Kobo Touch or Nook STR?

[cofu11ab]

I received both a Kobo Touch and a Nook Touch in the mail today because I also was torn on choosing between the two. And I must say that both of these are fantastic devices that I personally think are better than the Kindle 3.

First off, these two devices are very, very similar. I switched off countless times today and found the reading experience about the same. A few differences:

• Downloading a book and navigating the store on the Nook is a couple minutes faster than the KT

• The amount of formatting options on the Nook are also very welcome, and even though the Kobo is somewhat limited they have repeatedly said that they will be adding this in the future

• The buttons on the Nook Touch were disappointing. Having used both the K3 and the Nook Wifi (both of which had solid buttons) these ones are a little too stiff and therefore took away one of its potential advantages over the Kobo

Even though it has a couple shortcomings, I decided that I am going to keep the Kobo Touch. It had just enough bezel for me to keep my hand there comfortably making it a slightly better experience over the Nook Touch. But for people with bigger hands, have a B & N store nearby, or at least the option of page turn buttons, the Nook Touch is probably the right device for you as that extra width and the curved back is a big help. The only thing I can really gripe out is the lack of collections for both and for the Nook the limitation on sideloading content. Other than that, you really can't go wrong with either of these!

[Ditchleyportrait]

i thought i was surprised at the lack of collections in those readers

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Ditchleyportrait

i thought i was surprised at the lack of collections in those readers

the nook STR uses the term shelves in place of collections. but it's the same premise.

[Toastedpine]

I own a Kobo Touch. The lack of dictionary support and inability to search the text hampers its usability somewhat. That said, I don't like how the Nook STR comes with recommended books to read on the home screen (saw this in reviews so I may be wrong). Part of the reason I like books is because they're just books. It's just me, the text, and a higher power.

If you like looking at code examples and diagrams, I fully recommend the Kobo Touch. The double-tap zoom is so convenient, and the PDF follows your finger as you move it around so you don't lose track of where you're going. If it could search the text inside reflowable PDFs, I'd probably just have the thing super-glued to my hand.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by Toastedpine

I... I don't like how the Nook STR comes with recommended books to read on the home screen (saw this in reviews so I may be wrong)...

You're correct. It loses points for this intrusion on the home screen.

[djulian]

[never mind]

[SCION]

Originally Posted by djulian

Can someone post a picture of this home screen?

You can find videos on YouTube. Just type in Nook Touch.

[TedJ]

Originally Posted by SCION

You're correct. It loses points for this intrusion on the home screen.

My sentiments exactly.

I can't countenance wasting a third of the homescreen on promotions for B&N titles I can't buy without faffing about with VPN's and the like. That, plus concerns with after sales support from B&N if I did buy via the grey market led me to purchase the Kobo instead.