Nook Simple Touch or kindle touch for first ereader?

[monkeygirl351]

Hi all,

My brother and I are going in together to get my sister an ereader for christmas. This will be her first ereader. She was at first a bit reluctant but realized that since she is a very fast reader and a traveler, she is often without something to read. Now I have a kindle keyboard and absolutely love it, my brother has the first gen Nook and loves his just as much. We are now trying to figure out what to get my sister. We are both willing to go either way and are looking at the wifi only one of each. She isn't tied to either ecosystem and actually goes to independent bookstores the most. She is somewhat computer literate and can learn quickly once taught how to use something. I always thought the nook interface was more complex , but my brother thinks the opposite and thinks kindle has more convoluted menus. We are kinda at a stalemate as to what to get so opinions from those that have either would be welcome.

Thanks,

Becky

[Pomtroll]

I have both. And I like both. The new touch screens are wonderful...unless you don't like touch screens. With either, if she prefers independent stores she will likely be sideloading. Otherwise I would say she should go with the store she likes to shop from the most. Once you get used to a reader it is easy to use. I always read the user guides & if I can't find it there come here to ask questions.

So just my opinion & suggestion, flip a coin.

[CRussel]

Given the parameters listed, I'd suggest that the winning factor should be Amazon's Customer Service. Both eReaders are excellent, both can be made to work with whatever books you get, both have large libraries and ecosystems to support them.

[AndyfromVA]

The Nook Simple Touch gives you the option of page turn buttons and also gives you a micro-SD card slot for expansion, two important features that are absent in the Kindle Touch.

[rbuljo]

i had the exact same problem here, and got many good answers.. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=159162

ended up a kindle touch because of warranties and the lighted cover they offer.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by monkeygirl351

Hi all,

My brother and I are going in together to get my sister an ereader for christmas. This will be her first ereader. She was at first a bit reluctant but realized that since she is a very fast reader and a traveler, she is often without something to read. Now I have a kindle keyboard and absolutely love it, my brother has the first gen Nook and loves his just as much. We are now trying to figure out what to get my sister. We are both willing to go either way and are looking at the wifi only one of each. She isn't tied to either ecosystem and actually goes to independent bookstores the most. She is somewhat computer literate and can learn quickly once taught how to use something. I always thought the nook interface was more complex , but my brother thinks the opposite and thinks kindle has more convoluted menus. We are kinda at a stalemate as to what to get so opinions from those that have either would be welcome.

Thanks,

Becky

I think that besides the interface, which is important indeed, you should think about the device's ergonomics and online ebook store.

You said that she likes independent authors. But you don't mention if those titles can be found on B&N or Amazon, maybe both. That's an important thing, because for Kindle, ability to sync books across devices, even a PC, is a big bonus.

The Kindle keyboard has landscape. That probably does not sound like a big deal, but for poetry, PDFs and computer books, is a big advantage. Nook, as far as I know, does not, and in case you try to read a PDF, you will be limited to a very small screen an size letter.

The support is also important to me, because like it or not, electronics fail. Even though B&N has stores all over USA, most sales representatives have no idea what they are talking about, even on the phone; that has been my personal experience in several stores here in Texas. So in case of problem, she could spend endless hours trying to get a device fixed or returned with B&N without any luck. Amazon's customer support has a reputation of being very good.

On the positive side, B&N allows you to read any book, for free, 1 hr a day as long as you do it in-store. If there is a close store where she lives, that's a nice feature in my opinion.

If she can find their books on B&N online ebook store, I would say go Nook. I honestly don't like new eink Kindle devices. They lack of buttons and the 3G version does not have landscape mode.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by AndyfromVA

The Nook Simple Touch gives you the option of page turn buttons and also gives you a micro-SD card slot for expansion, two important features that are absent in the Kindle Touch.

Good point.

I personally believe that was an Amazon's bad choice on new Kindles.

Touch is nice, but physical buttons are needed for turning pages anyway. It gives you the option. If not there, is a minus when comparing to similar devices, like Nook on this case.

Not quite sure about the SD card. I personally don't find that a big problem, giving the case we can certainly keep thousands of books with the built-in storage. That's enough for keeping someone busy for months. Unless of course, we're talking about using that storage for other type of files, which could consume more space.

[AndyfromVA]

The Kindle keyboard has landscape. That probably does not sound like a big deal, but for poetry, PDFs and computer books, is a big advantage.

The Kindle Keyboard and the Kindle 4 (non-touch) have landscape, but I don't believe the Kindle Touch has it, nor does the Nook Simple Touch. However, the Kobo Touch has a landscape mode.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by AndyfromVA

The Kindle Keyboard and the Kindle 4 (non-touch) have landscape, but I don't believe the Kindle Touch has it, nor does the Nook Simple Touch. However, the Kobo Touch has a landscape mode.

The non touch wifi version has, the Kindle 3G Touch does not.

OP is referring to the Kindle Touch I think. So I thought it was a good idea to mention about the absence of landscape.

Maybe Amazon will modify that later via firmware? I don't know ...

[ProfCrash]

Who is she most likely to want to share books with? IF that is you, get her a Kindle. If it is your brother, get her a Nook. That way you can add each other to your accounts and send books to the other device and then remove them from the account.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Who is she most likely to want to share books with? IF that is you, get her a Kindle. If it is your brother, get her a Nook. That way you can add each other to your accounts and send books to the other device and then remove them from the account.

Good point, ProfCrash. It's worth doing some thinking ahead of time here to maximize your flexibility. Of course, stripping the DRM will give you even more flexibility, but you don't need to do that to be able to share a book.

[Janet16]

Well, this depends on personals needs and economic budget, if you want to read books everywhere and anytime, and in a tight budget, you could go for the Kindle fire.
Personally I prefer the Kindle fire, yeah because of warranties and the lighted cover they offer.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Janet16

Well, this depends on personals needs and economic budget, if you want to read books everywhere and anytime, and in a tight budget, you could go for the Kindle fire.
Personally I prefer the Kindle fire, yeah because of warranties and the lighted cover they offer.

I don't think the Fire has a lighted cover. Wouldn't need one, since it's not an eInk device. Perhaps you mean the Kindle Touch?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Janet16

Personally I prefer the Kindle fire, yeah because of warranties and the lighted cover they offer.

Why would one want a lighted cover on a backlit LCD device?

[JoHunt]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Touch is nice, but physical buttons are needed for turning pages anyway. It gives you the option. If not there, is a minus when comparing to similar devices, like Nook on this case.

Just for the purpose of a fair comparison, you don't need physical buttons to turn pages - just a slight touch on the KT does the job quite nicely I have never used any buttons except the home button on any of my touch devices.