I am looking to buy either a Kindle or a Nook-- for reading books.. any suggestions??
Here's a link to a similar question asked earlier today:
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/17560219940663984129
A Kindle!! I got one for Christmas and LOVE it. I have played with a Nook Color, but for reading books, a Kindle is much better. The Nook's backlight makes it similar to reading on a computer, which I don't prefer. It also has some bells and whistles that I don't consider necessary for an ebook reader- like a browser. It's very iPad'ish.
The Kindle has no backlight, and the print is most similar to reading a book. One battery charge lasts a month. They are affordable, light, and durable (I've already dropped it). They have 22,000 titles in the public domain that you can download for free, such as popular classics. Did I mention I love my Kindle? lol
I have a Kindle and my son has a Nook. Personally I prefer the Kindle. I like the selection of books better, and it seems to have a lot more Free books. I think it is more user friendly (for those of us who are technology challenged) If you are able I would check both of them out in the stores. It is definitely something that is a personal preference.
I have a nook... and I love it.. there is no backlight on mynook... but I have not looked at the nook color... It seems to me that unless you're using it for children's books, you really wouldn't need color (??). The battery lasts for at least a week or two week, longer if you put it on airplane mode so it's not always connected to the internet. Plus you can take it to your local Barnes and Noble, sit there and read any nook book for free for an hour. they also have special offers while you're in store with it.
I love my nook! It doesn't have a backlight at all. When my MIL got mine, she talked to a few people about which is better, and apparently the Nook is quite a bit more durable. It's really easy to use too. I also like the 'extras' that it has... The internet browser is pretty slow, but it is functional. It has sudoku and chess loaded on it, I don't think you can get any other games. It also has a music player on it so you can listen to music while you read.(speakers or headphones) and you can load your own pics onto it if you want for the screensaver and wallpaper. :) Also, there are coupons and stuff (this weeks is a free smoothie at Barnes&Noble. :) yum!) and the free reading while at the store... I'm not sure if other readers allow you to 'lend' out your books, but the nook will let you allow a friend to borrow a book (only once though) for 14 days. Oh, and you can archive your books through the website, so that they don't take up all the memory on your reader.. but you don't have to re-pay when you want to download them again.
I don't have any experience with the Nooks, but I did get a kindle for Xmas (so did my hubby- great minds, lol)...
So far I am loving it. I got my husband's all decked out for him in advance so that when he opened it on Xmas it was ready to go: charged (takes about 2 hours the first time) with his requested books pre-loaded, it was already registered since I bought it directly from Amazon, and I had ordered a nice leather cover for it and it was already on it when he opened it.
Mine was: in the box. lol
But, even so, it only took me about 3 minutes to be using it. You can use it while it charges, and it lasts about a month before it needs recharging. All the things I saw listed for the Nook on the previous post except for the B&N coupons are also on the Kindle. It has no backlight and is JUST like reading a printed page... got on sunglasses... out in the bright sun somewhere... no problem. It has next page/previous page turn buttons on BOTH sides so it doesn't matter if you are lefty or righty, or which hand you happen to be holding it in. With the cover I have ordered, I can prop it on the bed/table and use NO hands!
You can download Sudoku and a word game or two, for free also. I don't plan to use it for that sort of thing often... I will use it to read. (Same reason I didn't get an iPad--- more bulk, back lighting, extras I don't need to haul around just to read). It is very lightweight, and page turn is quiet. Also, you can listen to music (if you want, I find it more distracting) while reading, OR you can have the Kindle read TO YOU out loud. As in, set it on the seat next to you and listen while you drive! Or are on the beach with your eyes closed, lol.
Buying from the web is easy on the Kindle... so easy, there is a button that asks if you made a mistake and want to cancel the order! And the downloads are practically instant... well, 30 seconds maybe and you are reading.
The books archive on your amazon account, and you can download them to multiple devices at the same time (ipod, ipad, mac, anything with a kindle app, which are free to download also) so you can read the same thing from different devices if you don't have one with you. They are yours forever. I read that Kindle is coming out with a sharing/lending capability this year, but it is so far a rumor, so who knows.
I don't HAVE a Barnes & Noble within 60 miles (or more) of where I live, so any B&N goodies have no appeal to me.
It's probably mostly personal preference... but I am very happy with the Kindle at this point.
Side note: I was at my dentist's office yesterday, and he got one last year. He saw mine, and couldn't help commenting... he LOVES his. Says he read 43 books on it last year... and STILL loves it!!! And he doesn't even have both WiFi and 3G so his is more limited..
KINDLE!!!! I love mine - can't live without it!! KINDLE, KINDLE, KINDLE
I got the NOOK for my birthday in September and I LOVE it! I don't have the one that is backlit, nor does mine have 3G (only WiFi) and I have no problems getting books. The B&N Website is very user friendly and there are literally thousands of books out there for free. All you have to do is type 0.00 on either your NOOK ar the B&N Site and they all pop up. You can also manage your library on the website. My co-worker has a NOOK also and we have used the Lend Me function and it worked very well. I don't know if you can do that with another Kindle user. I read a ton and I was lugging around 11 to 12 books at a time from the library so this device has been a Godsend!
