Nook vs Kindle

[Ohdanigirl]

If you have one of these, could you offer the pros and cons? If you have experience with both, could you compare them for me?

 

I am thinking of buying one for ds13, and ds11. Mostly for school related books, but also for their free reading.

 

Danielle

[duckens]

We JUST got a Nook a month ago. I knew we needed one when I went to library and two of the two books that I wanted to get for dd5 were only available by download. There have been a few other books in the past year that I wanted from the library, but have only been available as an electronic resource, so this has been building for a while.

 

The reason we choose a Nook was because the Nook is the most library-friendly (at least in Iowa). I don't want to buy every book; I just want to check them out.

 

Disclaimer: Of the 6 major publishers, only 1 will currently sell e-content to libraries. I feel as if we are for books in the same place we were just after Napster but as itunes was getting started.

 

Kindles seem to be very Amazon compatible. It's not that you can't use a Kindle to check things out from the library; your choices may be limited. As I understand it, there is also a certain amount of marketing to you with a Kindle. For example, if you purchase book X, your will receive comments of "You liked book X; would you like to purchase book Y?"

 

Our library has been having "Tech Talk" every other month where Justin, our tech librarian, demonstrates how to set up one's Kindle or Nook. He also fields random questions of all types. Justin is also available at the help desk most days. Is there someone at your library where you can get good and non-salesman information about which ereader is most compatible for the needs of your family?

 

You say that you will use one for "school related books." Will you be purchasing or checking out from the library? See the disclaimer above, and if you want to check out the books, you'd better go see your "Justin" to see which reader will be more compatible for what you specifically want.

[Mom-2-7]

We got dd9 a Nook for her birthday recently. I hate it!

Barnes & Noble doesn't have anything free. No free books. No free apps. Even Fruit Ninja costs money.

 

I have the Kindle app on my IPad and I have TONS of free kids books through Amazon. My library also has more Kindle books than EPub books for loan.

 

I am either going to sell her Nook or root it so we can get Kindle books and apps.

[Rai B.]

Do you want one for just books ( black and white e-ink) or a tablet (color)?

 

I have a Nook Simple Touch (e-ink). I got it because it looked better for reading PDFs and books from Project Gutenberg and Google Books. (The default charger plugs into your computer, and you transfer files while it's charging.)

[Blessedchaos]

I have both and prefer my Kindle. It is much easier to download library books on than my Nook is also.

[jenn&charles]

I don't have both but after researching, I would only go with a Kindle. I've downloaded hundreds of free books for myself and also for Otter. I just don't see the same quantity or quality of free books on the Nook.

 

Below is a list containing a list some of the freebies I've posted on my blog for the Kindle (many of them are not free anymore, but there are always new freebies every week). If you do end up with a Kindle, I post the freebies on a regular basis. :)

 

Pros:

 

It's easy to check out digital library books.

You can get the definition of an unknown word in seconds just by touching it (we have a Kindle touch).

For some reason we all read faster on it (probably because you can customize the font size which makes it easy on the eyes).

It's easy to transport hundreds of books at one time.

Amazon has tons of freebies all the time and many of them are GOOD books too, not just junk (but you have to keep your eye out for them as the good ones are usually only available for a short time).

Its easy to read at night with the cover I purchased (with a built in light).

You can read PDF's on it (so I have some old Latin readers in PDF format loaded on mine).

You can buy a book and start reading it in seconds.

Games (to use while waiting at the dr's office or whatever) are very inexpensive and also not flashy enough to tempt you away from a book.

We are reading even more than usual (and we are book lovers who were already reading often, lol).

 

Cons:

 

You have to recharge it about once a week if you use it a lot.

Nothing else I can think of.

 

I LOVE my Kindle! It's one of the best presents I've received in a long time.

 

 

 

Kindle freebies I've posted on my blog (I had to edit it down as my reply had too many characters to post!):

 

100 Sight Words - Flash Cards 4 Fun

101 Offline Activities You Can Do With Your Child

5 Sight Word Books For Beginning Readers

A Cup of Comfort Women of the Bible Devotional: Daily Reflections Inspired by Scripture's Most Beloved Heroines

A Child's Garden of Verses

A Child's History of England

A Different Day, A Different Destiny (The Snipesville Chronicles)

A HORSE CALLED SEPTEMBER

A Little Book About You (A great way to tell your child you love them!)

A Little Princess

A Necklace of Virtues (Faith in Action)

Adventures of Reddy Fox

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

All Things Austria

Among the Farmyard People

Among the Forest People

Among the Night People

Among the Pond People

Ancient Fire: Danger Boy Episode 1

And Then I Had Teenagers: Encouragement for Parents of Teens and Preteens

Animals At The Zoo – Volumes 1 – 4

Around the World in 80 Days

Attack of the Sugar Plum Fairies, A Story for Demented Children

Autism's Hidden Blessings

Awesome Adventures for Kids Middle Grade Sampler

Baby Farm Animals: A Day at the Farm

Ballad of the Rag Man

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare

Behind the Veils of Yemen

Black Beauty

Black Powder and Moonlight

Blacky the Crow

Boats! Learn About Boats While Learning To Read

Booksurfers: Treasure Island

Boys and Manners: 104 Things Your Boys NEED to Know

Burly and Grum and the Secret City

Busy Bees 123

Casey and Bella Face Their First Bully

Castles and Chemistry (Logic to the Rescue)

Chester Learns to Fly

Chester's New Friends

Christopher Columbus with son, Diego. The 1st Voyage.

CK-12 Basic Algebra, Volume 1 Of 2

CK-12 Basic Algebra, Volume 2 Of 2

CK-12 Biology

CK-12 Biology Teacher's Edition

CK-12 Biology Workbook

CK-12 Middle School Math Grade 6, Volume 1 Of 2

CK-12 Middle School Math Grade 6, Volume 2 Of 2

CK-12 Middle School Math Grade 7, Volume 1 Of 2

CK-12 Middle School Math Grade 7, Volume 2 Of 2

Colors: An illustrated animal picture book for children

Complete Second Year Adventures of Buster Bee

Coolest Chapter Books for Kids Sample

Crafting Novels & Short Stories: Everything You Need to Know to Write Great Fiction

Daring Dinosaurs! Learn About Dinosaurs While Learning To Read

Daughter of the Bamboo Forest

Devotions About Kids Stuff

Diary of a Superhero Kid 2

Dirt Rollers: Big Compactors Smashing Dirt On The Jobsite!

Dogs! Learn About Dogs While Learning To Read

Dolphins! Learn About Dolphins While Learning To Read

Einstein The Lazy Kitty

EMILY BREAKS FREE-Bullying Children's Book

Essential Sight Words Level I

Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen

Famous Men of Greece (ILLUSTRATED)

Famous Men of the Middle Ages

Fast Fire Trucks! Learn About Fire Trucks While Learning To Read

Feeding Malachi

Fifty Famous Fables

Fifty Famous Stories Retold

Find It! Hidden Picture Book: People

Five Children and It

Follow The Bouncing Ball

Free Story "Little Bad Wolf and Red Riding Hood" from Newfangled Fairy Tales

Frog Pictures

Frogs! Learn About Frogs While Learning To Read

Gifts for you, Mama

Girls to the Rescue: Young Marian's Adventures in Sherwood Forest

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Grace and the Drawl

Gracie's Grandfather Makes Trouble

Grimm's Fairy Stories

Gutenberg the Geek

Have you spotted the White Squirrel?

Heaven for Kids

Heidi

Henry Burp - Mind Your Manners

History of 'Billy the Kid'

Hooked (The Daniels Adventures)

Horse and Hen Count to Ten

How the Clownfish Got its Name

How to Be Tall

How to Greet a Dog and What to Avoid

How to Ruin Your Life By 30

Huff and Puff

Hurry Up and Wait!

I Am Your Mother (a picture book of animal mothers and babies)

I Could Fly Around My Ceiling

I Love…

If You’re So Smart, How Come You Can’t Spell Mississippi?

I'll Follow the Moon (Mom's Choice Award Honoree and Chocolate Lily Award Winner)

Jane Eyre

Japanese Fairy Tales

Jiggly Jellyfish! Learn About Jellyfish While Learning To Read

Johnny B. Fast: The Super Spy Part One

Jungle Animals

Killer History: Why do they leave all the fun stuff out of the history books?

KiteReaders Classics - The Tale of Peter Rabbit

KYLIE'S CONCERT

Ladybug Blue

Lambs - An "I Love Reading" Level 2 Reader

Learn French - Word Power 101

Learn Spanish - Word Power 101

Lightfoot the Deer

Lions (A "Fun Time Reading" Book for Level 2 Readers)

Little Buggies: A Rhyming Guessing Book For Little Ones

Little Library Mouse

Little Women

Logic to the Rescue

Lola The Mermaid and The Splish Splash Olympics

Long Shot (Watch Out For Joel )

Maebelle's hat

Martha loves Monty

Megamouse books

Melody and the Pier to Forever

Memograms: Easy Anagrams of Hard-to-Spell Words

Mister Ray

Molly And The Chocolate Cookie Crumb Race

Monty goes to the Fair

More Carrots For Me

Mrs. Peter Rabbit

Muffin the Teacup Poodle

My Crazy Pet Frog

My Dinosaur is Scared of Vegetables

My Father's Dragon

Edited July 21, 2012 by jenn&charles

[Lizzie in Ma]

I don't have both but after researching, I would only go with a Kindle. I've downloaded hundreds of free books for myself and also for Otter. I just don't see the same quantity or quality of free books on the Nook.

 

Below is a list containing a list some of the freebies I've posted on my blog for the Kindle (many of them are not free anymore, but there are always new freebies every week). If you do end up with a Kindle, I post the freebies on a regular basis. :)

 

Pros:

 

It's easy to check out digital library books.

You can get the definition of an unknown word in seconds just by touching it (we have a Kindle touch).

For some reason we all read faster on it (probably because you can customize the font size which makes it easy on the eyes).

It's easy to transport hundreds of books at one time.

Amazon has tons of freebies all the time and many of them are GOOD books too, not just junk (but you have to keep your eye out for them as the good ones are usually only available for a short time).

Its easy to read at night with the cover I purchased (with a built in light).

You can read PDF's on it (so I have some old Latin readers in PDF format loaded on mine).

You can buy a book and start reading it in seconds.

Games (to use while waiting at the dr's office or whatever) are very inexpensive and also not flashy enough to tempt you away from a book.

We are reading even more than usual (and we are book lovers who were already reading often, lol).

 

Cons:

 

You have to recharge it about once a week if you use it a lot.

Nothing else I can think of.

 

I LOVE my Kindle! It's one of the best presents I've received in a long time.

 

 

 

I had the original Nook 3G/wifi and I have a 3G/wifi Kindle 3 with keyboard.

For all the reasons she stated, I vastly prefer it.

You can also load mp3 files, music and audio which is nice, though the player is rudimentary.

The "experimental" browser works better than I expected though I only use it in a pinch.

I can get 2-3 weeks out of mine before recharging with heavy use.

It is MUCH easier to borrow library books on than the Nook was.

 

here is my list of free book sites, I use Calibre to convert to mobi for my Kindle.

Here is where I get all my free stuff..

Site for Free Ebooks

***Newest Find for free textbooks

Orange Grove

 

** new find, lots of really intersting stuff, lots of graphic novels for kids in the children's section, lots of academic stuff too

http://library.nu/

 

http://manybooks.net/categories/CHI/77

this is my favorite, it has a huge listing of public domain books in a very friendly format

 

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://www.free-ebooks.net/

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/freebooks.htm

http://www.baen.com/library/

http://www.suvudu.com/freelibrary/

http://www.homeofheroes.com/books/index.html

http://freehomeschoolinglibrar.blogspot.com/

 

Pages with more resources

http://www.freeliterature.org/

 

Great homeschool ebooks, specifically, textbooks

California Free Textbook Initiative

http://globaltext.terry.uga.edu/books

[CalicoKat]

I had the original Nook 3G/wifi and I have a 3G/wifi Kindle 3 with keyboard.

For all the reasons she stated, I vastly prefer it.

You can also load mp3 files, music and audio which is nice, though the player is rudimentary.

The "experimental" browser works better than I expected though I only use it in a pinch.

I can get 2-3 weeks out of mine before recharging with heavy use.

It is MUCH easier to borrow library books on than the Nook was.

 

here is my list of free book sites, I use Calibre to convert to mobi for my Kindle.

Here is where I get all my free stuff..

Site for Free Ebooks

***Newest Find for free textbooks

Orange Grove

 

** new find, lots of really intersting stuff, lots of graphic novels for kids in the children's section, lots of academic stuff too

http://library.nu/

 

http://manybooks.net/categories/CHI/77

this is my favorite, it has a huge listing of public domain books in a very friendly format

 

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://www.free-ebooks.net/

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/freebooks.htm

http://www.baen.com/library/

http://www.suvudu.com/freelibrary/

http://www.homeofheroes.com/books/index.html

http://freehomeschoolinglibrar.blogspot.com/

 

Pages with more resources

http://www.freeliterature.org/

 

Great homeschool ebooks, specifically, textbooks

California Free Textbook Initiative

http://globaltext.terry.uga.edu/books

I have a kindle and I love it and use it daily. My sister has a nook and she used it briefly at first and now not at all.

[Momma H]

I just got a Kindle Fire from Target for $169 just FYI. It seems they and Amazon had a falling out so Target has all things Kindle on clearance. :D

[Abeille]

We have both - a rooted Nook Color, and an unrooted Kindle Fire that dh recently passed down to me (he's getting a Nexus 7, lucky man!). Between these options, the Kindle is the winner hands-down. Unless you root it, the app selection for the Nook is paltry and expensive. You can, however, read all the free epub books on a Nook by transferring your files via the USB cable. The Kindle's display is crisper than the Nook's, and its screen is far more responsive. However, to read epub books on a Kindle Fire you have to do a bit of tinkering in settings to be able to download compatible ereaders like Aldiko or the Nook app for Android (they are available in the Amazon app store, but if you search for them from your Kindle they are blocked from your results. Very annoying.). The only clear advantage I can see that the Nook has is the SD memory card slot, which allows you to expand storage space significantly (and root the device easily, if you want to).

 

If I were in the market for a smaller ereader/tablet though, I would buy Google's new Nexus 7. It has much stronger hardware than the Kindle Fire, access to apps/media through Android sites, and the price point is the same as the Fire ($199 for 8GB or $249 for 16GB). The reviews of the Nexus are overwhelmingly positive so far.

[dkholland]

:)

We got dd9 a Nook for her birthday recently. I hate it!

Barnes & Noble doesn't have anything free. No free books. No free apps. Even Fruit Ninja costs money.

 

I have the Kindle app on my IPad and I have TONS of free kids books through Amazon. My library also has more Kindle books than EPub books for loan.

 

I am either going to sell her Nook or root it so we can get Kindle books and apps.

 

I am so surprised at your post! I have a Nook tablet that I absolutely love. Nook offers apps for free as well as tons of books. They have Free Fridays on their blogs which lists 25+ books for free. My nook is filled with all sorts of books and apps that were free. I have never paid over $5 for a book and have gotten some epubs free from other book sharing sites. My boys are always downloading free games too. We have popcorn ninja not fruit ninja:)

I also have lots of kids books that I downloaded free from b&n. Just wanted to let others know that b&n does offer lots of free material!

Edited July 21, 2012 by dkholland
made lots of mistakes typing this on my Nook...ha ha!

[pageta]

I have a Kindle. I thought long and hard between the two and ended up going with the Kindle simply because I find amazon's website much easier to shop on. Barnes & Noble hides all the free books or the formatting is horrid, and they seem like they have a chip on their shoulder. Amazon has all of the free books up with everything else like they're happy for you to have them. They also have great suggestions for other books you may enjoy.

[raceNzanesmom]

Neither. I'd get the new Google Tablet.

[sparrow]

I have both and I find I reach for my rooted Nook Color most often. I have the Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Google Books, OverDrive, and the Bluefire Reader apps all on my Nook, so I can read books from all of those sources, as well as browse the internet and use any other apps from the Android Market

 

I like my Kindle Keyboard for the e-ink and I like that it weighs less than the NC, but since I can only read Kindle books and web browsing is cumbersome, I always grab the NC, if I'm going somewhere for a long period of time. I considered selling the Kindle, but I will probably just keep it around for the kids.

[sparrow]

Neither. I'd get the new Google Tablet.

 

Ohhhh. Shiny! I think I just found my kids' Christmas gifts :001_smile:.

[Ohdanigirl]

Do you want one for just books ( black and white e-ink) or a tablet (color)?

 

 

 

I think I will mainly need it for AO/Gutenberg books. Later, I will likely get an IPAD for myself, which I can use with the little ones.

 

Thanks for all the responses. You have all given me much to think about. Please keep 'em coming.

 

Danielle

[HeatherDanae]

I have both and I LOVE my kindle for reading!! Amazon offers books soooo much less than barnes & noble. The Nook is nice for games/surfing the web. But if your main purpose is to use it for reading, I'd go with the Kindle.