The Sword and Laser discussion
eReader Nook v Kindle?
I have the Kindle 2 and love it. The interface is pretty easy to use, and you can't beat going on Amazon.com, clicking buy-now-with-1-click and having the book appear on your Kindle 20 seconds later. Also, I find their apps for every OS to be awesome, I can read the book on the Kindle, on my phone, on my PC, at work, anywhere (and it all syncs to the latest page, so no manual syncing).Have only seen a few Nooks on the subway so can't really tell you how they are.
I have a Kindle 3 and loving it, but I don't know anything about the Nook to be able to compare the two.The biggest problem I had with the Kindle was that it doesn't support the epub format, but since I buy most of my books at Amazon anyway, that was more of a theoretical problem. Free books are usually available in Kindle format anyway.
I also think the price is reasonable. I downloaded a lot of ebooks for free or very cheap, so aside from the fact that I read more now I would actually guess that I'm saving money on books.
I bought the 1st gen Nook (e-ink with touchscreen below) for my wife this last Christmas. She and I both love it. The reason I went with the Nook over the kindle was 1) it supports almost all formats except amazons proprietary one
2) price. I found a screaming deal on a 3G+Wi-Fi version for $99 straight from B&N. Was ($189 at that time)
3) Sharing. At the time the Nook was the only one that had lendable books but now the Kindle has that feature as well.
I have found the touch screen to be kind of wonky and a tad unresponsive on the old version. But with their recent upgrade to a full E-Ink with a touchscreen overlay I heard that it improved immensely. I heard on B.O.L that consumer reports actually rated it higher than the current Kindle. Only by 1 point but hey its something.
I have both the 1st Gen e-ink Nook and a Kindle2. I find that I like the Kindle much more than the Nook. Better feel, lighter, navigation, etc.The new Nook looks great (though I don't particularly want a touch e-ink screen) and probably closes the gap, but I wouldn't be buying anything until Amazon makes their next announcement...
all great advice and insights! Thanks!
The new Nook is a really nice device and while it beats the kindle right now I would anticipate Amazon rolling out a new Kindle in August for the holiday. I think the hardware war is just about over and between the Nook, Kobo and the Kidcle we will see a pretty level playing field moving forward. What differentiates these devices is the ecosystem. Do you like your brick and mortar B&N stores? Are you vested in Amazon for all of your other online purchases? Those are the questions you really should be asking.
I have a kindle because I am vested in Amazon for a lot of my purchasing and I trust them with my online information. That being said my wife prefers the nook. She likes B&N stores. They give deals to Nook owners whe the bring their Nooks in like free coffee. B&N also as a better online community IMO with dedicated blogs, forums and even a free ebook every Friday. Amazon just doesn't have that presence currently online. Amazon is a walled garden, but what a beautiful garden it is.
Matthew wrote: "The new Nook is a really nice device..."Yes - that thing's a great device. No keyboard getting in the way, although I didn't try to search for anything using it. Besides that, it feels great holding it. I would have considered the square Nook had it been around when I bought my Kindle 3.
I have used a Nook and have both a Kindle 2 and Kindle 3. The Kindle is a superior reading experience in my opinion but there is another consideration that no one has mentioned. I would bet a year worth of paychecks that Amazon will still be around in five years but I darn sure wouldn't make the same bet about B&N.
Jeff wrote: "Amazon will still be around in five years but I darn sure wouldn't make the same bet about B&N."And that sums up my fears for the digital age we're living in.
Doesn't mean I'm not purging paper books and DVDs, but still. The fear is there.
It is really a matter of preference but I have both e-ink and Nook Color and I love them. The new touch screen Nook looks really nice. I also like being able to use epub books on the Nook. It is a standard format that is starting to become adopted more.
I'm really interested in following this thread as I've become keen in getting an eReader. A reduction in local bookstores means that it is becoming harder to get access to books promptly, and whilst online ordering is a viable option there are associated time delay.I'm paticularly curious in the experiences of the different devices for those living outside the USA, where access to B&M stores is not a consideration, and even the same range of books (due to publishing rights) varies.
I thought I had settled on the Kindle 3, but then the latest Nook and Kobo came out the complicate things. I also do find the lack of the Kindles openness (no ePub support) a little irksome, though I do appreciate that one can do conversions with Calibre (thought to what quality, and ease I'm unsure?).
I also have this uneasy feeling that Amazon is about due for a refresh of the Kindle.
For me, the Kobo wireless has been my favorite one, and I'm interested in the new touch edition now too. I also have a Nook (and tried many of the others), but I found that the Kobo is the easiest to hold for long periods, and it has a clear and basic GUI with one of the better PDF viewers out there. It's a big plus to be able to buy your books from other stores, use library books, and so on with this device. But it's really the thumb space and light weight that does it for me.
I own a first gen Nook and love it. The menu system is a bit tough to work with but once you're reading a book it's awesome, and that's what you spend most of the time doing. The newest Nook got great consumer report reviews, better than the kindle for the first time (heard on Twit, but lacking the link, might be wrong).I made the decision because of the proprietary nature of the kindle and the openness of the Nook. That really is the deciding factor. The nook also allows me to load book acquired from a "variety" of resources.
@Mark - I'm unsure if my local (or country) public libraries have made the move to supplying ebooks. I'll have to look into that.@Joshua - I like the sound of the new Nook, but support/warranty etc. outside USA seems to be a concern. I've heard really great things of Amazons Kindle support both generally and specifically for people in my country. I do like the openness of the Nook as from all reports it seems to support everything bar the Kindle format (officially).
@Dan - The Kobo is a stronger consideration, but I'm unsure about the new touch with no physical buttons to turn pages. Also I heard the font/spacing countrol wasn't great on it yet. I'm curious to note you preferred it to the Nook. Appreciate the egonomic feedback as a lot of the online reviews for these devices seem to be by gadget lovers rather than readers, its also hard to make a choice without being able to hold or see many of these devices in the flesh (so to speak).
I'm curious has anyone had much experience with the Sony readers? PRS-350 & 650. They seem like a god device, though rather $, and the 650 (6") seems hard to get. I noticed Borders is selling the 5" 350 and will ship to my country, so curious what this smaller device is like.
Well I thought I'd update with the fact that I just placed an order for the new Kobo Touch (Black).After going around in circles and probably spending way too much time researching (eg. MobileRead.com Forums) what is a relatively inexpensive device all things considered the Kobo Touch ended up being the best option for me (at least I hope). The Kindle was a close 2nd, but I didn't like the lack of offical ePub support and closed ecosystem. Also the new Kobo seemed better with it's faster speeds, and cleaner design.
Anyway I'll post an update once I get it and use it for a bit. Rather excited now :)
I use an ipad. It has both kindle and nook apps. :)
Tamahome wrote: "I use an ipad. It has both kindle and nook apps. :)"I find reading on the iPad curious. Those who I've talked to about it have tended to find it well suited for web surfing, newspapers, magazines, comic etc.. Indeed for those activities they love it, but for extended reading they expressed that it was rather heavy, and ill-suited for outdoor reading (reflective). Also the backlit screen I'd imagine has all the same issues as reading on a notebook (laptop). Eye fatigue and the associated effects on sleep etc.
But then to be fair I have friends who find extended reading on their Notebooks to be fine, so experiences do vary.
I have a case that I fold into a teepee on my legs. Not perfect but it works. The light doesn't bother me, but I take breaks and I keep the font pretty big (2nd to largest in the kindle app).
@Jeff,What makes you think B&N is going away in five years? Will the number of their physical stores reduce, yes. But will they completely disappear, no!
Look at the e-reader market now. Amazon has most of it, but B&N is getting a larger market share every year.
B&Ns new Nook is absolutely amazing with 2 months battery life and weighs less than a Kindle.
The NookColor is receiving rave reviews as a great low cost tablet and I really enjoy using mine to read.
Also, Barnes and Noble can push more and more into being a online distribution company if store sales get to low(but I still think there is something to be said for a physical brick and mortar book store).
I would argue that both will be here for many years to come. B&N is still a lot more open to different formats of books for their e-readers than Amazon is. I would have to double check this, but last I looked B&N also has the larger E-book selection.
On to the OP's question. It really comes down to physical device preference. The new Nook looks really great, but costs more than the low end Kindle. On the same note the NookColor is a really great device, having a back lit display was a great addition in my opinion. Also you get access to a growing Android App market and a full color high quality touch screen.
Mark wrote: "The Kindle doesn't connect to public libraries. FAIL."It will by this fall. Amazon is making a deal with Overdrive.
Have an iPad and a Kindle DX. Probably move down to a smaller Kindle when Amazon updates it next, as the iPad and DX are the same screen size. I hate reading on the iPad, but love reading on the Kindle. Unfortunately, I've been reading more on iPad lately simply because there are more opportunities to do so. Checked out books, and reading in the dark and all that. Plus I can read other file formats on iPad. Personal preference: Kindle. Versatility: iPad.
Andrew wrote: "Well I thought I'd update with the fact that I just placed an order for the new Kobo Touch (Black)."I'm glad to hear you're trying the new Kobo out. I'll be interested to hear what you think about the new interface and OS.
I've found that Adobe Digital Editions is a good desktop app to manage my books on my multiple devices. I recommend trying it out if you haven't already done so. I've bought books and magazines all over the web and it does a good job organizing it all for me.
I believe that Kindle is implementing epub support coming down the pipe. I don't have the source handy but what I was reading indicated that Amazon had instructed publishers to start supporting epub.that said I love that new Nook but like others have mentioned I bet there is a Kindle refresh coming. but will it be at a reasonable price out of the gate, one can hope.
AJ wrote: "@Jeff,What makes you think B&N is going away in five years? Will the number of their physical stores reduce, yes. But will they completely disappear, no!
Look at the e-reader market now. Am..."
I don't necessarily think they will be going away but I do not have near the confidence n their survival as I do with Amazon. B&N has a tremendous amount of capital invested in brick and mortar at a time when physical media is shrinking rapidly. Yes, they were able to get in to digital media impressively quickly but they still have physical stores which make retail businesses much less nimble in a rapidly changing paradigm.
B&N will probably be around in five years but I think there is plenty of room for doubt. Would you have thought that Blockbuster would be virtually extinct five years ago?
Dan wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Well I thought I'd update with the fact that I just placed an order for the new Kobo Touch (Black)."I'm glad to hear you're trying the new Kobo out. I'll be interested to hear wha..."
Yeah I'll be sure to update once I get it, and give it a spin. International shipping can take up to 21days so might be awhile.
Thanks for advice regarding Adobe Digital Edition. I have used it in the past to read some ebooks on my PC that I purchased, so I'll have to see how it goes with the Kobo.
Belowzeros wrote: "I believe that Kindle is implementing epub support coming down the pipe. I don't have the source handy but what I was reading indicated that Amazon had instructed publishers to start supporting ep..."
Yeah I found this post which mentions it (ePub support), but it seems to be very much in the rumour camp atm, and unclear how it will really work (if available for existing devices or future etc..)
I'm sure Amazon has a new Kindle in the pipeline, though all the rumours seem to be around a Color Nook competitor in the form of Android based tablets (more than one model). Haven't heard much re: a new eInk model, and the version 3 only came out last August if I remember correctly, so has been out less than a year at this stage. I'm sure they will have to eventually release something to compete against the new Nook and Kobo, but they seem to be doing well enough for now.
Tamahome wrote: "I use an ipad. It has both kindle and nook apps. :)"At the moment it does. There is some lawsuit deadline that expires on June 30th and it doesn't look like Amazon or Barnes and Noble are backing down. I believe Apple want to prevent any in-app purchases from either the Kindle or Nook apps. Even if Apple kill this feature I guess you will still be able to buy the books on the websites and then download them.
Personally I don't use my iPad much for reading as it is to heavy, has a short battery life and has the worse screen glare of any handheld device I have used.
That doesn't make sense. You can't buy books inside the kindle or nook apps anyway.
Tamahome wrote: "That doesn't make sense. You can't buy books inside the kindle or nook apps anyway."Sorry for the confusion. I guess it's not really in the app itself, there's a button "Shop in the Kindle Store" at the top right. That opens a browser window to Amazon where you can buy your books. Apple wants this removed and the only option there to be "Shop in iTunes". Bottom line is Apple do not want you buying anything for your iPad without them getting their 30% cut.
Here's a link to the whole legal mess.
http://www.cultofmac.com/amazons-kind...
I have a Nook 1 that I received last September as a gift from my brother (for being one of the groomsmen at his wedding). It's not bad, but the touch screen at the bottom is not only not easy to work with, it also slows the responsiveness of the e-ink screen. Fortunately, this isn't a problem when I'm actually in a book as the page-turning buttons are physical.A good friend of mine has a Kindle 3, and every time I get my hands on it, I'm blown away by how much more faster it is than my Nook.
I kind of like what I've seen about the Nook 2 (aka the Simple Touch Reader) and will most likely jump away from the Nook 1 at some point between now and the end of the year, but I want to see what Amazon does for the next version of the Kindle before I make any decision.
Andrew wrote: "Has a short battery life"Really? I thought the iPad was renowned for its long battery life. How many hours do you get between charges?
Really? I thought the iPad was renowned for its long battery life. How many hours do you get between charges?"
I think he is refering to a short battery life compared to a Kindle, Nook or other e-ink reader. I can easily read over a dozen books on a single charge with my K3 and still have plenty of battery left. With a Ipad I wonder if I could finish more than 1 or 2 short books with its 10 hour battery.
I thought I would mention, since it hasn't been listed, that the Sony Reader is an excellent choice. I have the PRS 650, touch screen e-ink, and love it. The price is a bit more than a kindle or nook (about $250) but it can be expanded using SD cards or Memory sticks, reads epub, pdf, BBeB, txt, rtf, and converts from word. Also will do pictures and plays mp3's No wifi, but I don't want that anyway. It's light, has an actual metal case, fits in the hand beautifully, and is a pleasure to read. I don't regret the extra cost in the least.
Enochpc wrote: "I thought I would mention, since it hasn't been listed, that the Sony Reader is an excellent choice. I have the PRS 650, touch screen e-ink, and love it. "One thing I love about the Sony store is the ability to buy back issues of literary magazines (I had a hard time doing this on the other major sites), and sometimes they'll have deals on books that no one else has, and I can put the books on any device I want. The readers themselves are very nice, and I think Sony has a better and complete package in a lot of respects. I think the PRS-600 I tried for a month was a little bit of a lemon though since I had crashing issues with it and had to take it back. I will definitely be giving Sony another look when I'm ready to upgrade to a better reader again.
I love love love my nook (gen 1). My sister has the Kindle 3 and comparing both, I rather recommend the nook (or the new squarish touchscreen one). Main reason is for the touchscreen at the bottom. I don't like having a keyboard in the way and I get to use it to swipe to the next page. I use that feature more than physically pressing the buttons. The keyboard is also, in my experience, responsive and accurate (I have long nails and sometimes I can't tell if I'm hitting the right letter but the nook gets it right all the time lol).
Not to mention that the nook supports most all ebook formats. You don't have to hack it to change the background/screensavers (trivial point, I concede, but it is definitely an additional plus for me). I'm not worried about B&N's future and would certainly not let it weigh heavily in my decision.
Enochpc wrote: "I thought I would mention, since it hasn't been listed, that the Sony Reader is an excellent choice. I have the PRS 650, touch screen e-ink, and love it. The price is a bit more than a kindle or ..."I was really interested in the SONY's, but locally they are really hard to get these days. Seems to be some supply constraints (rumour of Japan earthquake impact). Curious if it is so in the US?
Beyond that as you mentioned the price was rather high compared to other products on the market. More than double locally for me compared to the new Nook and Kobo (even including International shipping). When they were the only model with features like a touchscreen it felt like you were paying for something unique, but now you can get a new Nook or Kobo both with a better processor (=hopefully better response/performance), and the same screens (eInk/Touchscreen). I've also had poor experience with SONY customer service/warranty support in the recent past, so that was the final nail in the coffin for me.
It's a shame, because it does seem like a nice device with SONY's usually high build quality, and the software features of the device seem top notch.
Borders.com is currently selling the smaller "5 PRS-350 at what seems an ok price.
aldenoneil wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Has a short battery life"Really? I thought the iPad was renowned for its long battery life. How many hours do you get between charges?"
Yeah, I was comparing the iPad it to an eInk reader. The iPAD's battery life is a gross exaggeration. The only way to get 10 hours would be to turn off the WiFi, dim the screen and make sure you do nothing that actual taxes the device much (such as playing games). If I was just using it for the Kindle or Nook Apps I would guess 5 hours would be about max reading time. That's not that bad really and about the same as a Nook Colour I believe. The other frustrating part is the iPad takes about 2-3 hours for a full charge.
Don't get me wrong, the iPad is a great device as it's very flexible. But, if your taking a vacation to the beach or hiking and want to read then an eInk reader is WAY better.
Taking all this advice in...and waiting for Amazon Kindle update later this year. Thanks to everyone.
aldenoneil wrote: "Matthew wrote: "The new Nook is a really nice device..."Yes - that thing's a great device. No keyboard getting in the way, although I didn't try to search for anything using it. Besides that, it ..."
I feel confident that both will still be around but even if they both go away I'd feel more comfortable with a Nook since it takes all different formats.
Mark wrote: "The Kindle doesn't connect to public libraries. FAIL."Ditto
It seems that the two readers "leapfrog" each other, at least on the e-ink versions, with each generation. The Nook Color is an entirely separate device, in my opinion.The new Kindle was lighter and more responsive that the Nook (which I liked better than the previous Kindle), but I played around with the new Nook Simple Touch and it is awesome! Having the touchscreen seems VERY useful. I assume that the next Kindle will leapfrog again.
So, rather than hardware, I have to look at the other features, and the main selling point for the Nook to me is the epub format. I have a good number of epub books gathered over the years and these play wonderfully.
This thread just reminded me that we can put library books on the Nook. I did it for the first time yesterday off of the Chicago Public Library website and although it's not as easy as buy a book from B&N it was still really darn easy.
I got a Kindle back in February, LOVE it. I didn't want a kindle because I wanted a dedicated e-reader and not have to carry a bunch of books with me and actually find the books i want to read without dealing the library/bookstore not having it.
I love my Nook. There are a couple of different versions to suit your tastes. I have the classic Nook because I just like the "book-ish" feel it has to it. It is easy on the eyes reading indoors or out. I have never tried the Kindle, so I can't compare. I can only tell you that I have had absolutely no problems with my Nook. It is very cusomizable with text sizes ranging from small to extra extra large, wallpapers, screen savers, and much more. I highly recommend the Nook.
It looks like Amazon is planning several new devices for the later part of the year - a new Android based tablet which will probably be some sort of competitor to the Nook Colour, as well as a Kindle refresh. Whether that will be a competitor for the Nook Simple Touch, or something which follows the more standard Kindle look and feel isn't clear. So if there is no urgency, it could be worth waiting a few months to see what Amazon brings out.Personally I have a Kindle 3 which I absolutely love. I can often go a couple of months between charges, though it really depends on how much I'm reading and whether you keep WiFi or 3G on or off most of the time. Once you're up in the time frame of over a month though it doesn't really matter that much whether it's 5 weeks, 6 weeks, or two months. It's long enough that you don't really have to care.
The problem I had with Nook devices I tried out are that the buttons for page turning aren't as nice as on the Kindle, not quite as easy to use. With the Simple Touch it seemed too easy to accidentally turn pages as any touch on the screen could trigger a page turn, I think because it's not multi-touch like a tablet.
Vance wrote: "It seems that the two readers "leapfrog" each other, at least on the e-ink versions, with each generation. The Nook Color is an entirely separate device, in my opinion.The new Kindle was lighter..."
love that little review thank-you. i've really been considering the nook simple but now I'm torn on waiting for the Kindle update.
bleh...constantly waiting on new technology. but I think I'll probably just go for the Nook since it's epub and much more open.
I have really enjoyed using the Kindle 3. All my reading on it even caused my wife to buy one. The upcoming Amazon tablets are intriguing. My concerns are with the screen. My eyes tire when reading on a back lit screen compared to the e-ink on the Kindle. That will make long reading sessions difficult.
I just got a nook simple touch, It is a lot nicer then reading on my iphone. I wanted an ipad but that has not been in the budget. My only complaint is it has locked up a couple of times requiring a reset. I have no experience with the kindle. I got it last week and read ADWD on it, over a week and still on the first battery charge. I would buy again.
I bought a kindle with the adds on tried to save a few bucks, figured i could use it to by a book or two. Anyway to make a long story short the kindle connected one time to the internet and never worked again. I called tech support and they said it could take 5 to 10 days for them to possibly fix it to i just sent it back for a full refund. And that's I'll stick to dead trees book for as long as possible seems to be a less of a chance of technical difficulty.
Ok, I thought I'd do an update since I finally got my Kobo Touch (KT) and have been using it for a few days now - my wife also got one and has probably been using it even more.Firstly this is the first eInk reader I've owned, though I have played with the previous Kobo's, Kindle 3, and some of the SONY eReaders (plus various lessor known brands).
Design wise I think this is a rather elegant device. It is all very simple, and both my wife and I were using the device without touching a manual. Aesthetically the KT is unassuming, being all screen and one button at the bottom. I couldn't help marvelling at how small the device was when I first got it. It reminded me most of the touch SONY models I had played with. Obviously there are no physical buttons for page turns (it’s all touch) so some people will either love or hate this. It’s a preference thing and if you have been using buttons all along (say a Kindle) you may not like it. For me, I find it fine, and in some ways with having used a lot of i-devices it actually seemed more natural to me (touching to turn etc).
Setting the device up it did want to connect to a PC/Mac loaded with the desktop software the first time. You could skip this, but this is a consideration if you are after a device with no need to connect to a computer. What was nice was that there were already a number of software updates that got load when first connected. These resolved many of the shortcomings that appeared in the early reviews - limited formatting options, some performance considerations etc. Kobo seem to be very proactive in updating the software of the KT so it’s nice to see it being well supported.
The KT is all about books. There is a browser and a drawing app hidden away, but you can tell these are not really for general use. The only other inclusion is new social features which I haven't really explored as yet.
In terms of loading books etc. If you were to just buy you books from Kobo it would be dead simple, and they could be transferred over WiFi, bookmarks sync'd etc. One of the attractions of the KT though was its support of Adobe DRM ebooks and ePubs in general. As such we tend to connect ours to a PC and transfer via USB (sideload books). This works well for us as it means we can purchase books from a range of retailers, and are not just locked into one ecosystem as with the Amazon/Kindle.
Performance wise the device is no tablet, but I wasn’t expecting it to be. There is often a slight delay between when you touch something and say a different menu page loading. This can take some adjusting to if you are expecting instant response, but I personally feel it is fine. In a book for actual page turns the response is prompt and I have no cause for complaint. Also as with some other newer eReaders the screen only does a full refresh on every 6th new screen (page turn). This is really nice as you don’t get the black flash all the time. You can change this if you wish as you do get a little ghosting.
Finally PDF reading is ‘ok’. You can zoom and rotate etc.. but overall I think if you want great PDF viewing you are better off with a Tablet of some sort. I tried reading some scanned PDF’s, and because the text can’t reflow, and these contained a lot of graphs etc. the experience wasn’t great.
Anyway happy to answer any questions, and will perhaps do another update in a month or two after I’ve used it longer. Overall I’m very happy. I think it is a great device for the price, and a nice alternative to the other eReaders on the market. For someone who just wishes to read books I think it is great, and cuts some of the clutter of the other devices.
If Amazon would just go ahead and give PRIME members a free kindle I would not have to choose!
Interested in feedback....thanks.