Kindle vs Nook

[DisneyQueen1320]

Help

I would love to buy a Kindle before out trip at the end of Sept, but I'm worried about getting in on time since it's sold out. So I'm looking at a Nook and I wonder if it's the same or better than a Kindle.

Does anyone have any experiences with the Nook or Kindle, and is it worth it to take my chances and order the Kindle or just get the Nook?

Thanks

 

[onelilspark]

My boyfriend is a geek (I say this in the most loving way possible!) He craves new gadgets like I crave trips to WDW. He also researches everything he buys to death, he's been looking at getting an "E-Reader" for the past year or so. When the new Kindle came out, he jumped on it and bought it the same day it came out. He's really excited about the features included. (He bought the $189 model.) He does not like the Nook. He doesn't like the touch screen, finds it difficult to use.

Hope that helps a bit I also know that he said something about the arrival dates for the orders are messed up. So you might want to contact Amazon on when it would arrive.

 

[linnylu]

I have a Nook and LOVE it! The best thing about it is that you can download ebooks from the library. You cannot do that with the Kindle. That feature makes the Nook budget friendly in my opinion. That said, make sure you check with your local library to see if they have an ebook collection like Overdrive.

 

[budbeerlady]

I would go play with both of them to see which you prefer. I LOVE my kindle. I am really surprised how much I like it! But each system is set up a little bit differently, try them out to see what you prefer. It did take me a little to get used to the kindles point/select button thingy for picking the next book I want to read.

I did go with the 3g for my Kindle, I can download books anywhere. That feature was worth the extra money for me to pay for it vs wifi. In some of the little towns we travel to and thru I didnt want to be searching out a signal to get a book.

Whichever e-reader you pick this blog is very helpful with new books. http://booksontheknob.blogspot.com/

 

[abmitch01]

I love my Nook, absolutely love it. I'm sure I'd love a Kindle, too except, for me, the library book functionality sealed the deal on the Nook. The touch screen is slower than say on the the Iphone for selecting things but does not lag for page turning. I like having the option of finger swiping or pushing a button to turn pages

I'm sure you'll love whichever you pick

 

[Suz725]

LOVE LOVE MY nook!!! I don't find the touchscreen difficult to use at all

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Another gadget lover here and I love the Kindle over the nook. I believe most reviews out there say that the Kindle is a better ereader. If you decide on the Kindle, I would definitely place an order now. On the Amazon website, it says that order placed today will arrived on or before Sept 8th so you have plenty of time before your trip. I don't think you will be disappointed with the kindle - better screen, faster, long battery life.

 

[RitaE]

device wise I much prefer the Kindle over the nook. I have a pre-order in for the new Kindle 3 and I'm just on pins and needles to get it into my hands.
----
nook
advantage - Overdrive Library books

advantage - Can shop from barnes and noble, borders, kobo, books on board etc

advantage - there's some other things people list here like the replaceable battery and the memory card, however the reason Amazon discontinued these from their models was that they found the reduced case integrity was causing malfunctions. This seems to be the case with nooks too.

disadvantage - that touch screen. I hate it. Hate it. Hate it Hate it and I just can't make it work right. I know that other people list that little thing as an advantage but I've just decided to come to terms with my dislike of that little bugger and state it proudly.

disadvantage - If a book isn't Agency priced, Amazon is probably selling it for cheaper

disadvantage - no International wireless access

Kindle

advantage - newest battery is supposed to last up to 1 month w/out a charge.

advantage - low low low low low book prices

advantage - huge catalog of book availability

advantage - best screen (new eInk pearl). I saw this screen about a week ago and it is far better than my K2 or the nook.

advantage - International Whispernet (ie you can buy and download books when you travel out of the US)

advantage - of all the eReaders this is the one that ergonomically I like the best. Great button placement, ease of use etc. This is largely a personal preference, you'll need to check them out yourself to see what you think.

advantage - 30 day no questions asked return on Kindle itself and 7 day return policy on eBooks (ie if you click buy on a book on accident Amazon will refund your money).

disadvantage - no Overdrive Library books unless you learn how to mess around w/ the Python scripts. This isn't exactly hard to do but it is a pain to learn and it also runs up against all those DCMA laws.

 

[cseca]

Have Nook for over a month now, LOVE IT!
No complain at all.

Another thing I would point out about Nook that the others haven't mentioned is:
1. Replaceable battery
2. expandable memory (microSD card)

If you sideload a lot of books (buy from sources outside of B&N), expandable memory might be a key thing for you.

And there are other options of sources to purchase from not just Kindle (which is the reason why I purchase Nook - not particularly fond of company who is outright greedy).

If you like to do library books - go for Nook (since your option is only Nook or Kindle)

If you want to have connectivity outside US - go for Kindle

If you want to have browser to work outside US - go for Kindle

If you mostly purchase books than borrowing - I suggest you browse through your favorite authors collections on both Amazon & B&N to see if one company carries better selections.

Or better yet, try inkmesh.com . It'll give you an idea of places you can get books from and the range of prices.

The touchscreen in my opinion is awesome. Fingerswiping option is great and I am patient user. I don't poke on the touchscreen to try to make it work faster (y'know, just like people keep pushing the elevator button? ). Like PP said, Nook doesn't have an iPad processor so it won't be lightning fast. But it is not sluggish by any means.

And no, I don't use the Nook for anything other than read. I read mostly library books. And in the past month of having it I've read TONS of library books without having to go to the local branch.
My total cost of books : $15 - Free Library of Philly (FLoP) non resident membership

In my opinion there are not any huge difference between the 2 ereaders if you don't borrow library books.
If you do, then go for Nook...

 

[QVCshopper]

Such a helpful thread! I don't have either one, but I'm thinking about getting an e-reader for my hubby's b-day (for me to share)!

 

[maggiew]

I did go with the 3g for my Kindle, I can download books anywhere. That feature was worth the extra money for me to pay for it vs wifi. In some of the little towns we travel to and thru I didnt want to be searching out a signal to get a book.

Can't you just have an extra book in backup in case you finish reading your current book while in a small town?

I'm seriously asking this and not flaming. I just wonder if you can only have one book at a time loaded on the Kindle or what??

I currently have an iPod touch that I use to listen to audiobooks during my commute. I download 5 books at a time from the library (that is the limit). So if I finish one book, I can start the next book immediately.

I am seriously considering getting an eReader for when we travel because I read several books while on vacation. It would be so nice not to have to carry around that many books! But I was thinking the WiFi version would be good enough for me. But now I am not sure??

Maggie

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

Love, love, love my Nook, but honestly, I would love a Kindle, too. The two companies are keeping up with each other technology wise, so that isn't a huge differentiator to me. The things I especially like about my Nook are:

*My library doesn't offer eBooks, but if they ever do, I will be all over checking out eBooks. I keep meaning to check out free library memberships.

*I like the 3G so that I don't have to be in a hotspot to get a book. I have finished a book in an airport and downloaded the next in the series on the spot.

*I enjoy being able to go to B&N during my lunch hour and test out a book before buying. DD enjoys the occasional free cookies at B&N.

*I like the touch screen. DH uses his to turn pages - I just don't have the knack - but the menu system is easy to navigate using the touch screen, and it seems more intuitive to me. I don't like that the kindle uses so much space for the keyboard when I have only needed to use the keyboard one or two times.

*DH and I both have Nooks, so we share an account and both have the same library.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I am an unapologetic Kindle lover. I take it with me wherever I go! That said, there are a few advantages not yet mentioned above.

The Kindle allows you to categorize all your reading material into directories you create. What good is a capacity of 1500, 3500 (or unlimited) ebooks if you can't navigate through them quickly to get to the book you've saved? I have folders for recipes, classics, dictionaries and reference books, library books (yes, I put library books on my Kindle after waiting 2 or 3 months for the book to become available), new fiction, books I have finished reading, etc. I love the flexibility of being able to email my Kindle documents that I will need to read. Every Kindle has its own email address that YOU create so if you ever need to get a document loaded on it and you're not near a pc or you have no cable to connect them, you're able to do so. Like other e-readers, there are apps available to read your Kindle books on your pc, your ipad, your phone, etc. Amazon also synchronizes your reading over all these devices so you never have to wonder where you left off on one device to begin reading on another. Also, the basic functions of the Kindle are much faster than the Nook. Page turning, on-off, etc. Also, Amazon doesn't charge you sales tax if you live in most states... Barnes and Noble does.

 

[debbi801]

I love my Nook, absolutely love it. I'm sure I'd love a Kindle, too except, for me, the library book functionality sealed the deal on the Nook. The touch screen is slower than say on the the Iphone for selecting things but does not lag for page turning. I like having the option of finger swiping or pushing a button to turn pages

I'm sure you'll love whichever you pick

I went with Nook for the library option, too. Plus, the Nook has an sd card slot for additional book/document storage and the ability to replace the battery if the battery dies, instead of needing to replace the whole unit.

The Nook uses the standard .epub and .pdb file types (along with .pdf), so you can buy books from multiple places as well as use the library. The Kindle uses an Amazon specific file type (as well as .pdf), so you can only buy books that are kindle specific.

If you're unsure, your best bet would be to try and test out both of them before making a decision. For me, the decision was easy.

 

[cseca]

Can't you just have an extra book in backup in case you finish reading your current book while in a small town?

I'm seriously asking this and not flaming. I just wonder if you can only have one book at a time loaded on the Kindle or what??

I currently have an iPod touch that I use to listen to audiobooks during my commute. I download 5 books at a time from the library (that is the limit). So if I finish one book, I can start the next book immediately.

I am seriously considering getting an eReader for when we travel because I read several books while on vacation. It would be so nice not to have to carry around that many books! But I was thinking the WiFi version would be good enough for me. But now I am not sure??

Maggie

You can sideload or download as many books as you want on either ereader...
As long as you have memory, you are good to go.

I usually have between 3-6 library books in my Nook and I turn them over like crazy (between 3-10 days depending on how many books I have at the same time). And I've also been collecting the freebies that interest me. B&N has free fridays and also free classics. And Borders had some free books a little while ago.

Since I don't have kindle I'm not sure how often Amazon post free books. I'm sure they have some, I just don't follow them.

And just like you I only have the wifi version because I live in the boonies so no AT&T 3G coverage around me. And we have a good wifi in the house.
If I need to travel for vacation I will load up piles of books to my Nook before we leave the house. Check everyone to make sure they are downloaded properly and off to vacation!!!

I have no concern about not having 3G because if I'm in need of a wifi... say desperately needing to download a book (for whatever reason), I can always find a McD somewhere and borrow their wifi.

Oh and ExPirate is right.
Nook's organizational capability is NONE!
Luckily I haven't had any problems since I don't have hundreds of books in my Nook, so I'm ok.
But people who collect books are not too happy with Nook on that end.
Nook owners have been sorta going around this problem by using Calibre. I've never had to use it so I have no experience regarding this freeware.

The good news is Nook being an android based device means they can do updates to "fix/improve" the device. And that is the biggest complain of Nook owners right now. I have to believe that the next firmware update would have to include this or there'll be a bunch of grumpy Nookers.

 

[KadysMom]

I love my nook! I take it everywhere. I have about 112 books on it right now, and have paid a total of $1.05. YUP!! One dollar! I get books from the library and please check out the different facebook pages where you can lend books and have them lent to you.

 

[pixiechick]

Another nook fan here.

That said, I'm sure you'd be happy with either. Does Target sell kindles in their stores? If they do, then you wouldn't have to worry about it shipping and you'd have the model you want.

 

[abmitch01]

now that the kids have Nooks and are on my Nook account, I agree that the Nook needs organizational features. my books have a fast turn around since they are library books but the kids have some purchased books and not being able to organize them is annoying

 

[budbeerlady]

Can't you just have an extra book in backup in case you finish reading your current book while in a small town?

I'm seriously asking this and not flaming. I just wonder if you can only have one book at a time loaded on the Kindle or what??

I currently have an iPod touch that I use to listen to audiobooks during my commute. I download 5 books at a time from the library (that is the limit). So if I finish one book, I can start the next book immediately.

I am seriously considering getting an eReader for when we travel because I read several books while on vacation. It would be so nice not to have to carry around that many books! But I was thinking the WiFi version would be good enough for me. But now I am not sure??

Maggie

I am a very avid reader. It drove Dh NUTs that I had 10-15 books in my carryon and then I was buying new ones at the airport on the way home from Disney. (That is a sad confession to make and Dd is almost as bad.) He watches tv, I read.

You can upload tons of books to any of the e-readers out there now. I take them off my kindle once I am finished, right now I think I only have 27 loaded onto it. I love trying the free books!

Usually we are in a town that I am not familiar with for lunch or just driving up the interstate. I can download something new without having to find a hot spot. Or even just camping for the weekend, with the 3g I can look for something new. I have appreciated it more than I thought I would.

 

[abmitch01]

ok, I thought I was bad about bringing too many books on vacation, but 15 takes the cake, lol!

not filling the suitcase with books now is such a great feeling