Nook, Kindle, E-reader... How did you decide...

[mlbuchina]

...and are you happy with your decision?

[Robin M]

I went with Nook because it was through at&t network and not sprint like Kindle. Also total touch screen versus kindles little keyboard. I love my nook. So easy to use.

[Blessedchaos]

After looking at both the Kindle and the Nook, I chose the Nook. I actually liked the Kindle better because it seemed lighter and more user friendly, but I chose the Nook because I could check out library e-books with it, whereas the Kindle didn't offer that option.

 

I don't know if I'm happy with my decision yet. I actually don't use my Nook very much because I keep finding real books on my shelf to read. Nor have I actually checked out a library e-book yet. Now it looks like there is a new Kindle that is even lighter and Epub compatible, allowing for library use.

 

Jen

[musicmommy]

I went with the Nook purely because I use it mostly for checking out things from the library. A friend loaned me her Kindle for a vacation last year so I could read some of her books. I liked them both. It really depends on what you want to use them for. From what I understand, the Kindle books are cheaper though.

[Word Nerd]

I asked for feedback from Kindle and Nook owners here before getting an ereader last November. I love my Kindle! I'm looking forward to being able to check out library books on it later this year.

[Rhonda in TX]

Several reasons I chose my Nook.

 

- My biggest reason is that I refuse to shop at Amazon unless there is no other option.

 

- I am supporting a local business by buying the Nook. (Yes, B&N is a national chain, but there is a store less than a mile from me.)

 

- The Nook allowed lending of books to another Nook, which was not available on the Kindle at the time.

 

- Same as above for checking out ebooks from the library.

[Rhonda in TX]

IFrom what I understand, the Kindle books are cheaper though.

 

I'm not sure about this. The publisher of the book usually sets the price, not Amazon. I'm sure there are exceptions to this and, in that case, the Kindle edition may indeed be cheaper.

[Ellie]

I copied and pasted lots of comments from here and e-mailed them to Mr. Ellie. He read them all, and did research on his own (he's a techie kind of guy), and for Christmas he bought me a Nook. I'm very happy with it...but then again, my friend loves her Kindle, so there you go.

 

He says that more books (formats?) are available for the Nook, and he likes the fact that we can change the battery ourselves, which apparently you cannot do with the Kindle.

[Hannah C.]

I looked seriously at the Nook and the Kindle, and I chose the Kindle without 3G. It's lighter, the screen is better quality, and I disliked the funky touchscreen at the bottom of the Nook. Also, I love Barnes and Noble's stores, but they are much more expensive with print books than Amazon is. I thought that might carry over to the Nook. It isn't something I researched before buying, though, since I already liked the Kindle better. I'm really happy with my Kindle. :)

[Mom-2-7]

I researched. Then I got a Pandigital Novel.

I hacked it and now I have a fully functional android tablet. It can read any type of book that I've run across so far. I also have all those cool little Android apps that waste so much of my time!! Best of all, it was inexpensive!

 

I love my Novel!

[simka2]

Nook Color-- I read every thread I could find on here. Then did a bit more research online. After that I told dh what I was leaning towards and why. I asked him to double check my findings...which was my way of hooking him into purchasing it ;). I love it!!!! I actually underestimated all it was going to be able to do. For one...being the dork I am...I didn't realize it already came with Android. So, I have access to a ton of apps (although not all have been formated yet)

 

The only problem now...is dh keeps trying to steal it from me. He likes Ted Dekker and as he was surfing the BN store he says, "Do you realize I could have gotten the whole Circle Trilogy for $6?!" Yes, it is quite the hit. I can see I am going to have to look into some other Nooks for the kids. We are sunk! :D:tongue_smilie:

[GypsieFamily]

I wanted something that was just a dedicated e-reader without any other frills. We tried the kobo that was significantly cheaper than the kindle (which was then over $300 with shipping to Australia). We hated it and sent it back for a refund and bought the kindles. We tried a few others in a local store and I hated the fact that they tried to do too much instead of being just the dedicated ereader.

 

We love the kindles and the fact that they are just dedicated ereaders, but we've had problems with a few with screens. I haven't had a nook or learnt anything about them.

[Lady Florida.]

I researched and it came down to either Nook or Kindle. I chose the Kindle with wi-fi and 3G. I wanted a dedicated ereader, not one that doubles as a tablet, so even if I had gone with the Nook it wouldn't have been the Nook Color. Some reasons I chose the Kindle:

 

-Pearl E-Ink which is easiest on the eyes

-long battery life

-larger selection

-Amazon's wonderful customer service

-lighter than the Nook

 

My library didn't have lending so that didn't matter. Now the Kindle is going to have library lending, and it turns out my library system is looking into lending.

[Amira]

We've been happy Sony Reader users for almost two years now and love them. We all have our own as our basic reader. We also use our iPad mostly as an ereader and we have a Kindle DX. We like both of them too, but for general reading, Sonys are what we love. I find my Sony Reader much easier to navigate than our Kindle, and I never much liked the Nook or the NookColor as much when I spent a lot of time testing them at B&N. One drawback to most of the Sony Readers is that they don't have wi-fi, but that's not a problem for us since the vast majority of our ebooks are from the library or our own scanned books.

 

I honestly don't think there is one "best" ereader out there. We need a variety of readers because we have a variety of ebooks. Sonys make us happy, but I don't think you'd go wrong with a Nook or Kindle. Mostly you need to figure out what you want to read and then choose one of the devices that best displays the books you need.

[aliya]

I researched. Then I got a Pandigital Novel.

I hacked it and now I have a fully functional android tablet. It can read any type of book that I've run across so far. I also have all those cool little Android apps that waste so much of my time!! Best of all, it was inexpensive!

 

I love my Novel!

 

I did the exact same thing. But I also have a Kindle, and I love them both.

I use the Pandigital at home, especially when I read at night. It's backlit and I can read without keeping DH awake.

 

If I want to take something with me when I'm out and about, I take the Kindle because it's lighter and much better for use in bright light.

 

The customer support for the Kindle is excellent. I bought ours at Target, and not too long after we got it, the screen went bad. I called Amazon, and then sent a replacement out to me overnight.

[mlbuchina]

Thank you, everyone. I can see that this is going to take a lot of thought as to how I want to use one.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Original 3G/wifi Nook, would buy it again in a heartbeat.

I would NOT buy a Nook Color over this one, though I do long for one because I am a gadget freak. Battery life alone isn't worth the change, let alone reading on an LCD screen would kill my eyes. It would be awesome to have one just for my cookbooks and knitting patterns though. :)

I would not buy a Kindle because I take issue with anything with proprietary formatting. Same reason I steer clear of Apple anything. I do like the new display though, it is sharper and clearer than my Nook. Then again, on May 24th, Barnes and Noble is supposed to announce a new Nook product so we shall see....

Pros:

-lightweight

-6" screen

-e-ink display and touch screen navigation make it the best of both worlds.

-password protection

-huge capacity and ability to add up to a 16 GB micro SD card class 2, 4 and 6 are supported

-you can page turn on the left, the right or swiping the touch screen in the middle and you can do it with incredible speed thanks to the latest upgrade

-battery replaceable by user

-chess and suduko, if it matters to you, it doesn't to me

-outside mono speaker as well as a stereo headphone jack

-mp3 player

-dictionary

-sync across multiple devices, handy if, like me, you also have your Nook on your phone or PC

-ability to annotate and bookmark

-Android OS (easily rooted for more functionality)

-supported formats:

* EPUB

* PDB

* PDB (Non DRM)

* PDF

* Graphics: JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP

* Audio: MP3

 

Cons:

With the last firmware upgrade, absolutely none. For my part, I think the Nook is the best ereader on the market at this time. I do wish it had a little bit better organizational system still but the new "shelving" ability made a huge difference. I have about 71 shelves at the moment and 706 books on it.

[JudoMom]

I went with the Kindle, and am very happy with it. I wanted a dedicated e-reader, not another computer device. I get distracted enough with my laptop; the last thing I needed was the ability to surf the web while I was trying to read. Though if I'm out and about I have used the 3G internet to check a few things online if I needed to (it's slow and not user friendly, but will do in a pinch if you have no other option).

 

I also like the e-ink display. It looks just like a book. No strain on the eyes.

 

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but Amazon announced that later this year people will be able to check out library books on their Kindle.

[katilac]

yes, you need to think about how YOU will use the e-reader. for example, the reading in bright sunlight was huge for me, so that knocked out all of the backlit readers in favor of a reflective screen. and I decided that some factors that come up frequently in discussion weren't that important to me. for example, it does seem better to be able to change your own battery, but in reality, it's a non-issue for most people, b/c the battery often lasts just as long as the device. my m-i-l has the original kindle, and the battery has never needed changing.

 

my other recommendation is to actually hold them in your hands, once you narrow it down to a few choices. all of the big names and most of the small ones can be handled at local stores - Nook at BN, Kindle at Target, most of the others at Best Buy and similar stores. once you get past the 'big' factors such as reflective vs backlit screen, a lot comes down to personal preference in how the gadget looks and feels, and how the controls work.

[GTJo1996]

I love my kindle. I even named it Kenny. It was a gift and something I would not have spent the money on for another gadget. But, oh boy do I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It's lighter than a real book and handy for travelling. I admit I hate the public library. I always misplace my books or forget to return them by the due date. I'm just not a goo library user I guess!

 

My 7 yr old DD loves it and begs for me to do our read-alouds off the kindle. I like that I can download classics like Pollyanna or Treasure Island for free. One of the only things I hate is that you can't exactly tell how far you have read in the book. Yes, it tells you you are 20% done, BUT if there are 200 pages in the book and there is a 25 page "preview" of the author's next book at the end, you get to the end of your book at like 90%. Maybe that's a dumb complaint, but I hate reading a really gripping story and have it end abruptly.

 

My hubby likes to read books which contain footnotes, whereas I only read novels or self-help stuff. He says the Kindle is a pain for the way it handles footnotes. Supposedly the Nook has that handled better.

[YourFidgetyFriend]

I went with Nook because of the lending feature, library access, and most of all because I liked the cases better. Yes, I understand this would be an inane reason for most people, but I am totally styling with my Nook :lol:

[Sun]

Kindle - lighter, better e-Ink technology on the latest ones, cheaper than Nook for wi-fi version, I already shopped at Amazon a ton, easier to use (for me) than Nook, fabulous customer service if problems arise

 

Kindle will have library lending soon and you can already loan books to a friend on it.

 

I think the best is to go to Best Buy where you can try a few different ones out and see which feels and looks best to you. It may not be what you expect!

[Remudamom]

I love my Kindle. I hate touchscreens.

[tntgoodwin]

The Kindle is the standard for e-readers. Check out reviews from any tech/computer oriented website or magazine...the Kindle almost always gets the best reviews.

I like that it ties into Amazon's bookstore.

I like that I can use it to read PDFs.

I like having the physical keyboard instead of a touch screen.

I liked the price ($139)

I believe B&N's books are overpriced and the company is going through some turmoil. I wanted something that would be supported for a long time.