Barnes & Noble pushing update to Nook ereaders starting now

February 5, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka

Nook owners should see an update to their ereader in the coming days (if not moments). According to Gizmodo and reports from a few users, Barnes & Noble is pushing a firmware update with several new enhancements fixes. Among the changes include a new way of loading pages that fades rather than turns on and off. This new method appears to load faster and “snappier” according to one Gizmodo reader.

A Barnes & Noble employee leaked the contents of the update this morning. A company-wide memo detailing the changes to Nook 1.2 firmware shows the full list of upgrades:

Enhanced in-store seamless connectivity to enjoy free Wi-Fi, with More In Store content promotions exclusively for Nook owners
Improved opening of eBooks and ePeriodicals
Improved response to Reading Now and Settings buttons
Current reading page and bookmarks on all eBooks are properly saved when you power your Nook off
Eligible LendMe eBooks in your library have LendMe flags
Easier navigation of daily subscriptions with issues rolled into one folder
Improved “back” button functionality for navigating eBooks and ePeriodicals
Personal files downloaded and displayed in My Documents can be sorted by author and title
Overall system improvements and battery optimization.

[Gizmodo]