Kindle or Nook...best price?

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Im torn and could use some help! I want to get my mom one for her birthday..she can barely text mind you...mostly for reading...which would you recommend and where can I get it the cheapest?

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

At this point the products are so similar and basically the same price I would just go with which company you are happier with.

I personally pick Amazon because of their customer service and return policy. If your mother were to accidentally purchase a book while browsing on the device, Amazon would allow her to return the book as long as it is within 7 days. As far as I now, B&N still does not allow ebook returns.

However, some people like B&N because they can take the Nook into the store and talk one to one with someone if they are having a problem. This might be good if something goes wrong with the device itself. Also, you are allowed to read a book for free for one hour if you are in the store.

As for best price....neither the Nook or the Kindle really go on sale. Some stores offer gift card incentives if you purchase through them, some offer free accessories with purchase. Target has the 5% off discount with their red card. Amazon doesn't charge sales tax (unless they have a presence in your state).

 

[ceecee]

I got the Color Nook, because I could get free downloads at our public library.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

The Kindle is able to download library books now so that is no longer a reason to pick the Nook over the Kindle. In fact with the Kindle you can wirelessly download library books to your device so it is a lot easier than the Nooks set up with Adobe Digital Editions.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'd go with the Kindle. Financially Amazon is doing much better than Barnes & Noble.

 

[Jamie25UGA]

The cheapest Kindle is $20 cheaper than the cheapest Nook so there's that.
Nook only has touch screen devices, I love the page turn buttons on the non touch devices. At this point with Kindle/Nook it's a "try both and see which you like better" situation because they're both so similar and similarly priced.

As someone already mentioned, being able to return a book on Amazon is a big plus. I was getting a few books that I saw on Pixel of Ink that were free, and one of the books had a recommendation for another book and it had $0.00 as the price, but on the actual page it was 99 cents, I got it without noticing the .99 cents and was able to instantly get a refund (It was bought with a gift card I had on my account) because I was only getting it because I thought it was free.

Being able to get library books wireless is really convenient.

 

[CLPClarinet]

Are you guys getting e-books from the library through Overdrive? Or does your library use a different service?

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

my library uses overdrive

 

[GenieCat]

Kindle2 arriving this Summer

Kindle Fire 2 and a second tablet to be available later this year

There are rampant rumors floating around the internet that the next generation Kindle Fire is on the way, and will be available within the next couple of months.

 

[MickeynMinnie]

I have the Nook Color and LOVE it!!!

 

[drinkme]

I researched this alot, and I ended up getting the Kindle Touch. I got it for $99. It comes with ads, but the ads do not pop up while you are reading, only when it's turned off.

I think there are more freebies for the Kindle, and I really like amazons browsing. I get my daily newspaper on my kindle, too.

Our library teaches classes on how to use Overdrive (the library ebooks) for those who need that extra help. Also, the help page on Overdrive is very helpful. You can show your mom once (or twice) how to get library books and she should be able to do it herself from there. Or, if she doesn't use a computer, you can do it for her and upload the ebooks at your house.

If your mom wants to be able to do it at home, and she doesn't have wifi, then get her the Kindle Touch that's the next step up. It's like $149. It comes with Internet access.

HTH

 

[Hoosier37]

We have lots of experience with Kindles in my family - we own the Kindle 2, the Kindle Keyboard, the Kindle Fire, and the $79 Kindle. Of them all, I love the $79 Kindle the most. It is wonderful to read books with, I download library books constantly, and there are tons of free books every day from Amazon. Plus, Amazon's customer service is amazing.

Another nice thing about getting a Kindle, if you order direct from Amazon they will usually allow you to return it within 30 days. So if she doesn't like it, you can get the money back.

 

[JaymeC]

The device are very similar, but i prefer Amazon as a company and it makes me biased towards the kindle

The only thing I wanted to throw out there was if she wants it for reading only get her the e-ink version of either the kindle or nook. It's not that the fire's not a great little device, we have one and I love playing with it, but it is an all around device and it can give you those staring at back-lit light headaches if you're reading for awhile straight and back light causes problem for you. The e-ink versions aren't backlit, they read a lot like reading a newspaper as far as the look of it is and I greatly prefer those when reading a book.

 

[MrsPete]

Im torn and could use some help! I want to get my mom one for her birthday..she can barely text mind you...mostly for reading...which would you recommend and where can I get it the cheapest?

A year or two ago I would've said, "The price is the price. Just buy it." But today competition has changed that. Today the best answer is, Watch and wait for a sale. In the past two months I've noticed that Target ran the 3G Kindle Touch (normally $149) for the price of the regular Kindle Touch ($99). I saw that Best Buy had a buy-any-Kindle (or maybe it was any e-reader) and get a $10 Best Buy gift card. That type of thing is available -- just watch, and I don't think it'll be long 'til someone offers a good deal.

If her goal is just to read, I recommend either the Kindle Touch or the Kindle Keyboard. I personally wouldn't choose the $79 Kindle because I like having a keyboard somewhere on the machine; I don't use it all that often, but I do use it. I wouldn't recommend the Fire because it's "more" than she needs, and the screen isn't as eye-friendly as the middle-priced Kindles.

I personally pick Amazon because of their customer service and return policy. If your mother were to accidentally purchase a book while browsing on the device, Amazon would allow her to return the book as long as it is within 7 days. As far as I now, B&N still does not allow ebook returns.

I don't know about B&N, but I have once or twice bought a book by accident through Amazon, and it is easy to have it deleted. I also once bought a book on purpose that didn't meet my expectations, and they refunded it.

General rule of thumb, I think Amazon is in better financial shape than B&N (though if B&N pulls through, it'll largely be because of Nook), so I'd rather own their product. I have more faith that they'll still be in business 5, 10 years from now.

I got the Color Nook, because I could get free downloads at our public library.

Nook did this first, but Amazon offers the same service. However, if this is a big deal to your mom, OP, check into what your local library offers. In my area, I have no access to library e-books -- doesn't matter what hardware I have.

 

[donac]

If you are not techy and there is a B&N near you then I would get the NOOK. I like being able to walk into the store to get some help.

Just pick one. My family loves the NOOK and my sister's all have KINDLE's

 

[Melrosgirl]

Do either offer the free 3g service anymore? My original Nook does and I love it bc I can download books at the beach, etc. and not have to deal with the glare. They wanted me to "upgrade" to the newer ones last year (Nook Color, etc.), but I refused bc of the lack of 3G. Does Kindle offer that still ?

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Do either offer the free 3g service anymore? My original Nook does and I love it bc I can download books at the beach, etc. and not have to deal with the glare. They wanted me to "upgrade" to the newer ones last year (Nook Color, etc.), but I refused bc of the lack of 3G. Does Kindle offer that still ?

The Kindle Keyboard (formerly known as the K3) and the Kindle Touch both have a 3G option.

However, the Kindle Touch's 3G is limited to downloading books and using wikipedia; you can not use it to browse the web or check email, etc like you could with the previous models.

 

[mdsouth]

Do either offer the free 3g service anymore? My original Nook does and I love it bc I can download books at the beach, etc. and not have to deal with the glare. They wanted me to "upgrade" to the newer ones last year (Nook Color, etc.), but I refused bc of the lack of 3G. Does Kindle offer that still ?

I have to agree with the quote above. If you can get one with 3G that might be the way to go. We bought my mother a Nook for Christmas. Like your mother she doesn't text much but loves to read. I made sure I got her just the typical e-ink one (not the Color or Fire). I got her the Nook since I also have a Nook and we can share books.

The new Simple Touch Nook does not have 3G so we had to buy and set up a wireless router to my mother's home computer so she could but and download books. She had trouble buying books and downloading the books onto her Nook before we set up the wireless connection. She just loves her ereader!

So, again if your mother is a reader like mine, make sure to buy one of the eink ones Nook or Kindle and not the backlit ones as others have said.