MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - New PW3 arrived: Comparing it to Nook Simple Touch

haertig · 10-10-2017, 04:04 PM

Immediately downloaded a book from Calibre onto it (not registered to my Amazon account yet). No problems there.

Had to immediately compare it to my Nook Simple Touch (several years old).

The PW3's light is nice. The Nook doesn't have a light.

Increased resolution on the PW3 screen - I see no practical advantages for text. Pictures will probably see improvement though, I'll test that later.

The Nook has navigation buttons on the sides in addition to its touchscreen. PW3 is touch only. PW3 responds slightly faster to page turns. I don't use the Nooks buttons often, but they are handy at times. I will miss them.

Feel in the hand, I must say I like the Nook slightly better. Subjective only. I can't quantify why I prefer the Nooks feel.

Screen contrast with light off - PW3 has more contrast. With light on, increased contrast is more noticeable.

Options: Nook has more. e.g., you can specify how long before it goes to screensaver.

Text justification: The Kindle will only allow full justification (it says "book does not allow left justification"). The particular book I am testing with was a non-Amazon acquisition in AW3. Converted in Calibre to ePub for the Nook. The converted ePub is left justified (that may have been a Calibre option, I just accepted all the default when converting). The large gaps that can occur between words when using full justification on these small display screens is very annoying. So far, this is my biggest disappointment with the PW3. I really don't like full justification.

Fonts: Need to experiment. So far, I prefer the Nooks "Malabar" font to the PW3's "Bookerly" font.

Organization: Apparently you can't put side-loaded books into Kindle "Collections" on the PW3! This is horrible if you have a lot of books. No problem putting side-loaded books onto the Nooks "Shelves". The Nook shelves are not perfect in any way, shape or form, but they certainly beat the "nothing" available on the PW3. Is Amazon saying that unless you buy from them, you aren't allowed to organize your books? I think this may be a deal killer for the PW3. I may be sending it back because of this. I will research more to see if this is a flaw that can be worked around, or a deliberate attempt to lock customers into the Amazon ecosystem (which is what I suspect).

SD card: Supported in the Nook, not available in the PW3.

So in summary: A years old outdated Nook appears to beat a brand new PW3 for the things that are important to me. Because of two significant issues: No organization of side-loaded books on the PW3, and forced full justification of text.

10-10-2017, 04:04 PM	#1
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,897 Karma: 31522252 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	New PW3 arrived: Comparing it to Nook Simple Touch Immediately downloaded a book from Calibre onto it (not registered to my Amazon account yet). No problems there. Had to immediately compare it to my Nook Simple Touch (several years old). The PW3's light is nice. The Nook doesn't have a light. Increased resolution on the PW3 screen - I see no practical advantages for text. Pictures will probably see improvement though, I'll test that later. The Nook has navigation buttons on the sides in addition to its touchscreen. PW3 is touch only. PW3 responds slightly faster to page turns. I don't use the Nooks buttons often, but they are handy at times. I will miss them. Feel in the hand, I must say I like the Nook slightly better. Subjective only. I can't quantify why I prefer the Nooks feel. Screen contrast with light off - PW3 has more contrast. With light on, increased contrast is more noticeable. Options: Nook has more. e.g., you can specify how long before it goes to screensaver. Text justification: The Kindle will only allow full justification (it says "book does not allow left justification"). The particular book I am testing with was a non-Amazon acquisition in AW3. Converted in Calibre to ePub for the Nook. The converted ePub is left justified (that may have been a Calibre option, I just accepted all the default when converting). The large gaps that can occur between words when using full justification on these small display screens is very annoying. So far, this is my biggest disappointment with the PW3. I really don't like full justification. Fonts: Need to experiment. So far, I prefer the Nooks "Malabar" font to the PW3's "Bookerly" font. Organization: Apparently you can't put side-loaded books into Kindle "Collections" on the PW3! This is horrible if you have a lot of books. No problem putting side-loaded books onto the Nooks "Shelves". The Nook shelves are not perfect in any way, shape or form, but they certainly beat the "nothing" available on the PW3. Is Amazon saying that unless you buy from them, you aren't allowed to organize your books? I think this may be a deal killer for the PW3. I may be sending it back because of this. I will research more to see if this is a flaw that can be worked around, or a deliberate attempt to lock customers into the Amazon ecosystem (which is what I suspect). SD card: Supported in the Nook, not available in the PW3. So in summary: A years old outdated Nook appears to beat a brand new PW3 for the things that are important to me. Because of two significant issues: No organization of side-loaded books on the PW3, and forced full justification of text.