e-Books Reader: Barnes & Noble Nook is Better than the Kindle

 20 May 2010 - By Omar Mariño+
 omar@myddnetwork.com


At 8” by 5” the nook is smaller but slightly heavier and generally feels more sturdy than Amazon’s pioneering eBook reader yet it’s interface is much more user friendly.  In addition, the color touch screen controls on the bottom give the device a very iPhoney feel though the E Ink display still remains the same.  It’s not a bad snag but there are a few issues that keep the machine from being a top pick.

On the plus side, the Nook is constantly connected to the AT&T 3G network at no additional charge and has integrated WiFi making browsing and downloading a heck of a lot faster than the Kindle.  So fast in fact that the E Ink display has a bit of a hard time keeping up.

The Barnes & Noble Nook

The Barnes & Noble Nook

And if you’re an avid bibliophile the 1 million titles in the Barnes & Noble store ought to keep you busy for a while.  Almost all of those titles are available to sample for free so you know what you’re getting before you buy—which is good because some of the run-of-the-mill eBooks will cost you $15 a whack.  However, once you purchase a title, you can lend those eBooks to anyone that has a Nook or the Barnes & Noble eReader App for up to 14 days.  Likewise you can be a mooch and snag those titles from your friends with deeper pockets.

One of the absolute coolest features is that the Nook recognizes when you’re in a Barnes & Noble store and lets you read any eBook for free while inside.  It’s like living in a virtual bookstore—except . . . you’re really in a book store.

There are two major drawbacks.  There’s a considerable lag between the touching of the control panel and the actual refresh of the E Ink display.  That’s mostly because of the E Ink technology itself but still feels a little slow.  The battery life also isn’t on par with a Kindle because of the touch screen input device.  However, it last plenty long and if you’ve not owned a Kindle in the past you won’t even know there’s a difference.

At $260 this machine is a much better value than a Kindle and it’s a little cooler too.






Disclaimer - Category: eBook