I can't decide!! I like the Kindle because it's cheaper ($114; displays ads once in awhile) and it seems to have more of a selection. But I like the newest Nook because it's smaller, has a better battery, and best of all, has a touch screen. But do I really want to pay the extra $30 for a touch screen? I don't know...help? I'm leaning towards the Nook at this point, but I heard the Kindle has way more books for purchase. Does anyone know for sure, or can give me their experience with the cheap-o version of the Kindle, the one with ads? How annoying is it?
I got Peter a Kindle for Christmas. The main deciding factor was the Kindle screen. Everything I read said it was better for reading in bright sunlight-- like the back yard in summer.
What I like about the Nook is that if you are in a Barnes and Noble store, you can "browse" and read books for free. I don't go outside in the sunlight, so I didn't care about that.
Big picture, both have marvelous reviews. I don't think you can go wrong either way, so it really is a matter of which hairs you choose to split.
I agree that they are both great eReaders. I LOOOOVE Mr. Nookington. As for the amount of books available, actually the Nook has a few more because it's open source. I can even download books from my public library (I'm not sure if the Kindle can do that yet). There are so many LEGIT free books that you will have tons to read no matter what. You can get books from Kobo and Smashwords for both formats, and they both run great sales and deals all the time. If you're on Facebook, make sure you friend the fan pages of whichever format you choose. They will hook you up with the freebies. I have over 200 books on Mr. Nookington, and I would say I've only had to actually pay for about 1/4 of them. Again, this is through totally legit and legal sites (like Barnes and Noble!) You just have to watch the sales!
I love my Nook. I used a Kindle, a Nook and the Sony e-readers before making my decision. I just felt more comfortable using the Nook. I like that you can get books from the library, lend books to friends who have a Nook and I love how the screen is. I have 300 books on my Nook right now and all of them were free. I think my only problem is I don't ever know which book to read next … but I guess I'd have that problem with the other ones as well.
My wife suggested the Kindle ....... so I went along with her suggestion..... (Sometimes husbands just know the right thing to do...)
Kindle because of the screen (it looks like a real book). I also am friends with a librarian and she says that by the end of the year we should be able to download books from the library onto the Kindle.
I own a Kindle and really enjoy it. The browser and touchscreen is cool on the Nook, but I like the screen better on the Kindle. As Alice said, either choice would be a good one. I guess just let your pocket book decide!
I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into the mix. With an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad, you can now get electronic books. You can get four ebook platforms - ibooks, Barnes & Nobel, Amazon, and one other. Yesterday, I downloaded ibooks to my iPod touch, downloaded a book, and have read for 2 evenings now. If I were to get an electronic book reading device (other than my iPod touch, I would sped the extra $300 and go with an iPad simply because you have access to all the eboook platforms, as well as everything else that an iPad offers.
Remember that there are THREE different kinds of nooks. There's the nook color, which is 100% touchscreen, in color (obviously), and lights up the same way that and iPad does. There's the newest nook, which is 100% touchscreen, black and white, and uses e-ink technology. Finally there's the older model nook (what I have), which is part touch-screen (menu at the bottom), black and white, and uses e-ink. The e-ink technology in the nook is identical to the Kindle. It's the e-ink that allows for reading in sunlight, no eyestrain, etc. It looks like a regular page in a regular book. No backlighting. You would need to use a booklight with it if you wanted to read it in the dark. It's relatively inexpensive and there are no ads. Besides that, the Kindle has too many buttons for my taste. I found it a little difficult to get used to navigating the Kindle using the buttons when I tried it out in the store. To me the nook is much more intuitive, and I love that it has no buttons. I love my nook. There are thousands of free books at Barnes and Noble online. Besides that, the nook can accept all sorts of other, non BN formats. You can get free books from places like Project Gutenberg. As of right now, the nook is the only e-reader that lets you check out books from the library.
I think that's a good point. As long as a person isn't bothered by the backlighting, an iPad seems like a good option. For me, I like the e-ink because it doesn't hurt my eyes when I read for long periods of time like an iPad would.
Love my Kindle! My battery has lasted up to two months without charging. I have never seen an ad, and I have the cheap version. I can share all my books with other Kindle users. I can even browse the internet on it! So I would say the cheap Kindle is great.
Jem-the newest version of Kindle comes with ads, for a slightly cheaper price. I have the more pricey Kindle (I think it was $189). I love it because it has 3G, and I can download books wherever and whenever I want. The e-ink was my biggest influence. I read a lot at the lake and the pool.
I don't hv 1, but I'll have to bring up this thread again when I'm ready to buy although I'm sure by then, there will be something else out!
I absolutely love my kindle. One great thing is that books become free all the time. I have hundreds (literally) of books that I got for free-and not just the classics. Go on to the amazon kindle discussion forums and you can find some of the topics that list free books.
I also want to add that Amazon's customer service is amazing. I had a problem with my kindle once, and I had a new one within two days, no questions asked (and I live in Hawaii)! They really stand behind their product!
Farfromhome, I can say the same for the Nook, too. Barnes and Nobles is wonderful with helping you answer questions. Most of my friends have a Nook, so we like to have our Nookbook discussions. I think that you'll get a quality product with either one.
And what's nice about the nook is that if you do need support, you can bring your nook to a real BN store and get in-person assistance. Aside from a few nuances and aesthetic differences, I really do think that both the nook and the Kindle are good. I would probably avoid any of the other e-readers, though.
I just got a Kindle, and I love it. My battery has been going for over a month now. I love the screen and it is so easy to use. I am able to borrow books from my sister who also has a Kindle.
I love my Kindle. I tried both the Nook and the Kindle and to me, the Kindle was significantly lighter. Although, maybe that has changed since I got it.
Wow, such great advice! I knew free books were available but I didn't realize how many places have them. How exciting!! Still leaning towards the newest Nook. This is a present to me for surviving another year and no longer being Initially Licensed (put in my 3 years ) The Nook I want comes out on June 10th, our last day of school...:lol: I plan to head right to B&N and splurge!
This thread isn't helping me!! I'm still very confused. Which one is the Barnes and Nobles one again? And which one is the Amazon one? Didn't Amazon delete one of its books and many people were annoyed because they paid for it and now didn't have access to the book anymore? Can someone make like a venn diagram?
I love books (physical, real books!) and was rather opposed to this whole idea, but I received the Kindle as a gift and I actually enjoy it. I think had I bought an e-reader I would have chosen the Nook for the touchscreen, but I appreciated the gift. I have the newest, cheapest version and there are ads whenever the screen is off (who cares?), and a small banner ad at the very bottom of the homepage (again, who cares?). I think it's nice that I can check my Facebook if I want to while taking a break from reading, and I honestly don't get annoyed by browsing the Internet in black and white. I'm somewhat techy, but I can do it "old school" as well. That said, many sites rely on flash which you can't really use with a Kindle. But I don't need to be fully connected at all times.
I got my Kindle for Mother's Day & I love it! I've "liked" several different pages on fb & have downloaded many free books. I have the version with the ads & I don't notice them.
I just bought a Nook Color. The battery doesn't last as long but I though it would be nice to see magazines and kids books in color - or the internet. I am reading my first book but haven't done much else yet. I bought a cover that isn't pretty (darn it) but sets up like a tripod and I am enjoying being able to sit it up on he arm of the couch or the table to read without holding it. I think I would like to go to the lessons they have at the store cause everything isn't intuitive to me - and ready a whole manual isn't happening.
I don't like the idea of the Nook color...I can't imagine reading books on a real screen. I remember when Kindles first came out, I thought the concept was stupid. Who wants to read a book on a screen? My eyes!! But then I saw the first e-ink book and I was hooked. I'm so glad they're affordable now
I've got to admit, I'm eating my words. I always swore that I would never get an ereader--- I hate reading even long posts here that aren't broken up into paragraphs. But I've pretty much stolen the Kindle I got for Peter for Christmas. I LOVE always having something to read, and the screen reads just like an actual book. If he wants one for the summer, I'll be happy to get him a replacement. (It's a good thing I also got him a GPS, which he loves. Otherwise I might feel a little guilty about stealing the gift I got him : ) ) As to color, I tend to read books as opposed to magazines, so it's a non-issue.
I'm still not convinced. As much as I'm willing to try new technology, this one somehow it's not getting to me yet. Can you really enjoy reading from a screen more than from a real book? I'm pretty sure that once I get to try it I will be addicted to it just like I am to my smart phone. I don't think I'm really to give up my books yet.
Marci, I was like you. I swore I would never want to read off one. I love books, I have hundreds of them. I love the feel, the smell, just hodling and turning the pages. My parents got me the Kindle without me knowing about it. (I really thought the set of Paula Deen pans I had wrapped "for Mama" was really for me.) I have LOVED my Kindle, though. I can pack it in my purse easily and read everywhere. I was hooked the night that I realized I had left my couple of Because of Winn Dixie at school and I was able to pull it up on the Kindle in less than a minute. I still pick up books that I have and read them, but I have read dozens on the Kindle since getting it for Christmas.
Marci, I felt the same way. I resisted for awhile, thinking I would never want to give up my "real book" feel. All I can say is this: I don't know a *single* person who regrets their decision to get an eReader. The vast majority of my friends (all avid readers to begin with) actually admit to reading MORE now than they did before. I even balk at "real books" now. If it's not in epub format, I won't buy it! It's NOTHING like the apps on the smart phone or iPad (well, the Nook Color is, but not the others). It looks like a book page! You get spoiled by its light weight and its portability. I can't say enough good about this technology.
Another plus, you can hold it in one hand and turn the page! I had a friend in high school who could do that with a real book, but my fingers are too short, but with the Kindle, I can snuggle up at night and just use one hand for reading, or sitting outside, or (and this is the cat's favorite) one hand for reading and one free for scratching her. It's just so easy!
Marci, if there's a Target (or a Staples) near you, go and take a look at the Kindle display. I'm guessing it will convince you. It's what got me seriously thinking about it. The screen on the Kindle was nothing like a computer screen; it really did look like a book. One feature I love is that every time I open it up, it returns me to where I left off-- no bookmarks or anything needed.
I was concerned too, by not having a "real" book in my hands. But I love my Kindle! I was also worried about being able to buy all of these books. I've had my Kindle for about 2 weeks now & I have downloaded probably 50 books. . . all free! By the end of the year, they are saying that I'll be able to check books out from the library on my Kindle (that is if I have a library card, my town's library is closing) I will still read "real" books, when I'm floating in my pool. I'm also not planning on taking it with me when I go to the beach, worried about sand. I'm also not taking it to the public pool, only because I'm worried about someone taking it.
Another thing that's so great about e-readers is that you can be in the middle of a couple of books at once and not have to carry around a whole stack of books. I am usually in the middle of two or three books at any given time. They're usually in different genres and I just read one or the other according to my mood at the moment. Or on a long trip, if I'm not sure whether I'll be in the mood for a thriller or a comedy or whatever....Now I don't have to pack a bunch of books! An e-reader lets you download hundreds, maybe thousands, of books, and it's super easy to switch from one to another. I have just over 400 nookbooks. All but three of them were completely, legally free. The three I paid for were the Hunger Games series, and each book only cost between $5 and $8.
Only the nookColor is backlit. The screen looks just like an iPad or a large cell phone. The others have e-ink. They look like a regular book page, no lighting whatsoever.
I bought the leather case with the light for my Kindle. It was like $60 on Amazon but well worth it! You can probably find them cheaper on ebay.
I bought a cover as well. It's a small light and it fits perfectly in the case. The plus is that the case protects the Kindle when I travel with it.