the large size could feed for one dinner!

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Of course, you can't forget Chinese food, particularly the lunch specials, when you want good food cheap. I had reason to scoot near, and have lunch at, The Vegetable Garden in Rockville, which was full, as usual, at lunchtime. (And also does plenty of carryout business.)

The weekday lunch special includes a soup--the spicy hot and sour soup is what I always get--along with the moo shi cilantro roll, which is OK, and some type of mysterious homemade bread, which I can forgo without guilt.

I tried a new dish, the emerald bean curd, which was nice and spicy and also seemed to contain bits of crispy mushroom. As usual, tasty and filling, but again, no room for dessert, which would have been the key lime pie, if I weren't concerned that I might explode with additional food.

The only downside to eating there, if it's rainy, is that in supposedly public transportation-friendly lower Montgomery County, you have to gently wade through this muddy mess to get through the strip mall parking lot, when coming from the subway:

Um, can't one of the most affluent jurisdictions in the nation afford to put a few bricks down to make a walkway from a popular subway stop? Way to encourage people to use public transport, MoCo!

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Periodically, the site Wisebread hosts the blog carnival, Carnival of Pecuniary Delights--I have a vintage post there, but there are lots of other good ones there as well, so stop on by. You can never have enough info on saving money, I say.