The battle between purpose-built, E Ink eBook readers, essentially boils down to the top two competitors: the Amazon.com Kindle, and the Barnes and Noble Nook. Both have very similar stats, and are supported by the nation's two largest book sellers. They both feature black and white E Ink displays for reading, which are as close to reading ink on paper as you can get. The real differences come down to the experience, one takes advantage of a widely used public format and its company's extensive retail chain; the other relies on simplicity, universal access, and an overwhelming volume of content.
First, let's look at the Nook. Upon initial inspection users will note that instead of physical buttons, the Nook uses a 3.5 inch LCD touchscreen to navigate menus. This setup can be confusing for a beginner. Once one becomes more comfortable with it, they may find that the Nook is quick and more efficient to navigate. The LCD does come at a small price, it's battery life is about half that of the Kindle's. The Nook begins to differentiate itself by supporting the ePub format. Many libraries now offer free downloads of books files in the ePub format. The Nook further differentiates itself by incorporating Barnes and Noble's retail locations. Users who bring their Nooks with them can read any title available for up to one hour per day via in-store WiFi. Users may also lend certain titles to other Nook users for up to 14 days.
BARNES AND NOBLE
The Kindle is more simplified. It features a physical keyboard on its face along with a directional button to navigate menus.
This serves to be more straightforward for the uninitiated, but it is still more time consuming than the experienced will find the Nook's controls. While both units do offer WiFi and WiFi + free 3G models, only the Kindle allows for web browsing and Wikipedia access via 3G. While the Kindle does not support ePub, it makes up for it with a broader selection of titles.
Amazon features many independent offerings and many titles with expired copyrights are free. The Kindle also has text-to-speech abilities that means any feature-enabled title can become an audiobook. Kindle's 3G service is available for free in over 100 different countries. The Nook can only download new content in the United States, even over WiFi.
With prices being almost equal between the two, its hard to pick a winner. They are both very capable machines, have access to very large sources of content, and are relatively simple to operate. The decision comes down to which differences the user values more. A user who likes the experience of going to a bookstore and browsing books, or frequents a local library, might prefer the Nook. A user who has a voracious appetite for books, and is always on the go, will find the huge selection of Amazon.com and the ability to download almost anywhere in the world, preferable.
Kindle Vs Nook - Which One Is the eBook Reader Winner? BARNES AND NOBLE
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