With bold colors and a sleek design, NOOKColor is a thing of beauty. The gray-black plastic surround and black rubber back make this the prettiest eReader on the market, hands down.

Readers want a user-friendly device on which to read eBooks. In this, NOOKColor doesn’t disappoint. Many readers are concerned about the LCD screen being hard on the eyes. With adjustments to the contrast and brightness, I haven’t found this to be an issue. Night reading and reading in direct sunlight are a snap with the touch of a button. With 6 options for reading brightness (night reading, sepia, beige and others), readers shouldn’t have trouble with the screen. With B&N’s VividView screen treatment, glare is greatly reduced as well.

The pixel-dense homescreen is amazingly sharp and clear. The images are crisp and very life-like. The device comes with a tutorial video. It ran through the basic set-up of NOOKColor, along with some tips to make it easier to navigate. After watching the video readers should have no trouble logging in and managing the settings. The touchscreen keyboard was easy to use and very intuitive, though I do miss having cursors on the keyboard.

There are advanced menu options for customizing your reading experience. The font and text size are adjustable, notes and highlights are now searchable and passages can be shared direct to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook through the internal WiFi connection.There is no 3G access for NOOKColor.

The web browser is fully functional, unlike that of the Nook 3G, though it does run on the slow side. Users can check email, visit social media outlets, do online banking and keep track of their reads though Goodreads and LibraryThing. Because NOOKColor is using an outdated version of the Andriod operating system, I’m not sure how many will want to. A computer or even a smart phone will run faster. There are rumors that the device will be updated to Android 2.2 sometime in January, but these are as yet unconfirmed. If so, that along with an app market could bump this device from a strict eReader to an option for a cheap tablet. In the meantime, the device is meant for reading and that’s the primary focus.

B&N did release a software update last night that improved the wifi functionality and made web browsing a bit faster. It took about 10 seconds to load Goodreads.com this morning, a noticeable 15-20 second improvement.

ePub files are easily sideloaded from the computer via a USB connection. There still isn’t an option to send external content wirelessly (which the Kindle is capable of via email), but this isn’t too much of a hindrance. Drag and drop is the name of the game. With 8GB of internal memory and expandable memory options, readers can carry up to 30,000 books with them at a time.

NOOKcolor reads pdf files, but the menu options for them are severely limited. The current page being read isn’t saved, so each time you close the document your place is lost. Upon opening the document, you start on page one, regardless of the number of times you’ve opened it. Fonts and text aren’t adjustable, there is no option for highlights or notes, sharing via social media is out and there’s no search option. Readers will want to convert files to ePub before loading.

The menu options for ePub files are great. The contents of the book are available so you can jump to chapters/pages. Making notes and highlights is easy, though I don’t see an option to highlight large sections of text at a time. The same is true for sharing quotes – it seems only one word at a time can be shared. There is an internal dictionary, so looking up words is very simple. There’s also an option to find more information via Google or Wikipedia.

The homescreen can be customized with the books, newspapers and magazines of your choosing. As with the 3G, personal shelves can be created to organize the library. For reviewers this is an absolute godsend, though I think readers will enjoy it just as much. Covers aren’t available for sideloaded content however, so making sure the metadata is correct for each ePub file is a must (Calibre is a great resource for this).

NOOKColor features “extras” such as Pandora radio (readers who like background noise as they read will love this), Sudoku, Chess and Crossword puzzles, as well as the option to add your own music and photos. Photos can be added to the gallery, then used to create a slideshow or customize the background on the homescreen. There’s also a “Contacts” folder, which stores all your contacts, which can either be manually added or imported from email contacts. These contacts can be used with the LENDME feature, which allows the sharing of books. Unfortunately each book can still only be lent once.

One area where NOOKColor really shines is the children’s books. My children are too old for the stories that came free with the device (The Elephant’s Child: How the Elephant Got His Trunk and Richard Scarry’s Colors), but we still enjoyed reading them together. With the “read it to me” option, parents are off the hook reading the same book again and again to their child, and the narrators are excellent. The colors really standout with these books and make this a great tool for parents and children alike.

I’m impressed with the device as a whole. I feel this really opens the market and expands what we thought we knew about eReaders. The lack of options for PDFs (something I dislike greatly about the Kindle), slower internet browser and lack of covers on sideloaded content are drawbacks, but the enhanced reading options, beautiful color touchscreen and ability to read magazines and newspapers make this a strong contender as an e-reading device for of all ages. Though I have to admit, I don’t see a big draw for existing Nook owners to upgrade. I’m going to reserve judgment until after the (possible) January update.

Disclaimer: Barnes and Noble supplied us with this device.

How would you like to win a NOOKColor of your own? Check back later this week for additional commentary on the device and to see how you can win one!