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Originally Posted by rmc4139
I've been completely unable to make up my mind as to which ereader I want to purchase. While I don't have any trouble or discomfort reading on backlit LCDs, I do find the e-ink screen to be almost relaxing to view in comparison. With that in mind, I narrowed it down to the Nook and Kindle 3. I really love the screen on the Kindle 3, but I've read that with the 1.5 update that the Nook's text appears bolder than on previous firmware. I like the LendMe technology of the Nook, and two of my friends have Nooks so that would be nice. I have also read that Kindles will soon be getting a similar feature, but that doesn't do much for me when I don't know any Kindle owners.
Any suggestions?
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You need to explore your needs and habits a bit more before making a decision. Do explore options for your geographic location - B&N does not sell books at all outside the US (You can circumvent this - read other threads on how if you are interested) and Amazon's selection size varies from country to country.
Both these readers have a lot going for them and I too had a tough time deciding. Even thought I liked the Kindle a lot, I finally went with the Nook and here were my top 2 reasons - hope this helps.
1. Library borrowing - I do not buy every book I want to read and so this was a biggie for me. Even when buying, I tend to buy books which either come highly recommended or those that I borrow from the library and know I would read again and again. Libraries are not an option with the Kindle at this time.
A lot of Kindle owners are into buying all they read or are willing and able to break DRM on a library book and convert it to Kindle's MOBI format.
A lot of Kindle owners would tell you that library collections are meager at this point and so it does not matter. However, this is only half true. Some library systems have fairly large collections and almost all libraries I know are growing their collection of ebooks. There are libraries like the Free Library of Philadelphia that would give you membership for $15 a year if you are not a resident. ALL libraries lend ebooks in the EPUB format which Nook (and Sony, Kobo...) support but the Kindle does not.
2. Compatibility and Lock-In - Amazon does not license its format at this time. So, books you buy from Amazon are only readable on the Kindle unless you bought DRM free books or broke the DRM. In either case, you would have to convert to EPUB format to read Amazon bought books on a different ereader device.
Members who are pointing at B&N's proprietary DRM have missed or are overlooking news that B&N reached an agreement with Adobe to build its DRM into future releases from Adobe. So, inability to read B&N's DRM'd books on other EPUB readers is only a temporary handicap (like Kindle's lack of lending feature). At any rate, you are not compelled to buy from B&N to read books on the Nook. Books bought from sellers like Sony, Kobo etc can be read by Nook AS IS.