My almost 12 year old son is interested in...

[desamnik]

the "Nook" or "kindle".

He is an avid reader, and I am seriously considering letting him buy one. ( he has the money to pay for it )

I am wondering if we can limit his access so that he can only get age appropriate material on there?

He is so excited that he wouldn't have to be on the "wait list" at the school library for the books he wants to read

If you own either of these do you think they are good for kids, and which one might be better?

Thanks for any opinions and thoughts.

 

[NHdisneylover]

My DD13 has a Kindle and she loves it. I have not looked into blocking any content--but it is really easy to see what is being bought.

 

[SaraJayne]

Just be aware that not every book comes as an e-book. Look into books he'd be interested in are available as e-books before purchasing.

 

[bumbershoot]

He is so excited that he wouldn't have to be on the "wait list" at the school library for the books he wants to read

If he normally goes to the library for his books, instead of buying the books, then I don't think an e-reader is right for him. And let me say, I'm wearing a shirt with a Kindle picture on it, from last year's Amazon.com company picnic...DH is a product tester for them...I love the Kindle! So I'm not anti-e-readers. But if you normally get your books for FREE, going to a Kindle means you get to buy them.

I *believe* that the Nook allows you to use the e-reading software at libraries, but you can still have waiting lists, at least for my local library. They only buy a certain number of licenses, and if someone has it you might still have to wait.


If you get a Kindle, you can put it on your own account, and that way you can see what he gets...

 

[linnylu]

I would suggest the Nook so he can download books for free from the library. You can't do that with the Kindle. My friend got a Kindle and ended up spending way more on books than she ever had in her life. It definitely didn't help her budget. We were just on vacation together and she was surprised when I told her that with my Nook I hadn't spent a penny yet on books. I have been reading books from our local library- including a new release she had just paid $12 or so for on her Kindle. I have accounts at 2 local libraries and have plenty of books to choose from.

I have noticed plenty of ebooks for teens at our local library but definitely not every book he will want to read can be found as an ebook.

I want to buy my 15 year old avid reader a Nook but she says she loves the feeling of a book in her hand and won't even give the Nook a try.

 

[Darcy03231]

If your son wants to read library books on his ereader right now (as far as I am aware) the only ones that support it are the Nook and Sony.

I have the Sony ereader pocket edition and I love it! My library has a good selection of ebooks. Some of the bigger metropolitan librarys offer a non-resident card for a fee (Philadelphia and Washington DC are two that come to mind). I've found I haven't had to wait too long for the books I want.

A co-worker has a Kindle and although she really likes it, she says it does get expensive buying all of the latest best-sellers!

 

[NHdisneylover]

If he normally goes to the library for his books, instead of buying the books, then I don't think an e-reader is right for him. And let me say, I'm wearing a shirt with a Kindle picture on it, from last year's Amazon.com company picnic...DH is a product tester for them...I love the Kindle! So I'm not anti-e-readers. But if you normally get your books for FREE, going to a Kindle means you get to buy them.

I *believe* that the Nook allows you to use the e-reading software at libraries, but you can still have waiting lists, at least for my local library. They only buy a certain number of licenses, and if someone has it you might still have to wait.


If you get a Kindle, you can put it on your own account, and that way you can see what he gets...

There are lots of free books available on Kindle too. DD downloaded about 40 of them last weekend She also likes buying collections. Just about anything older (out of copyright) can be bought as a complete works with a decent table of contents for $3.50. It is true that some things are not on it yet (and Harry Potter may never be boo-hoo) and the YA market seems to be the most left out, but DD finds more and more is added daily. She now checks back every couple of weeks when she can't get something--most things have eventually popped up.

 

[jrmasm]

Nook users, please correct me if I'm wrong but aren't there some limitiations to the library feature? From what I've been reading not all library participate, the ones that do do not have extensive selections and that there are still waits for books just like at the real library.

I think the idea of the library feature is great, it just seems from user feedback that it's not perfect.

But then again, I could be wrong.

 

[disneyfans95]

I am not aware of any ability to limit content via downloads. My work around is that you create the account, buy the books and of course track what he has on the e-reader. Old fashioned, but only way

That said, avoid the Kindle. The Nook is tons better. Moreso with the access to library e-books that you son would enjoy.

also Nook uses a much more adaptable OS and your parental controls would be something it could do with a new app down the road.

 

[jrmasm]

I am not aware of any ability to limit content via downloads. My work around is that you create the account, buy the books and of course track what he has on the e-reader. Old fashioned, but only way

That said, avoid the Kindle. The Nook is tons better. Moreso with the access to library e-books that you son would enjoy.

also Nook uses a much more adaptable OS and your parental controls would be something it could do with a new app down the road.

You say that on every thread on this subject and you never back it up. It's more helpful if you give people facts rather than opinion.

 

[disneyfans95]

You say that on every thread on this subject and you never back it up. It's more helpful if you give people facts rather than opinion.

Here are just a few that come to mind.

Sample eBooks for free.
Mark up your pages and Reading Now.Size,
Expandable Storage -
Color Touchscreen - 3.5 inch color touchscreen LCD that offers one-touch control and navigation. The Kindle has a gray-scale display.
Supported File Types - Very flexible options that include EPUB and eReader Formats, PDFs, MP3s and graphics that load to your Nook from your computer or micro SD card and JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP files are used to create personal screen savers.
Personalized Screen Saver -Powerful Battery -
Easy to Lend and Share Your eBooks
Double Screen. With the traditional single screen that is seen in all the eBook eReaders prior to the Barnes and Noble Nook eBook eReader, browsing for books was a workout on its own and often a frustration. But with its capacitive double touchscreen, the Nook offers a keyboard and Cover-Flow-esque browsing that takes away the awkwardness
Android Integration
Largest eBook Collection. With over 1 million titles to choose from,

 

[jrmasm]

Here are just a few that come to mind.

Sample eBooks for free.
Mark up your pages and Reading Now.Size,
Expandable Storage -
Color Touchscreen - 3.5 inch color touchscreen LCD that offers one-touch control and navigation. The Kindle has a gray-scale display.
Supported File Types - Very flexible options that include EPUB and eReader Formats, PDFs, MP3s and graphics that load to your Nook from your computer or micro SD card and JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP files are used to create personal screen savers.
Personalized Screen Saver -Powerful Battery -
Easy to Lend and Share Your eBooks
Double Screen. With the traditional single screen that is seen in all the eBook eReaders prior to the Barnes and Noble Nook eBook eReader, browsing for books was a workout on its own and often a frustration. But with its capacitive double touchscreen, the Nook offers a keyboard and Cover-Flow-esque browsing that takes away the awkwardness
Android Integration
Largest eBook Collection. With over 1 million titles to choose from,

With the exception of the color screen, IMO there is nothing that Nook clearly has over the Kindle. And that would really only impact people that wanted to read mags.

I think it's great that there are different options but I have to disagree that one is CLEARLY better than the other.

 

[disneyfans95]

With the exception of the color screen, IMO there is nothing that Nook clearly has over the Kindle. And that would really only impact people that wanted to read mags.

I think it's great that there are different options but I have to disagree that one is CLEARLY better than the other.

nook is clearly better and listed why, just like you asked. You can't ignore the huge free e-books that you can get via local libraries, the touch screen, the expandable memory etc.

Put it this way, what 3 things can the Kindle to better then the Nook?

 

[SpecialK]

With the exception of the color screen, IMO there is nothing that Nook clearly has over the Kindle. And that would really only impact people that wanted to read mags.

I think it's great that there are different options but I have to disagree that one is CLEARLY better than the other.

I agree. I chose a Kindle precisely because I did not want a touch screen. I don't think that anyone can make a definitive statement about either product when the choice is based on personal preference.

 

[jrmasm]

nook is clearly better and listed why, just like you asked. You can't ignore the huge free e-books that you can get via local libraries, the touch screen, the expandable memory etc.

Put it this way, what 3 things can the Kindle to better then the Nook?

1) Amazon has a huge free library too. And you are not limited to what Amazon has to offer.
2) From reading user reports, there are a lot of limitations with the library feature
3) Yes, Nook has expandable memory. So what? I use Amazon for my storage. If I've read it, I remove it. I can get it back anytime I want.
4) Touch screens are a personal preference. Not an advantage.

I do think that that the library and lending features were great ideas but they haven't been fully developed yet. Until more libraries come on board, there are no waits for books and ereaders are as commonly owned as paperback books, I don't see the features as advantages.

Again, it's great there are choices but I do not believe you can say one is clearly better than the other.

 

[disneyfans95]

fair enough and it is great that we have choices!

 

[Imzadi]

Nook users, please correct me if I'm wrong but aren't there some limitiations to the library feature? From what I've been reading not all library participate, the ones that do do not have extensive selections and that there are still waits for books just like at the real library.

I think the idea of the library feature is great, it just seems from user feedback that it's not perfect.

But then again, I could be wrong.

It really depends on the individual library's budget as to which eBooks and how many they want to purchase and how extensively they are willing to lend the books out: local residents only, citywide, statewide, general public for a fee.

Here in NYC, we have the NY Public Library system and it probably has one of the most extensive eBook libraries in the U.S. It lists 13,322 in just the pdf format. We get in some of the newest eBooks on the NYT Bestseller's list all the time. I got on Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol wait list and got it 3 weeks later. I was about #371 on the wait list when I got on.

The wait list for eBooks actually goes much quicker than waiting for a paper book. People can download the eBook at 3 am, as soon as they get email notification. Most programs allow you to "return" the eBook as soon as you are done reading, so the next person in line can get it right away.

Unlike paper books, there is none of the waiting for people to have to schedule when to come into the library to pick up the book, then schedule time to drop it back off again.


When I was checking to see if my nephews (who live upstate,) could get a library card I found ANY NY state resident could get a NY Public Library card, then of course, use it to download the eBooks wherever they are.

Other larger city libraries may offer similar programs. Again, it depends on their individual budgets and terms of use.

On another forum, someone found one library that allows people (even non-residents) to buy a library membership for something like $15/yr. Then they can use it for their eBooks.

Local universities may also have a similar program where people can buy library memberships to use for research purposes. Or perhaps, signing up for a one credit or non-credit course, just to register as a student, may get one a university library card. The vast amount of eBooks one could download from that library may offset the price of the credit and make it worth it.


As for which devices people at the NYPL can download the eBooks to, you can read up on it yourself. It seems to be many. The eBook formats at our library are pdf, ePub and mobipocket (which does not work on Kindles because of the DRM licensing,) but does work on other compatible devices, from what I've read.
http://ebooks.nypl.org/6883A788-3A78-41FA-A692-F88D0A90E6AE/10/257/en/AdvancedSearch.htm
The various devices are listed in the left column.

 

[DVCLiz]

With the exception of the color screen, IMO there is nothing that Nook clearly has over the Kindle. And that would really only impact people that wanted to read mags.

I think it's great that there are different options but I have to disagree that one is CLEARLY better than the other.

The color screen on the Nook is a small strip below the main eink screen, and does not function as the reading screen. It would not be able to be used for magazines - its function is to add touch screen capability for a keypad and for touch screen turning of pages, etc. The color is useful for seeing the small cover of the book, but is otherwise not used in the process of reading an actual book on the Nook.

The iPad is a FANTASTIC way to read magazines, though! I'm using the Zinio app and have replaced two of my paper subscriptions with the digital versions and subscribed to two more. I'm also getting Vanity Fair from its own app monthly - and paying more for it than the paper format just because it's so much more useful to me to have the magazine in a digital format. It's exactly like flipping a page in a magazine - and it is in full color. The magazines are page by page duplicates of the paper versions. Love it!

As far as three things I think the Kindle does better than the Nook:

Choice of screen size - the Kindle has two options currently, the Kindle 2 and the larger Kindle DX. The newest graphite DX delivers the sharpest contrast I've seen yet in any of the eink readers. The Nook comes in only one size. I much prefer the larger DX - more text to the page without having to reduce the font size.

Free 3G standard on all models - I don't want a wifi only version of anything electronic. I want to be able to access the internet or download a book whenever I want to, not whenever I'm near a wifi spot.

Amazon customer service - I have not had any problems with any of my Kindle products, but if I ever do I want the Amazon level of customer service.

That said, I don't see any real evidence that the Nook is "tons" better than the Kindle or "blows Kindle out of the water" or any of the other colorful phrases the PP uses on all of these ereader threads. The bottom line is - buy what you can afford from the company you like best, and if one or another of the small features that make each ereader different from the others appeals to you, then buy that one.

 

[DVCLiz]

the "Nook" or "kindle".

He is an avid reader, and I am seriously considering letting him buy one. ( he has the money to pay for it )

I am wondering if we can limit his access so that he can only get age appropriate material on there?

He is so excited that he wouldn't have to be on the "wait list" at the school library for the books he wants to read

If you own either of these do you think they are good for kids, and which one might be better?

Thanks for any opinions and thoughts.

I just realized I didn't answer your questions!

I would strongly recommend that you allow your 12 year old to purchase a Kindle or Nook and also buy books for it. As far as which reader, choose the least expensive one because he is not going to be needing any fancy features and you will want to monitor his downloading for a while. Once you are both familiar with the product and you see how he is using it, I think you will relax about parental controls, etc. It's easy to monitor what my daughters read on their Kindles because we share my account and I get an email every time they make a purchase. Plus, they know they have to follow my rules about ereaders just like everything else!!

I do know the new Kindle update allows password protection but I'm not sure how that would work for a parent wanting to limit access by a child on the same account.

Have him compare the titles available in both bookstores - find the top tweny or so books he wants to read, and have him price them out. See what, if any differences there are in the two bookstores for his preferred reading material.

Lots of free books and children's classics are available, but if I had a child who actively wanted to read I would be doing everything I could to encourage it, including giving him a reading budget each month and opportunities to earn more "book" money.

Reading for pleasure consistently throughout childhood is one of the best ways to achieve future success - on standardized tests, in the classroom, and in job performance later on. Giving a kid a generous book budget is one of the best things I think a parent can do for a child.

 

[DVCLiz]

Also, does the Nook have text to speech capability?