# Kindle or Nook? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344 "2010-07-20T14:12:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/1 "2010-07-20T14:12:30Z")
I’m thinking about breaking down and buying an electronic reader and was wondering if anyone had any thought on the Kindle vs. the Nook. The Nook is cheaper and a woman I work with loves her but I thought I would reach out for a greater sample. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/2 "2010-07-20T14:22:48Z")
I love my Kindle. I’m sure the Nook is nice too, but it seems like all the little features it has on the Kindle (that extra screen, the bullshit “lending” thing which seems like a total crock, etc) are just dead weight. I love the Kindle’s integration with Amazon. I’m sure they’re both great devices, but I’m happy with the one I picked. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/3 "2010-07-20T14:30:32Z")
To me, reading the Kindle is much more like reading a real book that the Nook. The Nook’s screen is a little different, and the interface is not very intuitive. I tried to help my aunt set hers up and we had a hard time. I love love love my Kindle. Super easy to use, quick downloads -worth every penny. I have found that I am reading more with it. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/4 "2010-07-20T14:43:34Z")
My GF has a Sony e-reader, which she loves. And a buddy claims his iPad does anything a Kindle can do, and more. Personally, I don’t use any of them so I can’t say, but just mentioning it to possibly expand your options (and your confusion! Sorry!) ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/5 "2010-07-20T14:55:15Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > And a buddy claims his iPad does anything a Kindle can do, and more. Except read outside in bright sunlight, and read for hours at a time without eye fatigue. And go for weeks without charging the batteries. Don’t get me wrong - I’d LOVE to have an iPad - but there’s no way I could read a backlit screen for more than 30 minutes or so without eye fatigue. And the super long battery life of the Kindle is a big plus as well. The last thing I ever want with a reader is to have to plug it in to recharge when I want to be reading. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/6 "2010-07-20T14:57:54Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Except read outside in bright sunlight, and read for hours at a time without eye fatigue. And go for weeks without charging the batteries. > > Don’t get me wrong - I’d LOVE to have an iPad - but there’s no way I could read a backlit screen for more than 30 minutes or so without eye fatigue. And the super long battery life of the Kindle is a big plus as well. The last thing I ever want with a reader is to have to plug it in to recharge when I want to be reading. Thanks for the retort! I’ll use that on him next time he goes on and on about his toy… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/7 "2010-07-20T15:02:38Z")
Yeah, if I turn the wireless off my Kindle goes WEEKS without charging. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/8 "2010-07-20T15:15:54Z")
Whenever you get into debates like this it really boils down to one thing. YOU and your own personal preference. You need to find someone to loan you each and try them out. That’s the only way you’ll be satisfied with what you want ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/9 "2010-07-20T15:16:40Z")
In the defense of the iPad, it holds over ten hours of charge, so if you charge it every day, you’re unlikely to run it dry. As for the eye-strain, I can’t speak for anyone else, but my wife and I read from it for hours and haven’t noticed any trouble. The screen is viewable from something like 180° without distortion, which is nice. But comic books are where it really shines. I have hundreds of issues on my iPad currently and it’s very cool to be able to pick through and read them in full color. If you intend to read digital comics or even full color conventional books the iPad may be worth looking at. As a reader it’s a solid machine and I’ll personally keep to it until the people at e-ink get their digital paper color prototypes ready for prime time. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/10 "2010-07-20T15:32:27Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Whenever you get into debates like this it really boils down to one thing. YOU and your own personal preference. You need to find someone to loan you each and try them out. That’s the only way you’ll be satisfied with what you want Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone here with a Kindle. A selling point for me is that from what I understand with the Nook you can buy Kindle books and read them but the opposite isn’t true for Kindle. Of course, I may have misunderstood being a newbie to e-readers. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/11 "2010-07-20T15:51:45Z")
I have a nook and love it. The only problem I have with it is that Barnes & Noble has either no algorithm at all to anticipate reader’s interest in books or the worst one ever. I have not, and will never buy a one of the Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire series or one of the Twilight books. Barnes & Noble has shown me thousands of them. Barnes & Noble doesn’t get me. Amazon gets me, and when I get the odd recommendation from them based on a gift I purchased for someone I can tell them to disregard that book for making future recommendations and they will. Amazon’s not as good as Netflix, but they’re pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/12 "2010-07-20T15:53:09Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > As for the eye-strain, I can’t speak for anyone else, but my wife and I read from it for hours and haven’t noticed any trouble. The screen is viewable from something like 180° without distortion, which is nice. Same here. I had a Sony Reader and find the iPad easier to read in any situation other than direct sun. I read for hours at a time, and just a quick tweak of the brightness leaves me with the illusion that I’m looking at a well lit printed page and not a glowing device. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/13 "2010-07-20T16:25:09Z")
> [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone here with a Kindle. A selling point for me is that from what I understand with the Nook you can buy Kindle books and read them but the opposite isn’t true for Kindle. Of course, I may have misunderstood being a newbie to e-readers. I have never heard of a book being available at B&N that wasn’t available at Amazon, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/14 "2010-07-20T16:53:19Z")
I’ll have to get an iPad so I can properly compare the two. Yeah, that’s it! As far as eye strain… I definitely notice after working 8-10 hours a day looking at a bright screen that my eyes get tired, so I don’t really want to look at another bright screen at night. But that’s just a guess. RE: Battery life. It’s true, the Kindle really does go for weeks if the wireless connection is turned off, and I tend to read at night before I go to bed, where it’s not convenient to plug it in. So I really like that part. My cell phone is always running low on batteries because I forget to plug it in, so for me, it’s a big selling point that the batteries last so long. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/15 "2010-07-20T16:57:10Z")
I’m very happy with my Nook. That said, my main technical objection to the Kindle is that it doesn’t support the ePub format, which is the format I prefer , and which is very common for ebooks available from third parties. A lot of my ebooks are free downloads from [Project Gutenberg](http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog//), the [Baen Free Library](http://www.baen.com/library/), or purchased from other sources. It’s not an insurmountable barrier, though–most books are available in multiple formats, and there is conversion software available for those that aren’t. The other thing is that I am disinclined to trust Amazon. They have already overstepped their bounds with the Kindle, like when they deleted copies of _1984_ and _Animal Farm_ from customer’s devices without notice (along with a kid’s notes on the book for a school assignment, in at least one case). They backed down and promised not to do it again after the backlash hit, but the fact that they thought it was a good idea in the first place bothers me. ---
**Author:** ![cdsilv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cdsilv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdsilv)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/16 "2010-07-20T17:02:29Z")
I have a Sony e-reader (PRS-600) that i really like. I’ve bought one book, the other 161 books that I have on there come from free ebook sites. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/17 "2010-07-20T17:56:59Z")
The answer is iPad or if you want tiny, iPod Touch. Much more versatile. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/18 "2010-07-20T19:30:46Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > The other thing is that I am disinclined to trust Amazon. They have already overstepped their bounds with the Kindle, like when they deleted copies of _1984_ and _Animal Farm_ from customer’s devices without notice (along with a kid’s notes on the book for a school assignment, in at least one case). They backed down and promised not to do it again after the backlash hit, but the fact that they thought it was a good idea in the first place bothers me. I never turn on wireless unless I’ve just purchased a book and want it to synch to my Kindle. I also back up all purchases to my computer (either from the Kindle, or Amazon’s website). I’ve wondered how likely it would have been for Amazon to “strip” my Kindle under those circumstances. I agree that Amazon handled the situation poorly, but it wasn’t like they just decided to randomly delete books - it was a legal matter, IIRC. On Topic: I love my Kindle and I never shut it off (strangely, I found the battery actually lasts a noticeably longer time if I just “sleep” it instead of turning it off) and charge it maybe every week or two (depending on just how much I’m reading). I also recently got an iPad and as much as I love that device too, I don’t know if I would be comfortable reading on it for long periods of time. Plus with my Kindle I can “find” books from various sources and convert them ([calibre-ebook.com](http://calibre-ebook.com)) to a format Kindle can read (if needed) and I’m good to go. I’m not sure the Kindle app (or the iBook app) can do the same for the iPad. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/19 "2010-07-20T19:37:29Z")
> [@Mauvaise](#): > > I never turn on wireless unless I’ve just purchased a book and want it to synch to my Kindle. I also back up all purchases to my computer (either from the Kindle, or Amazon’s website). I’ve wondered how likely it would have been for Amazon to “strip” my Kindle under those circumstances. I agree that Amazon handled the situation poorly, but it wasn’t like they just decided to randomly delete books - it was a legal matter, IIRC. If one is really worried about Kindle stuff disappearing, you can always download it to your computer instead. I did that for a couple years before I got wireless coverage here. It works fine. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344/20 "2010-07-20T19:50:20Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > If one is really worried about Kindle stuff disappearing, you can always download it to your computer instead. I did that for a couple years before I got wireless coverage here. It works fine. That won’t really do anything if Amazon wants it gone. Sure, you can keep a copy of the bits somewhere, but you can’t read the book without using an Amazon-provided program. One way or another, Amazon can “delete” the content, if they really want to. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kindle-or-nook/547344.md?page=2)