Today Barnes & Noble pushed out the first software update (version 1.1.0) to nook owners, an update that promised to speed up the touchscreen, menus, and page refresh rate, add some promised features (like store connectivity), and improve some existing features, plus generally stabilize the operating system.

Here are the details from B&N’s nook support page:

• Improved page turn and formatting of downloaded eBooks
• Improved startup time for My Library, The Daily, and Settings
• Immediate launch of the reader upon choosing Select from The Daily and My Library, for books and subscription issues that have already been downloaded; otherwise the book detail page is displayed, with Download as the first option.
• Exclusive Barnes & Noble in-store content and promotions: when a customer enters a store, your nook will recognize the location and display the Barnes & Noble logo and welcome message, as well as special articles and offers.
• Elimination of the page skipping that has occurred in certain PDB eBooks
• Status bar (battery indicator, signal indicator, and clock) is displayed in reader
• Overall system improvements

The update downloaded easily enough for me–I woke my nook, turned on Wi-Fi (I figured it would download and update faster if it wasn’t coming in over the 3G connection!) and the software started downloading immediately. A few minutes later, my nook finished installing the software and restarted itself automatically.

Some people reported that they weren’t able to get the nook software to download automatically. If that’s the case, I suggest you go to The Daily and see if that triggers it, or go to your B&N Library and select Check for New Content.

Thomas also updated his nook (and provided the above picture of the nook going through the update!), and we’ve been chatting about our experiences with the update. My comments will be in black, and Thomas’s comments will be in italicized blue.

So far, the main thing I’ve noticed is MUCH faster page speed. Menu transitions are faster too. The “n” home button still isn’t very responsive.

I have noticed the faster page refresh as well–it is pretty much instantaneous now for me. The “n” home button for me has always been responsive, maybe it’s just the way you have to touch it. I just know that I haven’t had trouble with mine being responsive.  Menu transitions are faster for me as well.

Main new UI thing I notice is that previously, when you clicked a book, it always took you to an “Information” page and then you had to choose “Read”. Now, on the menu, you can choose to Read (by default) or select “View Item Details and Options” on the menu.

The whole LCD UI seems a lot more stable. I think the coverflow view is a lot more smooth. One thing I noticed is that the sideloaded content seems to have to be located in the “my documents” folder. I had created a folder called “my ebooks” and loaded them there, and previous to the update it worked just fine. After the update, they weren’t located until I moved them to “my documents.” Minor annoyance, but it’s fixed now.

The “my documents” issue is documented in the manual – basically, you can have folders, as long as they are in “my documents.”

Formatting takes MUCH less time now, though I never had any huge hangups with it before, like some people were reporting. I also didn’t previously experience the “Formatting” message when I pressed Reading Now, but I do notice the speedier transitions from menu to screen there in a big way. I press Reading Now and my book comes up with no delay, right where I left off. I also noticed that changing the font size happens quicker now too.

I had formatting issues with ePub books. Going back into the book was fast (between it and the home menu). But opening another book and then trying to reopen the previous book caused the previous book to go back to the formatting screen again.  Annoying. At least you can hit the home button and exit out.

I haven’t had any formatting issues with my books, but most of them are novels that are less than 1 MB and don’t really have any images outside of an embedded cover image. The books Thomas is having issues with are very large tech-type manuals with lots of images, and are generally 15+MB. He is going to send me one of his non-DRM files to try on my nook so we can see if I have the same problem.

Overall, I think the 1.1.0 update really helps stabilize the whole nook experience. As you’ll see in my upcoming two week nook check-in, I haven’t had any of the problems people have experienced with their nooks (no error messages, no freezes, no hang ups) and I wasn’t horrified by the page refresh rate, but I can definitely see an improvement in performance already. I am looking forward to going to our local Barnes & Noble to see what the new in-store features are like on the nook. When I do, I will be sure and report back!

I hear there is another refresh rumored to be coming sometime in January, and here’s what I’d like to see in that one:

• Sorting for sideloaded books by title or author.  Currently they are sorted by date they were uploaded to the device.
• Coverflow view for sideloaded content.
• Searching for an ebook by page, instead of just being able to go to a chapter, the beginning, or the furthest point read.
• Improved PDF reflow/zoom abilities. The PDF support is the one arena where I’ve been disappointed by the nook so far, but I don’t really read PDFs that much so it isn’t a huge deal for me.
• Improved battery life. I have noticed that when the nook is in an area where there isn’t great AT&T coverage (like my in-laws’ house on Lake Palestine) the battery seems to drain faster, probably because the radio has to work harder. Typically I have great battery life–if I keep wi-fi off. Wi-fi drains the battery fast.

What’s your experience been like with the 1.1.0 nook upgrade? Do you have a wishlist for the next (hopefully January) software refresh?