trying to decide between Nook and Nookcolor - kids books?

[chrismartinique]

I am having a hard time here.... I would like the flexibility of my daughters being able to look at a book on the Nook, but I want them to learn and love the feeling of a real book. The kids books on Nook would be predominantly when we are traveling or short on space. Their everyday lives will include real books.

I am concerned about the eink versus LCD screen (unless the eink benefit to the eyes is just marketing....feel free to post)

are there very many kids books available on the Plain Old Nook? I realize they will not be in color. I realize they will not be interactive. I will interact with her. Thats not my concern.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

My sis just got the nookcolor. I have the regular nook, and i am insanely jealous. It is much cooler.

The only prob is...there are not many free/cheap books for kids, so you won't save any $$$. this may change as the nookcolor popularity grows.

 

[JusbKoz]

Hi, I bought my 12 year old daughter the nook and my sister bought the nook color. I WISH I had spent the extra $100 for the nook color.
The nook color is easier to use and navigate for adults and children. My daughter uses my sisters whenever she can. Plus the nook color pics in the books are just so much more pleasent for kids to look at and will hold their attenction more.
My vote would be for the nook color.

 

[bellarella]

We got a Kindle the other week.

I would not go with the Nook Color. Reading on an LCD screen is just hard on the eyes. As kids grow up, their books are usually in b&w and don't have many illustrations, so you aren't losing anything by not having color. My older two are both reading books on the Kindle and really enjoying it. My younger one is just learning to read. I downloaded a few of the "I Can Read" books for him, just so he could also use the Kindle. Yeah, the pictures weren't in color, but he still liked being able to use the Kindle. His books are so small, it's not a big deal for me to bring them with us when we travel. As they get bigger, then having them in eInk won't be much of a difference from having the physical book, since the pictures are generally black and white anyway.

IMHO (which may be an unpopular one) the Color Nook is not really comparable to the Nook or Kindle -- it's a cheap iPad and you get what you pay for it. I would either get a Nook/Kindle or wait for tablets to become more robust (or for the iPad to drop in price).

 

[ccdoster]

I am having this same dilemma for myself. I've been researching eReaders for the last 4 months (and still haven't bought). I was very concerned with eInk as I do a lot of reading but I think I've finally reached a decision. I think.

I'm pretty sure I'm going with the Nook Color as I can do internet and apps as well besides the eReader (a poor man's Ipad).
I figure I will still go to the library and still get real books but I will use the nook as an eReader primarily for traveling. I don't think I'll be staring at the screen for 5 hours straight on a daily basis so I should be OK.

Interested to hear what you decide.

 

[chrismartinique]

I am busy....lots of kids. I don't get to read near as much as I want... an hour here or there is the norm, so the screen should be ok, I think. But, I do have trouble with my eyes for long periods on the computer screen, so that is why I am debating.

I have a smart phone, so its not the internet that I need in a pinch. I just like the idea of color and magazines and kids books.

 

[bellarella]

I am busy....lots of kids. I don't get to read near as much as I want... an hour here or there is the norm, so the screen should be ok, I think. But, I do have trouble with my eyes for long periods on the computer screen, so that is why I am debating.

I have a smart phone, so its not the internet that I need in a pinch. I just like the idea of color and magazines and kids books.

Another thing to consider is that the NookColor is almost twice as heavy as the Kindle. The Nook Color weighs just slightly less than a pound, the regular Nook weights 11-12 oz, and the Kindle weighs 8.5 oz.

For me, the difference on my eyes between reading eInk and LCD is quite noticeable.

Also, I wouldn't buy a device until you sit down and try them. The interface on the Kindle/Nook/NookColor are all very different.

 

[Priorityonecb]

I have the Nook. It's the E-ink technology that sold me, and continues to stop me from going Nook Color. Both my daughter and I get migraines, but we can read our Nook for hours with no problems.

 

[chrismartinique]

i live very rural. No Barnes and Noble.... No Best Buy near me. I cannot do hands on very unless I travel over an hour.

I read in an Amazon review that e-ink flashes (or something like this) frequently. Is this so? That would be annoying, I would think.

 

[RitaE]

What age kids are we talking about?

The advantage of the nook Color is of course its ability to display pictures nicely which the greyscale readers do not do. I think that is great for the early readers that still need pictures to cue words.

We don't have a nook Color here but we have iPADS and sometimes I'll put a picture book or comic on them for my 2nd grader to play around with. I really consider them to be more entertainment/video devices than books though.

Once the kids get into Chapter Books, I personally prefer the eInk screens because I want my kid to have the feeling of a book. Words on a screen.

For myself I definitely prefer the eInk screens. I'm on a computer a good part of the day and by night when I'm ready to read before bed I'm usually fighting eye fatique anyway. I don't think I could handle more LCD reading then. I don't think a kid would really have my problem though.

 

[bellarella]

i live very rural. No Barnes and Noble.... No Best Buy near me. I cannot do hands on very unless I travel over an hour.

I read in an Amazon review that e-ink flashes (or something like this) frequently. Is this so? That would be annoying, I would think.

Only two things that I can think of:

1. They have a broken reader.

2. They are talking about the "flash" when you turn pages. I don't think this is particular to the Kindle. eInk is kind of like magnetized ink. It doesn't take any power to hold it in place (which is why you can get 3+ weeks out of a single charge on a Nook or Kindle, but only 8 hours out of NookColor). But each time you turn the page the ink needs to be "reorganized" into the new words. So when you hit the next page button, the screen goes black for a split second and then the new page is displayed. I don't really notice it at all.

If you are looking at this as a book replacement, I'd really go for the Nook or Kindle. If you are looking to use it more for magazine reading, then the NookColor makes more sense. As for the kids books -- I'm a little more torn. On one hand, the color pictures are nice. On the other, my children moved on to text only or text with b&w picture books rather quickly, and at the age they were reading books with color pictures, I wouldn't have been comfortable giving them a $250 device with a glass screen.

Sorry you don't have a place near by that you can try. One other note, the NookColor has a full touch screen, the Nook has a touch screen just at the bottom, and the Kindle uses a physical keyboard. For me, either the full touch screen or the physical keyboard were the easiest to use.

Have you checked the return policies? Maybe just go with your best guess and then return it if it doesn't work -- or buy the NookColor and either the regular Nook or Kindle and return the one you don't like.

 

[chrismartinique]

thanks, bellarella (love your name..my daughter is ella).

Not necessarily a book replacement (esp for the kids). They would use it only in travel, while waiting for appts etc. For me...admit kind of a toy that does a lot of things I like to do I don't read voraciously... I read when I am able.... someday I hope to have more spare time to read. I love mags for small time frames. I just hate to sit somewhere and not be doing something, so I am always toting a folded mag in my purse or a book if it fits. When we travel to my dad's (out of town) its always a tote bag stuffed with magazines, a book, the sale ads etc.

the other thing I worry about with the Nook or Kindle is the need for a book lite. I don't want to be handling extra stuff. But, that darn LDC vs e-ink really concerns me

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Can you download each of the apps for each reader to your computer so you get a basic feel for the screens? (does the nook color have an app for pc? I guess it would help if I knew that before I suggested it)

I have a kindle and absolutely never want a nook color. I haven't checked out a regular nook but I know I wanted e-ink and ended up with a kindle.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I have a Kindle and a Nook Color.. I like them both . The Nook Color is a great device. For what you pay, you get a lot. It has a decent web browser, Pandora radio, and you can watch videos. If you root it, it does even more, it is also due for an update soon which will expand its abilities more.

I vote Nook Color. It seems like it will suit your needs well. And you can get library books on it like the regular nook.

 

[chrismartinique]

does the NC feel very heavy? I know its nearly a pound.... that seems like a lot, but then again, I bet a hardback book weighs the same.

 

[Straycat]

I have a color nook, and kids (two 4 year olds) and am very happy I went with the color.

For example, at the kids doctor last month, DH was bored in the waiting room. I pulled out the nook color and he got to spend the time reading the latest copy of PC Magazine. He was thrilled.

We get into the exam room and there are no toys like in the waiting room, so the kids start bouncing off the walls. I have DH turn off PC magazine and boot up a kids Read To Me book. They (kids and DH) spend the rest of the doctors visit reading the free book 'The 12 Hidden Days of Christmas'. Its kind of like a Wheres Waldo thing where you find the two turtle doves, partriage in a pair tree, etc. We only have four kids 'read to me' books so far.

For my own use, I'm loving it. With my busy kids/work life, I don't have time to go to the library or the bookstore for myself. But now, I have books to read when I have free time at night. I like to read in bed, or on the couch with the lights dimmed down so the backlit screen is great for me. I get migraines and I have spent hours at a time reading and the backlight does not cause me any problems. If I sit down to read and I look at the screen and think 'wow, thats just too bright', there are six settings to fix that. You can choose a dark background, a grey one, butter, sepia and a couple others. Plus, the brightness level is adjustable too. Trust me, it is not a problem.

Like others have mentioned, the Nook Color is due for an update within the next month or two that will make it have more aspects of a tablet, like the iPad.

The only drawback to the Nook Color is battery life. If you are the type that will read more than 8 hours at a time, then you may want to go with the regular Nook or a Kindle.

 

[rusty4]

My DH got me the Nook Color for Christmas. I had not asked for one or done any research. He knew I would like to have the internet surfing ability. I have a desktop and a netbook that is so slow I want to throw it across the room when I try and use it. Therefore I do not use the netbook anymore. It was as slow as dialup.

Anyway, I was kinda upset that DH would spend so much money. I seriously thought that the screen would hurt my eyes and I would not enjoy reading books on it. OMG was I wrong! I love it!! It does not hurt your eyes at all. My computer screen does but the Nook Color does not. I love being able to read in bed after he is asleep and not disturb him at all. I adjust the brightness down to read in the dark.

My DS6 loves it too. I have downloaded cheap books that I have found for him. Color and black and white. He likes them both. DH has played the games on it. Hoping that they come out with more.

Funny thing is my Dad got the Kindle for Christmas as well. I hate that thing!! It was hard for me to get some books to download for him. The buttons are too small for his hands and too hard for him to read. In fact I had a hard time finding the font button for him on the Kindle it was so small. I think that he is going to send it back. It is lighter than the Nook Color but a book is heavy anyway. The only thing that the kindle had that I liked is the page turner button on the side. With the Nook Color you touch or swipe the screen a small bit. Still easier than turning a page.

The internet surfing is just about as fast as my desktop. I can even get on the Dis on it. That will be perfect for our trip next week. I can use it in the airports.

 

[chrismartinique]

getting close to the nookcolor...

 

[kkacar]

I have a NookColor and love mine!!! Love it! I read all the time on and the screen does not bother me at all.

I love love love mine, but that is me.

kelli

 

[dizneenut]

I just got a Nook Color and I loooove it!!
Screen does not bother my eyes at all, and I love that you can get ebooks from the library.