There has been great controversy on the blog over the various strengths and weaknesses of the 2 most popular e-readers: Nook and Kindle. Kindle was the first major e-reader and it is Amazon’s baby. Nook, of course, is the Barnes and Noble version.
The main difference in Kindle and Nook Color is Kindle is e-ink. E-ink can be read outside without the blindness associated with glare and it is easier on the eyes, especially compared to the LCD screen of Color Nook. Kindle also has more titles and the books are somewhat less expensive. Both Kindle and Nook can be used on the Ipad and on a regular computer.
The Nook
And now the Kindle:
There is a comparison chart on CNET for Kindle and Nook. Scroll down when you get to the page.
Additionally, there is an excellent video on Nook in the Washington Post. I can’t get it to embed. (iframes issue)
The ipad has not been compared. There is no comparison. An ipad will serve as an e-reader. I am aware of ibooks, Kindle and Nook. It may have apps for other e-readers also. An ipad is much heavier, larger, and most importantly, costs at a minimum, twice as much. If all you want is a reader, don’t get an ipad. Now if you want a really neat device…well…that’s another post for another day.
Its very important to understand your own usage goals before deciding. I threw a curve ball out there yesterday over the Nook. I have never seen one personally. I have a 2nd generation 6 inch Kindle. Its different than the one you can buy today.
I also have an ipad. I can read kindle on it. I sometimes do. I can also read nook on it. I don’t. I don’t own any Nook books. The only reason I would is if there were something I wanted to read that is available BN and not Amazon. To date, that has not happened.
That built in light in the leather cover looks neat on new Kindle. That would take care of my ONLY compaint about Kindle.
What’s the battery life of a Nook versus a Kindle? Does the Nook draw battery power when it is just displaying a page (as opposed to “turning” the page). These things are significant, and I’m curious, as the Kindle does not draw battery power when just displaying a page (assuming the wireless internet is turned off). However, if the Nook does draw power when just displaying the page – it’s a tradeoff between having it backlit versus the Kindle not having it backlit. I’m assuming though in general, a color display like the Nook draws more battery power than the Kindle. The Kindle battery can last many hours (maybe as much as 10) even with moderate speed page turning, if the internet feature is turned off.
I looked at that comparison chart, but it’s not all that helpful. It doesn’t list the battery life of either reader. One thing I noticed is in the Kindle it did mention the text-to-speech feature, but it doesn’t mention it for the Nook. That’s not to say the Nook might not have it. But I like the text-to-speech sometimes for a way to fall asleep at the hotel, and to partially mask out background noise. I let it go without being plugged in and it eventually runs down the battery on the Kindle after some hours (not to many – I’m thinking it maybe lasts 2-3 hours on text-to-speech).
Thanks MH – I read the associated articles that CNET prepared for these videos – they did a nice job comparing Nook/Kindle/iPad and helped me make my decision. But it took a bit of of reading short videos don’t cover too much….
Battery life for Kindle is about 2 weeks after one charge – using the wireless draws that down. The Nook, when not using any color features lasts 7-10 days.
If magazines are your thing, then the Nook color is better for reading color pages. Kindle also works overseas. Kindle 3 is just that – third generation Nook and iPad are on 1. Both Nook and iPad intrigue me and I will wait to see how the Nook goes.
Intially Nook had an edge with the lending capability – Kindle now has that feature. Nook still has an edge with Overdrive, the library lending package. However, with so many million Kindles out there I find it hard to believe it won’t eventually become a compatible device. However, after some research there with PWC and Fairfax even eBooks are limited at this point. Audio books are readily available so check your iPod/Sony!
Right now, I’m tired of lugging many books when I travel ( I read 2-3 per week) and I spent hours searching the libraries available to Kindle andNook. For $138 I picked the Kindle and if either the Nook takes off or I succumb to the ipad I will change my mind and have no regrets
I absolutley love the iPad but it just kept getting more expensive…. I have no great use for the iPad other than the convenience of looking things up quickly and I have a laptop I drag around the house….
Of course the BEST feature of all of these is the ability to read while eating!!!! All prop just fine no need to hold your pages down with the edge of your plate, elbow, knife……!
Yeah…they’re all cool and everything, but I’d like to see you level a table or desk with one.
I have a Kindle II, I believe the same one as MH. I’ve had it for about 2 years, and I absolutely love it. Battery life on it is insane. I charge it bi-weekly, even though I read it daily. I have a cheap clipon light I’ve had for years, that I use when there isn’t enough light to read. Amazon has the edge in it’s distribution model, I think, but B&N can correct this with time. In addition to books, Kindle offers a free service where you email them .pdf files, and they convert and deliver to your kindle. Basically, any document I want to store on the kindle, I can. Not knocking the Nook, I just can’t see any compelling reason to switch. They’d have
I have a Kindle II, I believe the same one as MH. I’ve had it for about 2 years, and I absolutely love it. Battery life on it is insane. I charge it bi-weekly, even though I read it daily. I have a cheap clipon light I’ve had for years, that I use when there isn’t enough light to read. Amazon has the edge in it’s distribution model, I think, but B&N can correct this with time. In addition to books, Kindle offers a free service where you email them .pdf files, and they convert and deliver to your kindle. Basically, any document I want to store on the kindle, I can. Not knocking the Nook, I just can’t see any compelling reason to switch. They’d have
The new one supposedly has a month’s battery life.
Nook’s battery life is no where near as good, according to the reviews I read. It takes more juice for that backlit screen. It is more like ipad’s battery life.
I’m not a fan of Amazon’s DRM when compared to B&N’s nook. When I buy something.. I buy it. I don’t just buy a license to ‘use’ it for as long as Amazon allows me to have it.
Obviously you can break the DRM but I’m assuming everyone here wants to stay legal.
Battery life on the Kindle is short ONLY if you turn the internet feature on. If not, it is very long. In fact if you turn the internet feature off, and don’t “turn any pages” it will last almost indefinitely. So that is selling the Kindle short to say the battery life is only 2 hours!
I’m looking forward to getting the Kindle and seeing how I like it. I like holding a book in my hand and turning the pages, but it is getting to be too much to lug them all around.
I guess I really liked the idea that it WASN’T back lit, because I stare at a computer screen all day and thought the back lighting would be a problem when reading right before bed…you know how the computer screen lighting is supposed to be a stimulant and I was hoping to avoid that…have enough trouble falling asleep already! But I can see the downside to no backlighting if I won’t be able to read in bed in the dark…:). I got the Kindle with the 3 G, but not the bigger version. Just awaiting delivery…I cheaped out and went with the free shipping, so who knows when I will actually get it!
Makes sense the Nook’s battery life has to be more like the iPad. Both have similar displays it seems. The iPad’s isn’t bad – I’ve never really measured it but I’ve never had a problem running out of battery on a fully charged iPad for my usage. It appears to be longer than the Kindle when the internet connection for the Kindle is turned on – maybe twice as long. It is true the internet feature drains the Kindle’s battery very fast.
I’ve heard other complaints similar to marinm’s about Amazon’s DRM. It hasn’t really bothered me, but I’ve heard of people’s books getting taken away from them by Amazon for some reasons. Also of course there is no way to share Kindle books to other Kindle users as far as I know. I don’t know if the same is true about the Nook. However, for me I haven’t been bothered by any issues with book licensing on the Kindle.
Steve, I didn’t know about the pdf. feature of kindle. It does sound like we have matching kindles. I think that GR also has the Kindle II.
Juturna, what were you saying about the swappability? Like can I lend you one of my books and vice versa? Could Steve or GR and I trade off books?
I’ve found the Kindle’s text to speech feature (available on most Kindle books but not all) to be a great way of reading in bed, if I want to fall asleep.
Yes, I have the Kindle II and I’ve used the pdf feature, it works great like Steve says.
I don’t think there’s any legal way to trade Kindle books, unless something has changed recently. From what I heard on the Kindle that books have something coded that makes the files only work on it, or when you use the Kindle software on the PC or iPad or wherever, again it’s coded against your Kindle account. So that makes it pretty much impossible to swap books.
GR,
I am hearing that something has changed or will change and swapping with friends might be on the horizon. I don’t know details.
My understanding is Amazon is coming out with a “lend” feature, where you can lend it to another registered kindle user for two weeks. Also, there is a way to share libraries. If I were to deregister my kindle, then re-register it on say MH’s account, I can download any of her books to my kindle. The only drawback is, when I re-register my kindle under my account, they will go away.
@Steve, I hope there will soon be an easier way to trade books.
I have the new generation WiFi Kindle and LOVE IT! I am usually in the middle of 2-3 books at a time, and this baby fits right in my purse and goes everywhere with me. The selection of free books is great. I usually keep the wifi switched off, so the battery lasts for weeks. Nothing will ever replace a paper book with jacket art, but this thing travels well and feeds my game addictions. And I’m seeing that there is 14-day book lending for certain books.
As far as the text-to-speech feature, it’s a lot like listening to the library renewal line. It would be hard to hold my attention for an entire book.
Twinad
I ordered mine 12/29 and went with free shipping as well. According to Amazon tracker – I should receive it tomorrow. I might leave town early…… 🙂
Well I guess I’m the only person on the earth that has little good to say about electronic books. First of all, the screens are way too small and since I read very fast, the screen size annoys me. Also, I enjoy mystery genres and while reading I might have an idea of whodunnit so I flip back to a place in the book where I reread a passage and have an aha moment. Or perhaps while reading a historical novel, I need to flip back and forth to a family tree in the front of the book. Neither a kindle nor a nook has the screen size to accommodate a two page family tree. And when I finish a great book such as Whistling in the Dark, or Me and Emma, I can hand the actual, physically present book to a friend or family member. Or, I can trade a bag of books in at McKays, and roam the shelves and fill my bag with more books with credit earned. My mom loves Kindle and that’s great. But for me, I prefer paper:)
I caved after lugging so many books over Thanksgiving. I’m not ready to trade in my library card and for all the reasons you listed and the comment from Emma about jacket art (and pix of author) I will probably not be reading a kindle in my living room. But next time I’m off to BWI, I will have a much lighter suitcase!
DB,
I’m with you for all the reasons you cite: fast reader, like to give books away when I’m done, and like to roam the ole musty stacks at McKays. Since I haven’t actually used a Kindle before, I don’t know if I will really like it or not, I just don’t want to be hauling around so much crap all the time…I’m like Emma and often am reading multiple’s at a time…and I want to be able to do just what she described…put it in my purse and go. I got the same version as Emma sounds like. I am wondering, after reading all the comments, how long the battery will last for me…I bet I will be using the wifi all the time and it seems like most everyone that has commented on battery life keeps the wifi off most of the time.
Juturna,
I ordered mine on the 30th and it says I will get it between the 10th and the 15th! Did you get the one with the 3G? The regular one said it would ship immediately, but this one didn’t have that language, so I was thinking maybe it was out of stock when I ordered it.
No, I didn’t get the 3G. Just the basic version.
Okay, that’s why you are getting it so fast then. I figured I’d waited this long for one, there was no real rush in getting it, but now that we are all talking about it, I can’t wait to try it out!