Originally slated as the “Kindle Killer”, Barnes & Noble’s e-reader, Nook, hit stores just before the holidays in 2009. With initial delays in production and an influx of customer complaints, the release of B&N’s new electronic wonder didn’t wow audiences as much as anticipated. However, with the end of a new season and nearly half a year later, B&N has now had a few months to get their gadget to cutting edge status with new updated versions.

An initial complaint of many customers was the Nook’s tendency to freeze up. Although inconvenient, the common problem has always had a common solution: power it down and try again. Or, if you don’t want to deal with this in the first place, you can also try another alternative: waiting patiently for a second after you’ve inputted a command. Other concerns from B&N customers involved the operating system. Readers reported that the system was difficult and slow…as if to say a thirty to forty five second wait for a book to download was too much to ask for.

Despite problems that were mostly the result of readers’ impatience, the Nook has been updated to version 1.3, released in April, 2010. New features include web browsing, games like chess and sudoku, more versatile wi-fi access, as well as pages that turn slightly faster for those of you who couldn’t wait a second the first time around.

Even with the bumps in the road on its way to e-reader superiority, the Nook has always maintained features that placed it slightly above Kindle from the start. The most notable aspect of it being the Nook’s screen looking remarkably like a piece of paper. The lack of backlight is turned into a plus, when the screen looks like the page of a book. Not to mention Nook’s utilization of wi-fi, option for memory expansion, more available titles, exclusive content available at B&N stores, and the “Lend-Me” feature that allows readers to share electronic manuscripts for free–none of which are experienced with Kindle. It may have had a few kinks to work out of the system, but as it ends the first chapter of its career, the Nook is well on its way to its street name: “Kindle Killer”.