This Kindle vs. Nook comparison boils down to five main questions that you need to ask yourself before making a purchase.
1. How much money do you want to spend?
The Amazon Kindle 3G costs – $139.00 – $379.00
The Barnes & Noble Nook Costs – $149.00 – $199.00
2. How large do you want your screen to be?
Kinde has a few options for you to choose from:
6 Inches (Price – $139.00)
6 (3G model) comes with free 3G + WiFi (Price – $189.00)
9.7 inches (DX Model) comes with free 3G and works globally (Price – $379.00)
Nook
Both versions of the Barnes & Noble Nook have a 6′ diagonal display screen size
3. What’s your screen preference? Backlit or e-ink?
Kindle
With the Kindle you can read anywhere including outside in full sunlight because it has a high contrast e-ink screen which is awesome.
Nook
The Nook also has an e-ink screen.
4. Do you want to have access to 3G wireless networks when using your e-reader?
Kindle
With the $139.00 model you can download Kindle books in seconds and also browse the web wherever you can get a WiFi signal using the Kindle browser.
The Kindle 3G model offers free 3G + WiFi and the Kindle Dx also offers free 3G plus it works globally.
Nook
The $149.99 model doesn’t offer 3G Wireless but it does give you the ability to access WiFi at any AT&T hotspot plus you can also access WiFi for free at any Barnes & Noble location.
The $199.00 model does offer 3G Wireless through AT&T and you can also access WiFi everywhere else including AT&T hotspots plus Barnes and Noble locations.
5. Do you want to be able to access your books or data on other wireless devices.
Kindle
With the Kindle you can read your books anywhere and even access them on other devices like iphone, ipad, mac, pc, android phone or blackberry. It also has whispersync technology that syncs your place across devices so you never forget where you left off. Your books are also backed up online with your Kindle account so you never have to worry about loosing your data.
Nook
The Nook offers the same functionality and lets you share your books on other devices like the ipad, iphone, mac, pc and android phone. At this time the Nook doesn’t offer any synchronized last page read technology like Kindle but on the Nook website it says ‘coming soon’ so that could change any day…
Cool features comparison:
Text To Speech Reader
Kindle – Yes
Nook – No
Twitter & Facebook Integration (enables you to quickly share passages with friends online)
Kindle – Yes
Nook – No
Storage Capacity
Kindle – Holds up to 3,500 books
Nook – Holds up to 1,500 books
Battery Life
Kindle – Lasts up to one month with wireless turned off
Nook – Lasts up to 10 days with wireless turned off
Free books
Kindle offers over 1.8 million out of copyright pre 1923 books for you to download so if you’re in the mood for reading a classic book during your day at the beach this is cool
Nook offers more than 500,000 free ebooks.
Low book prices
Kindle – Many books start at $9.99 or less including best sellers
Nook – Same.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeremy_Raglin
Commentary:
Earlier this year I was thinking about getting one of these and came across this concise and well-written article from EzineArticles.com. In my travels during the 2010 Holiday season between Portland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, I had an opportunity to chat with an Amazon Kindle user who absolutely loved it. She especially enjoyed being able to subscribe to various newspapers at such a low cost. I was very impressed how even the photos came across beautifully on her e-reader. I think either the Amazon Kindle or the Barnes & Noble Nook would make a great technology gift.
Robert Seth
Great review of the kindle; father’s day is coming up!! Very useful! Thanks Robert!
I love, love, love my Kindle. I love books – my husband thought when he bought it as a gift it would replace all my hard copy books – while that didn’t happen, I do find that certain books are better suited for each format. I love the text to speech feature for times when I really want to read more but need to do something else like cook or drive :), the notes feature, and onscreen dictionary. I also like being able to put PDFs on it or convert them to Kindle format. In your research did you find the Nook to have slower page turns? The rep told me it was because we were in the store. Great post!
Hi Sadie,
I’m not surprised you love your Kindle so much. It’s a great e-reader. The page turning is a little slow on both units but not because of being in the store. It’s because they both have e-paper instead of LCD screens. It’s just one of those trade-offs you have to put up with for the long battery life and easiness on your eyes. I too, thought I was going to replace most of my books when I bought one. However, I also found that many books are just not very nice to read on it. Especially technical books. But it is nice for many books and very handy to be able to carry them everywhere with you.
Hi Robert, I have two kindles the EX and the smaller initial version. I like both of them.. But now that I’m becoming an apple geek, can’t help wondering about the IPAD2? Any thoughts?
Dr. Eno, thanks for your post. I did LOTS of research before I bought my e-reader and I ended up with the first iPad. After playing with and trying all of them out, I just felt that you couldn’t beat the iPad. It does have some disadvantages…but in my opinion, still the best choice. If you like, I’ll see about writing a comparison that includes the iPad too.
Thanks for posting this, Robert! Nothing beats a paperback (or hard cover), but I really want an e-reader. I will be keeping these comparisons in mind for the future.
I did get an email from BN today saying the Nook now has a 2-month battery life. Do you know how that translates to number of hours per day of usage?
Jody, I’ll have to check and see what they’ve done. Both of these e-readers use e-paper which uses amazingly little energy because it only needs the energy to change the image, not to maintain it. Their statistic should mean you could use it for two months, all say long, or 8 to 10 hours a day.