[mohawk]

Here is a review I wrote on another forum not really related specificly to e-readers when someone asked what e-reader to buy. I thought I'd share my experience with the rest of the group here as I did a lot of midnight research on this site. Sorry for the extended length.

I was considering getting my own e-reader and I did my homework by googling various reviews for two days and actually doing an all-nighter on the computer, just for research. My parameters were the following. I love to read books and I especially like to read magazines like Time, Smithsonian, Nat Geo, Newsweek and others. I'd like to check my e-mail and browse the web also. I also thought that it would be nice to have a calender, contact list and a notepad. Reading some docs in PDF wouldn't be a bad option either. Well, that was my wish list and based on the exceptional return policies of both competitors, I ordered up a kindle keyboard with wi-fi and 3g, a kindle fire, a Nook color and a Nook tablet.

I am a person in my 60s and I've never had a smart phone where they use all those "Android Apps" that everybody talks about. I haven't owned a cell phone for two years since I retired.



Here are my honest conclusions.



Kindle Keyboard.

I thought that I'd really like this and be able to use it right out of the box because it was dated technology and would possibly fit my needs and abilities better than the latest state of the art products. Well, it was easy to use and it was very consistant in it's performance. It has a very nice screen for reading books and it is comparible to reading a paperback. It also would allow you to turn on audio reader, which is a great way to have someone read to you. If you spend a lot of time laying on a Chaise' Lounge, taking in the sun, around the pool or the beach, then this might be the perfect reader for you. But you'll still need to bring any magazines you like and forget about any other features. Yes, it has web, but if you use it once, you won't use it again. Even with free 3g. Think powdered charcoal for all your content. The whole kindle keyboard experience and the broader e-ink experience left me flat and unsatisfied with the whole reading experience. This would apply to Nook e-ink or Kindle e-ink, as far as I'm concerned. If you like reading paperbacks on a sunny day, outside, then this may be your e-reader. The system is very stable but extremely boring. At least for me.



This leaves the Kindle Fire and The Nook Color in comparison.

Both have very nice displays. As far as resolution and quality go. I used the Nook Color and The Kindle Fire side by side for 4 days. Both had what I was looking for. Great, vibrant image quality, great content that you could order from either B&N or Amazon. Both had browsers that worked, albiet the B&N was much better at browsing than the kindle. Both had e-mail and both were Wi-Fi only. Both have apps for calenders and contact lists.



I ended up returning all e-readers except the Nook Tablet after extensive usage and here's why.



The kindle's software is extremely buggy. The touch screen is either not sensitive enough or too sensitive causing you to double tap and lose your path or you find yourself waiting for something to happen. I believe that it's called " touch-screen stutter". There were times I wanted to throw the Kindle Fire through the window with frustration, whereas I ended up taking the Nook to bed to finish my magazine I was reading at the time. The interface on the Nook was that comfortable. The expand and shrink feature was extremely buggy on the kindle and many times thnigs would not load and it was easy to overload the processor and freeze the unit. The B&N, on the other hand was stable as a rock. Reading a National Geographic or a Time magazine was a great experience and frankly, I read the Nat Geo cover to cover moreso than with the actual hard-copy edition. The software of the Nook Color was much more refined than the Kindle Fire IMO. The biggest drawback of the Nook is that it doesn't have a lot of side applications. The calender is rudamentry as is the contact list. Amazon has much more robust applications and much more choice.

On the other hand, the Hardware construction of the Nook is far superior to the Kindle Fire, IMO. The Fire fells like a Samsung Droid on steroids. It is a big piece of glass with rounded edges so you don't cut yourself and I found it very uncomfortable to hold for an hour or more when you're trying to read. Plus the fact that there is no place to hold it without activating the touch screen and frustrating you. The Nook on the other hand is very comfortable to hold and read for long periods, as it has a border around the touch screen. The nook also has a slot for adding your own memory whereas you're stuck with the memory that Kindle gives you with no possibility of upgrading. They both use a system called the "Cloud" for storing content but then to access it, you have to be on the Wi-Fi to use it. For my dollar, I want to buy it, store it and use it without connecting to the cloud or wi-fi. the Nook allows this in a very elegant manner whereas the kindle doesn't. (Kindle Fire has no volume control without going into the software).

I went with the latest iteration of the Nook Color (aka the Tablet) as it has 1 gig of RAM whereas the Kindle only has 512 as does the Ipad2. Down the road that extra Ram will hold me in good stead as one can't have enough ram as new apps come your way.



All in all, my conclusion is that the Kindle Fire is a good product with a great backing in Amazon but is not ready for prime-time with the kludgy operation and interface. It's just not that intuitive for the average user. It's an e-reader that wants to be an Ipad and it doesn't work. The B&N Nook Color/Tablet is second generation, rock solid and gives a very intuitive and easy experience. Magazines just POP with color and readability. Books just flow nicely and the interface is rock solid and transparent. Browsing and e-mail work very well on the Nook.

Both units need more. The Kindle Fire needs numerous software upgrades to make it a comfortable experience and the browsing/email experience needs to be improved dramaticly. The Nook needs more applications and versatility beyond a portal to buy B&N content. Both are working on fixing each specific challenge they face as we speak. I'm sure in a year both will have overcome their respective hurdles but IMO the Nook will end up the better machine due to it's abilities to provide removeable mass storage and a built in mic that someone will hack and allow skype calls and blue tooth. The Nook is a hackers dream. The kindle is a closed brick and can only be made better with internal software upgrades by Amazon.

For me, the Nook is the much better reader with extra features. If you just want that pulp fiction/paperback experience, get any one of the e-ink/pearl readers in 16 shades of grey. You can get a touch of either brand for 79.00.

If you want a truly exceptional reading experience with lots of extras thrown in get a Nook Tablet or wait for the Kindle Fire, Gen2 to come out.



Good Luck.