Windows 8 only: After Microsoft’s $300 million dollar investment, Barnes & Nobles releases its NOOK app for Windows 8. The app, of course, is all about reading but not just eBooks, the company added support for newspapers, magazines and comics. Also the app is available for both operating systems, Windows 8 and Windows RT.

The NOOK brings a great reading experience with custom fonts, line spacing and themes. Turn pages with the flick of a finger or skip to any page. Syncing is an options supported and it allows you to synchronize your current reading to all the devices where NOOK is installed.

Choosing Barnes & Nobles Nook will give anyone the benefit of shop for over 3 million books, including magazines, comics, and newspapers and two weeks trial is available for magazines and newspapers, plus features I already mentioned above.

The turn off

The app is simple to use and if you’ve already been using NOOK in the Windows Desktop or in your phone, you know how to use this new Win 8 app. However, the app does not seems to be optimized for Windows 8 Snap View just yet; while trying to read a book snapped to the side, paragraphs adjusted to the to the view but fonts didn’t, leaving only one, two or three words per line — so that wasn’t really enjoyable –. Furthermore, I snapped the app while in the main screen and it didn’t display any content or options, only the “N” character symbolizing the NOOK brand. Although, you can tap or right-click and access some of the options (Library, Sync and the last book you’re reading), but these options were not available within a book content, which can make navigation a bit frustrating.

Finally, comparing NOOK for Windows 8 and the traditional desktop application, the Windows Store app lacks of a very important feature, which is the option to import your own ePub, PDF, or any other supported file format. I have many eBooks that I was able to read in the NOOK for Windows and NOOK Study, and now cannot view them anymore from the Win 8 app.

But don’t get me wrong, overall the app works great, that is, of course in full-screen mode.

Details

  • Category: E-reader
  • Age rating: 16+
  • Languages: English (USA)
  • Price: Free
  • Publisher: Barnes & Nobles
  • Download: Get it from the Windows Store

Supported architectures

  • x86/x64 (Windows 8)
  • ARM (Windows RT)