Buying eReader: Nook or Kindle? Please help.

[lvillanueva5]

Hello everyone. I am new to the forums and I have done some searching, but I really need some help.

I am an avid reader. More like I devour books >.<. Give me a good book and I'll finish it in one sitting and start on another. I actually went through 2 books in one day and started a third before my eyes finally gave out.

With that being said, I don't get out to the book stores very often and have been looking forward to purchasing an eBook Reader. Now I just need some opinions from to the community on which to pick as the ones I'm deciding on are pretty similar. I want the best bang for the buck and something that will last me a while.

My choices are the Kindle and Nook. I'm really not interested in the super expensive versions of either, so I was deciding on the the $139 - $149 version for the following:

Kindle: I have a router at home and free wifi at work so wi-fi is not an issue. I will have my books downloaded easily, so the 3G is just an added expense that I really don't want or have a use for.

Nook: I honestly could care less for the color option. I plan on only reading books, not magazines or anything else that color would be necessary.

I've looked up several authors and series I would be purchasing and both Amazon and BN book stores carry them for the exact same price. They both seem to use the e-ink technology. However, I don't know what the epub technology is...and I know that Kindle does not support that.

I realize that neither are backlit, which is good as LCD tend to drain power and are harder on the eyes, however, I do like to read in bed, so is there technology or assessories that can be purchased?

I would greatly appreciate any opinions on either of these two great products. I have been able to touch and feel the Nook at the local BN store, but with Kindle being from Amazon, am unable to do so for that product.

[boswd]

ePub technology in it's most layman analogies, is the mp3 format for ereaders. The nook supports it the kindle does not

now what does this all mean? It means you can shop around at various ebook stores and ebook clubs since basically all of the them sell books in the ePub format. For example my wife is a member of the kobo ebook store and she has been getting 30% coupons pratically all this month so by her owning the Nook she is able to shop at Kobo and take advantage of it's promotions. You can not with the Kindle.

Also library's use the ePub format, yes you can actually check out ebooks from the library. And so with the nook you are able to take advantage of this. The Kindle you can not.

Now the Kindle Krew will chime in and say they have no problems buying books from other stores and checking out books etc etc. What most fail to include is you have to strip these books of their DRM and convert them to amazons format. Which sort of brings up the issues of ethical and legal matters and how easy it is to do it. For some it's easy for others its too complicated to be worth it. Let alone the legality issues.

Both sell accesories such as night lights etc.

If you have a Best Buy or a Target in the area you should be able to get a hands on with the kinlde.

The nook just had another firmware update just last month which added speed to the page turning, it darkend up the text so the contrast appears much higher.

Just something to keep in mind when the Kindlebots start chiming in about how fast the page turning is or the Pearl Ink screen yadda yadda.

Also you may hear year old nonsense when the nook first came out with it being slow etc. Since it's inception it has gone through a total 5 firmware and software updates, some that fixed old bugs, some that added features and some that enhanced performance.
Trust me when I say it's fast and responsive

After playing around with the two I honestly feel IMHO the nook is the best overall value to performance and the fact that it supports ePub puts it above the kindle.

but I'm sure you'll get an earfull from the Kindle crowd as well

Good luck.

[lvillanueva5]

Thanks for the information. I also wanted to add to my original post that I'm only interested in the eReader for reading books. I don't plan to look at pdf, manga, etc. (I have an iPhone, Desktop and Laptop for that)

But with that being said, I will read for hours. And I mean....8 - 10 hours in one sitting. So I suppose that should factor in on the decision as well if there are issues for long term usage in one sitting.



Edit: Um, not interesting in stripping anything. LOL. Rather just buy the book from the store. Even the library probably won't be useful as I like to "own" my books and go to read them at a whim. So I will be purchasing my books "legitimally" from the cooresponding store.

[boswd]

the nook's battery life will be around 5- 8 days the kindle will have a longer battery life of close to 3 weeks . So if charging it once a week is no bother then the nook's battery life is pretty solid. It doesn't affect me one iota.

I know if you are getting low on a charge you can read the nook while it's being charged. I don't know about the kindle, I'm sure you can.

Also the nook has a replacable battery that can be bought at either Best Buy, Barnes and noble both instore and online. the kindle's is sealed in and will have to send it back to Amazon if the battery has issues or no longer holds a charge. And the nook has expandable memory if your library keeps growing throughout the years.

Sincy you don't plan on stripping any DRM then ePub will be fine on the nook if you want to shop around at other ebook stores.

I also really love the book cover, cover flow and the touchscreen navigation, to me it brings something to plate. Book covers are meant to be seen in color and are part of the total package. But again that's me.

I hope this helps.

[lvillanueva5]

It looks like I'm edging more towards the Nook. Is the Pearl ink with Kindle all that much different than the ink used on the Nook? I mean...if I sit there and go on a reading binge all weekend...litterally have done that and completed a whole series, will either work for that?

I'm perfectly fine with placing a device on a charger daily if needed. After all...I have an iPhone...so am used to it >.> lol So doing this once a week is just a bonus.

I like the fact that the battery is replaceable and that you can expand your library space with a microSD although to be honest...I doubt I'd fill up the internal space any time soon.


Edit: Oh and about your last comment, the color book covers...is that available on the regular Nook? Or do I have to get the Nook Color?

[Care]

Welcome lvillanueva5!

Just adding to what boswd said, you really need to decide what is most important to you. Do you think you might want to get digital books from the library? If so the Nook would be the better choice. If you are worried about battery life because you do extensive travelling, the Kindle 3 would be the better choice.

I like that I can buy books from all over with the epub support. You can buy mobi files at quite a few places as well (without stripping them), but epub definitely is easier to find. I would suggest going to this website: www.inkmesh.com . You can type in what books you would be interested in buying and it will show you where they are available and for how much. That could help you to narrow down you decision as well.

About the colour lcd on the Nook. It is a small strip at the bottom of the device. That is why the battery is less than the Kindle. It is used to look at cover, take notes, search, etc... and no, the screens are not that different. The Kindle 3 is pearl and therefore better technology, but I can hardly tell the difference (after the 1.5 update on the Nook).

I have a little clip on light I bought at B&N that I use for night time reading. You can find them all over for any reader.

Good luck! I am sure you will love either device.

[ProfCrash]

The Nooks battery life is about 5-8 days for an average reader. Average tends to mean 2 hours, so 10-16 hours. For someone reading 8 hours a day you will be recharging on a daily basis.

The K3 average battery life is one month, so you will end up recharging once a week.

Go to a Best Buy and take a look at both devices. You will be able to decide which has the form factor that best suits your needs.

EPub is not that big of a deal. You can buy books outside of Amazon that you can load onto your Kindle without converting formats. Amazon's book store is huge, the largest around, so you will probably find that you don't have to go outside the book store all that frequently.

The Pearl screen is amazing. Many folks have commented on how much better a screen it is then the one found on the Nook Classic, K2, and older Sony's. Additionally, the Kindle dictionary, note taking, bookmarking, and highlighting are all a great deal easier on the Kindle then on the Nook.

I have a feeling that either device would work for you and you already know where to find your books. Check out the devices in person and see which one feels better in your hand.

[KenJackson]

Are you not considering the Sony PRS-650 "Touch Edition"?

The reason I vetoed the Nook was its weight. I found that just in the few minutes I was reading with it in the store it annoyed me. The Sony Touch is very similar but very lightweight.

The reason I vetoed the Kindle was vendor lock-in, i.e. you can't buy DRM ebooks from anyone but Amazon, and Amazon's control. Someone on this site posted logs of the information Amazon gathers from your use of your device. Also, you may recall that they actually had the audacity to delete a couple books right out of Kindles after they were bought (with refund, of course).

As for the display, my understanding is that the Nook, Kindle and Sony all use displays from the same manufacturer. So there shouldn't be any difference.
----
Oops. I guess the Nook does use the older Vizplex display. Whatever. I know I love my Sony PRS-650.

[ProfCrash]

I believe the SOny 650 is well out of the OPs price range since they are looking at the WiFI only version of the K3 and Nook in order to save money.

Amazon gave the books back to those who wanted them and they got two free books, plus a refund. The people who did not ask for the book back got the refund and three free books. It happened once and it won't happen again.

You are not locked into Amazons store. There are plenty of sites to buy Non DRMed Mobi books for the Kindle. It just happens that Amazons store is huge so many people buy their books from Amazon.

Heck, people with Sony's and Nooks, and Kobo's buy books from Amazon that they can't find at other sites. Many folks have posted on this. They buy from Amazon, strip the DRM, convert, and put them on their EPub reading device.

The Sony's and Kindles use the Pearl Screen which is a new screen that is vastly improved over the old screen. Nook Classic still uses the old screen. I would guess B&N would like to have access to the Pearl Screen but it is contracted to Amazon and Sony for the time being. Folks with few eye issues (age, prescritpion, ailment) report no real difference between the K2 (uses the same screen as the Nook Classic) and the K3 while people who have eye issues have reported a marked difference between the screens.

[jbcohen]

First, let me start by saying I have nothing against either the Kindle or the Nook Color, both are fine readers very capable of doing the job. My reader is the Aluratek Libra Pro and its excellent and costs a whole lot less than either the Nook Color and the Kindle. So my point is this if you do purchase either one of the readers make sure that you understand what the premium features of the Kindle and Nook Color are and that you realy want those features, otherwise save your hard earned dollars and buy an Aluratek Libra Pro. The premium features of the Nook Color and the Kindle are:

1) Touch screen in the Nook Color;
2) Dictionary;
3) Ability to take notes in the margins
4) the full keyboards that appear on both.

What is not a premium features are:

1) The color screen, Aluratek offers a color version that costs less then the Nook Color.


So make sure that those premium fatures are worth the dolars to y ou.

[KenJackson]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

You are not locked into Amazons store. There are plenty of sites to buy Non DRMed Mobi books for the Kindle. It just happens that Amazons store is huge so many people buy their books from Amazon.

Heck, people with Sony's and Nooks, and Kobo's buy books from Amazon that they can't find at other sites. Many folks have posted on this. They buy from Amazon, strip the DRM, convert, and put them on their EPub reading device.

You're right about non-DRM ebooks, that's why I only referenced DRM ebooks.

As for stripping DRM, in an ideal world there would be no DRM. In a semi-ideal world, everyone could easily strip the DRM and not be bothered with it. But

• Stripping DRM is a bother for all and is more difficult than some users can handle
• Some users take the threats seriously and either fear legal action or God's displeasure
• I suspect all DRM providers are busy scheming how they can defeat the current stripping software, which they may do
• Most websites only allow oblique references to how to do it, so there is no plethora of step-by-step instruction sites as there is for any other imaginable task you want to do on your computer.

It's Amazon's demonstrated capability that is the issue. OK, they gave the books back. But any potential buyer should be aware that Amazon is a big brother looking over their shoulder. Obviously that doesn't bother you. I would hate it.

And absolute price ranges are usually more flexible than a buyer states. Especially when something as good as the PRS-650 is available.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by lvillanueva5

It looks like I'm edging more towards the Nook. Is the Pearl ink with Kindle all that much different than the ink used on the Nook? I mean...if I sit there and go on a reading binge all weekend...litterally have done that and completed a whole series, will either work for that?

I'm perfectly fine with placing a device on a charger daily if needed. After all...I have an iPhone...so am used to it >.> lol So doing this once a week is just a bonus.

I like the fact that the battery is replaceable and that you can expand your library space with a microSD although to be honest...I doubt I'd fill up the internal space any time soon.


Edit: Oh and about your last comment, the color book covers...is that available on the regular Nook? Or do I have to get the Nook Color?

The color book covers are available on the regular eink nook, it's on the second screen that's a color lcd. Under the library Icon you have a BN library and in their you touch "show covers" and they display in coverflow. I think it adds to the overall experience.

The nook's contrast was conisdered one of if not the best before the Pearl screens started to hit the markets. After it came the Pearl Screen was better but not heads and shoulders better but it was better.

Now after the latest update to the nook v1.5, they made the text bolder, it's really on the same page as the Pearl Screen, if the Pearl Screen is better it's not that noticable really, it really isn't . The nooks screen def. holds it own against the Pearl Ink.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The Nooks battery life is about 5-8 days for an average reader. Average tends to mean 2 hours, so 10-16 hours. For someone reading 8 hours a day you will be recharging on a daily basis.

The K3 average battery life is one month, so you will end up recharging once a week.

Go to a Best Buy and take a look at both devices. You will be able to decide which has the form factor that best suits your needs.

EPub is not that big of a deal. You can buy books outside of Amazon that you can load onto your Kindle without converting formats. Amazon's book store is huge, the largest around, so you will probably find that you don't have to go outside the book store all that frequently.

The Pearl screen is amazing. Many folks have commented on how much better a screen it is then the one found on the Nook Classic, K2, and older Sony's. Additionally, the Kindle dictionary, note taking, bookmarking, and highlighting are all a great deal easier on the Kindle then on the Nook.

I have a feeling that either device would work for you and you already know where to find your books. Check out the devices in person and see which one feels better in your hand.

Come on Prof. everyone knows Mobi is a joke nowaday. Who actually is selling books with mobi? certainly nowhere NEAR the level of availbility and wide selections of books available for ePub .

mobi= VHS
ePub = DVD/Blu ray

but i digress as I don't want this gentleman's thread sidetracked

But I do agree with you about the sony 650 though, nice hardware but waay overpriced, no wireless, so so bookstore platform for OVER $220. Big veto, it'ls like paying $10 for bud light draft. Sony is just weird.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by lvillanueva5

Hello everyone. I am new to the forums and I have done some searching, but I really need some help.

I am an avid reader. More like I devour books >.<. Give me a good book and I'll finish it in one sitting and start on another. I actually went through 2 books in one day and started a third before my eyes finally gave out.

With that being said, I don't get out to the book stores very often and have been looking forward to purchasing an eBook Reader. Now I just need some opinions from to the community on which to pick as the ones I'm deciding on are pretty similar. I want the best bang for the buck and something that will last me a while.

My choices are the Kindle and Nook. I'm really not interested in the super expensive versions of either, so I was deciding on the the $139 - $149 version for the following:

Kindle: I have a router at home and free wifi at work so wi-fi is not an issue. I will have my books downloaded easily, so the 3G is just an added expense that I really don't want or have a use for.

Nook: I honestly could care less for the color option. I plan on only reading books, not magazines or anything else that color would be necessary.

I've looked up several authors and series I would be purchasing and both Amazon and BN book stores carry them for the exact same price. They both seem to use the e-ink technology. However, I don't know what the epub technology is...and I know that Kindle does not support that.

I realize that neither are backlit, which is good as LCD tend to drain power and are harder on the eyes, however, I do like to read in bed, so is there technology or assessories that can be purchased?

I would greatly appreciate any opinions on either of these two great products. I have been able to touch and feel the Nook at the local BN store, but with Kindle being from Amazon, am unable to do so for that product.

It looks like your needs are real basic which is good.
- Do you need WI-FI? If not you might want to look at the SONY 350. It's the same price range as the nook/K3 but w/o the WI-FI. It's 5", steel casing, and has a touch screen interface, that does not interfere with the screen. And also has the Perl screen. It's also the smallest of the three and is very portable. It also has a stylus in case you need to take notes.

I have a Kindle 2 I can tell you the only wireless connectivity I've ever needed was 3G. If I have WI-FI access then I'm usally near my PC and most likely will plug in my reader and copy it manually since that is much faster than using the reader to download a book.


ePUB is a blessing and a curse. It gives choices and freedom for the publishers and readers. The result is you will have your books sprinkled around different book stores and some will use a different DRM. When people say they have a choice to buy ePUB what they are saying is any store that supports "Adobe Digital Editions". But is not completely it either see if you buy a book at B&N you will not be able to read it on your sony devices or if you buy a book on iBooks you will not be able to read on your nook/sony devices even though they are all ePUB format.

With the Kindle anything that is a Kindle format will work on a Kindle device. So you'll be able to read books on your iPhone that you bought for your Kindle.

Choice of of different vendors was also an attractive feature until the 5 publishers got together and fixed pricing across all stores the result is no online book store is allowed to drop their prices. At this point you don't really have an advantage.

Battery life is measures by page turn for most eInk devices because they only eat up power when turning pages, the nook you have to take the LCD screen into account as it drains the batter while it is on. By the sound of it I don't think any device will last three weeks with you. The nook will last days and the sony/kindle will last about 1.5 weeks. My Kindle last me a week, but I'm and oddball I use the TTS feature on my commute to work.)
The battery on the K2/K3 is user replaceable just youtube it and you'll see it's a 5min process. Amazon does not solder on the battery like Apple does. BTW these devices batteries are targeted to last 5-7yrs good luck in keeping your reading device around that long.

People seem to get caught on page turning, I don't get it even the slow PRS-505 I use to have turned a page faster than I could a physical book. The newer models are much faster and the K3 is even faster than the K2 that I use. Still the SONY's are the fastest when turning multiple pages you can swipe and hold and the SONY will speed turn pages for you.

Honestly as much as you read I would limit my criteria on battery life, weight, color and contrast. Unless you plan on getting wireless(3G) on the nook or Kindle WI-FI is not a big plus.

I'd probably recommend the K3 or SONY PRS-350. The contrast will be easier on your eyes and the lighter weight will be easier on your hands.

=X=

[boswd]

just like the Sony 650 I find the 350 an odd recommendation as well. Smaller screen no wireless and more expensive than the wifi versions of the Kindle and nook, in fact the 350 is the same price as the kindle and nook WITH the 3G option and you get less screen, which means more screen changing just to change one page.

also the nook also has Apps across all platforms, computers, phones (iPhone, Android) iPad, Samsung Galaxy S tab etc. not just kindle.

again Sony's pricing strategy just makes me