If you've been looking for a Kindle Reader, you have come to the right place. There are many stores that sell them online, and going through all these stores is very time consuming. I've looked around and found some very good prices on Amazon.com
For anyone who is wanting to choose between the Nook and a Kindle, then possibly I can be of help. Me and my wife have owned a Nook (an original one, not the newest Nook Color, a Kindle DX, and also a Kindle 2. As soon as Amazon announced that the Kindle 3 was coming out this last summer, we immediately pre ordered not one but two Kindle 3′s.
The Wi-Fi only model in white, along with the Wi-Fi 3g model in graphite. They arrived in the later part of August, and we have been using them quite frequently since that time. For us, the Amazon Kindle is superior to the Nook, however Nook is a good gadget having its individual advantages which I will talk about down below. I am going to end this particular review with just a few words concerning the Nook Color.
To start with, the main reasons why we love the Kindle:
1. Speed
With our experience, the Kindle is incredibly zippy when compared to the Nook. The page refresh speed and (time it will take a brand new page to show up whenever you push the page turn button was in fact way faster on the Kindle 2 than on the Nook, and it is even faster yet on the Kindle 3. However, I just read an entire book on the Nook, and I did not see the slower page refresh to generally be irritating. You get accustomed to this, and it’s really not an issue.
For me personally, the more very important speed difference concerns navigation. When moving the cursor about the screen, as an example to choose a book out of your library, or even jump to a new chapter by choosing it inside the table of contents.
On the Kindle, you can do this by just pushing a 5 way rocker button, and then the cursor proceeds very fast. On the Nook, you need to do this by activating the particular color LCD touch screen (that normally powers off if not being used, to save battery life.
A virtual rocker button shows up on the screen, and then you touch it to maneuver the cursor. Sadly, the Nook cursor movements are very sluggish. It might not be an issue to you personally, but it surely got annoying for me, particularly seeing that my wife’s Kindle was so responsive and quick.
Around November in 2010, Nook received a software update which increases the page refresh speed, which helps make the navigation a lot more responsive. I actually returned my Nook a few months back, and so I can not let you know if the Nook’s performance is currently comparable to the Kindle’s, however Nook owners within the remarks section have persuaded me that the application up-date increases the experience of utilizing the Nook.
If overall performance is a big thing in your choice, then go to a Best Buy and do a comparison of the Kindle and the Nook side-by-side.
2. Life of the Battery
Typically the Nook’s color LCD touch screen drains its battery fairly quickly. I really could never acquire more than five days out of a charge. The Kindle 2 had a much longer battery life compared to the Nook, and the Kindle 3 has got even longer life. In the 3-4 months since we received the Kindle 3′s, we generally get three weeks of battery life in between charges. (We keep the wireless off about 50 % of the time in order to save battery power.)
3. Screen Comparison
You might have seen Amazon’s claims the Kindle 3 e-ink provides 50% greater contrast compared to Kindle 2 or any other e-ink devices. I’ve no way of particularly measuring the improvement in the contrast, however I can tell you the fact that the Kindle 3 screen unquestionably has more contrast than the Kindle 2 or the Nook.
The visible difference is noticeable, and more importantly the more screen contrast means much less eyestrain when ever reading around poorly illuminated rooms.
Inside well lit areas, the Nook as well as the Kindle 2 have sufficient contrast allowing for more comfortable reading. However I frequently read in low light conditions, such as in bed during the night, or even in an inadequately lit room. During these situations, reading on a Nook or Kindle 2 was really a bit uncomfortable and frequently afflicted me with a mild headache.
After I got the Kindle 3, the additional contrast was instantly apparent, and made it much more comfortable to read under less than ideal lighting conditions. Should you opt for a Nook, just be sure you’ve got a good reading lamp close by.
4. The Weight
The Nook weighs approximately 3 ounces greater than the new Kindle, and you can actually really feel a real difference. With out a case, Nook continues to be light enough to hold in one hand for long reading periods with out fatigue. However in a case, the Nook is really a heavy sucker.
The revolutionary Kindle 3 is so light, even in a case; we find it more comfortable holding in one hand for lengthy reading periods.
Factors why some people may prefer the Nook:
5. In Store Experience
If you want some assistance with your nook, you’ll be able to go to just about any Barnes & Noble and have an actual human being to help you. You’ll be able to bring your nook in to the coffee shop area of the local B&N retailer and browse any kind of book free of charge for up to 1 hour daily.
Whenever you take your nook to Barnes and Noble, various in store special deals as well as the periodic free book pop-up on your screen.
6. A User Replaceable Battery
Normal rechargeable batteries at some point lose their capability to keep a charge. The Nook’s battery is actually user replaceable and also relatively inexpensive. In order to change the Kindle’s battery, Amazon would like you to ship the Kindle to them, and they’ll ship you back a different one as opposed to the one that you sent.
It will be the very same model, by way of example should you send out a white Kindle 3, you receive a white Kindle 3 back again, however, you receive a “refurbished” one, Not necessarily the actual one that you sent them). I do not like this whatsoever.
But, a number of individuals have posted feedback that have reduced my concerns. Somebody researched statistics about the Kindle’s battery and also did a few simple calculations to demonstrate that it should really work for several or more years. Prior to that happening, I am going to surely have up-graded to some newer Kindle model by then.
In addition, someone discovered a few companies which sell Kindle batteries with reasonable prices and provide how-to videos which demonstrate the way you can replace the battery yourself. Doing so might void the Kindle’s warranty; however the battery will most likely not fail until long after the actual warranty runs out.
7. The ePub Format
Nook makes use of the ePub format, a popular open format. Amazon utilizes a proprietary e-book format. Numerous libraries will “loan” eBooks in the ePub format that works with the nook and not the kindle. However, a totally free as well as reputable program known as Calibre enables you to translate e-books within one format to a different format.
It supports numerous formats, which includes ePub and also Kindle. The only real catch is it does not work properly with copy-protected e-books, which means you can not, as an example, purchase a Kindle book (that is copy protected) and convert it to ePub so that you can read it on the Nook.
8. The Nook’s Color LCD Touch Screen
The very first Nook contains a small color Liquid crystal display screen on the bottom for the navigation. This can be a pro or a con, based on your preferences. It can make the Nook hipper and less boring compared to Kindle.
A number of people enjoy utilizing the color LCD to see their particular library or find their way. I used to do that in the beginning. However after a couple weeks of usage, along with comparisons with my own wife’s Kindle, I discovered the dedicated buttons with the Kindle are much easier and considerably faster to use compared to the Nook’s color touch screen.
Furthermore, I noticed the intense light in the color screen distracting whenever I was wanting to read a book or newspaper. Although if not in use, it shuts off following a minute 2 to save the battery.
9. Expandable Capability
The Nook is sold with 2GB of memory. If you want more capacity, it is possible to insert a microSD card to increase it to as much as 16GB of more memory. The Kindle comes equipped with 4GB of internal memory, which is double the amount of the Nook.
However, there is no way to expand it. Kindle does not allow memory space cards of any sort. For those who primarily use your gadget to read e-books and newspapers, this really should not be an issue. I personally possess more than One hundred books in my Kindle, and I have utilized merely a tiny fraction of the memory space.
However, as soon as Kindle’s memory space fills up, I simply delete books that I don’t need access to immediately, and you can always restore all of them later, within mere seconds, and free of charge.