Nook or Kindle for a 12-year-old?

[Maggie Leung]

I learned at Christmas celebrations that a young family member loves to read and is doing well in school, so I wanna get him an e-reader. I haven't kept up with Nook or Kindle developments, because I've happily switched to an iPad, so I'm looking for feedback on whether to get him a Nook or Kindle.

My Kindle 2 worked well for 15 months of heavy use, then froze and was replaced by Amazon. I was otherwise satisfied with it. Just skimming posts now, though, Kindle 3 seems more crash-prone. I'm also wondering about library lending (its ease and flexibility), because he's a kid and depends on his mom for book money.

Quick feedback appreciated, because I'd like to get him an e-reader before I leave town. Thanks.

[Poppaea]

Hello Maggie,

I am not in the States but in Europe so I can only say what I read here so far. Looks for me like getting him a Nook. The choice of books on the B&N site is awesome and the "lend me" function could be a plus with his friends and schoolmates.

As there are lots of free reads for a teenager in the net, i.e. Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island and zillions of sci-fi books, I would think he will be happy with either of the readers.

You are a generous and sensible person, stay like that, please!

Regards
Poppaea

[madzippy]

I would agree. While the Kindle might be more popular, I think he would appreciate a couple things about the Nook. The touchscreen, the ease of borrowing library books, the fact that he can get free stuff/discounts at BN (hopefully, he lives near one), not to mention the 1 hour of free reading per book while he's there.

Each ereader has it's pros and cons, but that's my two cents.

[rcuadro]

Since you have a Kindle you can add a kindle to your account and share books.

I personally dont see a 12 year old going to B&N to read for an hour or care much about any deals

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by rcuadro

I personally dont see a 12 year old going to B&N to read for an hour or care much about any deals

"Yo, Spike, let's go have some fun."

"Sorry guys, I can't. I'm going to the bookstore to read for an hour and get some free Lady Godiva chocolates."

[ATDrake]

If library use seems like it'll be an important factor, the Nook. Unless you want your cousin to learn about stripping DRM early, which could be educational in itself.

You can check Overdrive's search to see if there's a library with e-books available in his area, and if the selection is something that looks like it might appeal to someone his age. And of course there's always the Philadelphia Free Library option.

Also, with the Nook you can pre-load any of your own B&N books you think your relative might be interested in onto it by typing your name/CC# combo to unlock the files. Mind you, Kindle allows the same thing using the registration-swapping trick, so they've got feature parity there.

[Maggie Leung]

Thanks. A Nook it is.

We won't be sharing books. He'll get book gift cards, though.

[boswd]

Yeah in this day and age a 12 yr old would almost have a culture shock by using the kindles outdated navigation as opposed to a capactive touchescreen navigation that also shows color book covers.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by rcuadro

Since you have a Kindle you can add a kindle to your account and share books.

I personally dont see a 12 year old going to B&N to read for an hour or care much about any deals

actually you would be surprised by the number of young kids reading books in a BN or Borders.

[rcuadro]

Originally Posted by boswd

actually you would be surprised by the number of young kids reading books in a BN or Borders.

Actually no. I see them when I go with my son... the point is that a 12 year old cannot just up and go to BN when he/she wants

[boswd]

Originally Posted by rcuadro

Actually no. I see them when I go with my son... the point is that a 12 year old cannot just up and go to BN when he/she wants

true but when they do go it's a fun feature to use, I've seen young kids who have brought in their nooks and when it connects, their eyes light up and say "this is soo cool" and just get lost in their ereaders. It's fun feature to have whether you're 12 or an adult.

[MsCG1]

We live around the corner from a BN and I'm in there at least twice a week--the teens practically live in there. A couple of them have reading devices, some of them are sprawled all over reading magazines and young adult novels, and nearly all of them have a sugary Starbucks drink in hand. So, you'd be surprised.

My daughter turned 15 on Friday and got a Nook for Christmas, and she was most excited about going to BN, reading books for free without having to give up her seat, and getting free goodies from the cafe. She's in there all of the time anyway.

[doreenjoy]

If you won't be sharing your Kindle books with him, I'd say the touch screen is the way to go.

[ProfCrash]

If the Nook's touchscreen was like the Sony's I would agree. But the Nooks touchscreen is not like the Sony's and so it really is not that big of a deal. If anything, the Nook touchscreen makes it harder to take notes, highlight, set bookmarks, and use the dictionary then Kindles joystick.

So if you think that he might be using this device for school, the Kindle is probably the best for him since it will be easier for him to do mark and retirieve information for school.

If he has access to a BN and goes there frequently then the Nook is probably a good way to go.

[rfortson]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

"Yo, Spike, let's go have some fun."

"Sorry guys, I can't. I'm going to the bookstore to read for an hour and get some free Lady Godiva chocolates."

My 8 year old will spend hours there reading the physical books. She's been asking for a Kindle (to her, all ereaders are Kindles since that's all she's seen). Now that I have a nook, I could see a nook in her future, but regular old paperbacks still seem to make more sense for a kid. If she loses Lord of the Rings, it's cheap to replace. If she loses a Kindle with LOTR on it, that's a substantially bigger hit.