Nook vs Kindle?

[TangoJuliet]

My dad asked me which one to get my mom for xmas. I got my wife a nook last year and she loves it. I know the selection and ebook price is better with amazon but the nook had a better backlight.

Suggestions?


edit: this will strictly be for reading books. no tablet functions will be needed

 

[Rottie]

Why not give your loving mommy an Amazon Kindle Paperlight eReader? Only $119 not bad price.

 

[JoeMcJoe]

I have a nook touch, it is great, the e-ink is so nice to read, much better than a tablet's LCD. I have read so many books that I have downloaded from the local library, via the USB port.
I miss not having it back lit, that would really make it great.

A Kindle reader allows you to download the library books over wifi, that'd make it a lot more convenient.

 

[gorcorps]

Toss up really, both are nice and will do the job. I've sided with nook because they were the first ones with a backlight, and they still include hardware page turn buttons which I like. I would like to take advantage of the free books I'd get via Amazon prime but it's not a big deal.

 

[Bateluer]

I've the Nook Simple Touch Glowlight as well, awesome device.

IMO, B&N's e-zine selection is better than Amazons. Too bad all e-zines are basically PDF's of the printed versions. Or scanned JPEGs like some of Amazon's and Google Play's.

 

[bigrash]

I have the Nook Simple Touch (without the glowlight) and love it. I think it's the best e-ink reader out there.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I like the Kindle. Better prices, more sales, lots of self published books. And probably what I like the most is the lending library. Over a 100,000 books can be checked out from Amazon for free (think a limit of 1 a month) and it's very simple to use. Much easier than getting a library card and figuring out their ebook process.

 

[Red Storm]

I like the Kindle. Better prices, more sales, lots of self published books. And probably what I like the most is the lending library. Over a 100,000 books can be checked out from Amazon for free (think a limit of 1 a month) and it's very simple to use. Much easier than getting a library card and figuring out their ebook process.

Yeah my little sister has been using the lending library to get the Harry Potter books. She practically owns my Paper White Kindle now...

 

[cl-scott]

I rather prefer the Kindle myself. B&N tends to partition the internal storage on its devices, reserving a big chunk of it for content bought from its services, whereas Amazon just has one big pool for the Kindle. So you don't have to root the Kindle to make the full storage capacity available for sideloaded content.

 

[Knocks]

I own both devices, but that's just me. Of course fanboys argue about it all the time, like there was another big showdown between Nook vs. Kindle fans at Nook Forum just recently. Biggest takeaway points are that the Nook platform is more open and has better format compatibility, but the Kindle Paperwhite hardware (i.e. the screen) is unmatched at this point.

 

[Midwayman]

The nook is compatible with epubs out of the box so they can get digital books from the library. Kindle you need to run them through Calibre. Its not hard, but another step if they aren't techies.

 

[TangoJuliet]

My dad went ahead and bought her a fire HD for xmas. I played around with it for a little and it just seemed awkward to use. Maybe its because I'm used to an iPad but I really didn't like it. My mom is constantly asking me how to use it and how to remove icons from the main screen (carosel, I think its called).

Personally I would have gotten her the cheapest e-reader.

 

[Markbnj]

They're both good devices, but one is Amazon and the other is Barnes and Noble. In other words: one is supported by the world's #1 online retailer, with the best deals and features, and the other... isn't.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I own both devices, but that's just me. Of course fanboys argue about it all the time, like there was another big showdown between Nook vs. Kindle fans at Nook Forum just recently. Biggest takeaway points are that the Nook platform is more open and has better format compatibility, but the Kindle Paperwhite hardware (i.e. the screen) is unmatched at this point.

For me the hardware has almost no consideration. Both are pretty good.

It's all about who do you want to buy your books from, Amazon or B&N? For me it's easy, I'd rather buy from Amazon. I know Amazon isn't going anywhere and I like their big selection of self published books, the Lending Library is much better than Nook's library feature, Amazon gives MUCH larger book samples (I actually got a sample book on the Nook that ended at the end of the table of contents, haha), and the prices seem to be better.

I guess I'd go with a Nook if I was the type of person that didn't buy books and got them from "other sources". Because of the support for more file formats and micro SD slot.

 

[gorcorps]

The nook is compatible with epubs out of the box so they can get digital books from the library. Kindle you need to run them through Calibre. Its not hard, but another step if they aren't techies.

Honestly the libraries around here have more Kindle specific versions than generic epubs or pdfs.

 

[stlc8tr]

For me the hardware has almost no consideration. Both are pretty good.
...
I guess I'd go with a Nook if I was the type of person that didn't buy books and got them from "other sources". Because of the support for more file formats and micro SD slot.

The Kindle PW has a higher resolution and better, more even lighting.

The Nook GL has hardware page turn buttons and a SD card slot.

I like higher resolution and better lighting so I chose the PW.