Nook VS Kindle: A Reader's Perspective

Well now, a long time ago in a land very far away there was a girl. A girl who loved books, real books. She loved the feel of them, the smell, the way they occupied her space, and  what they said about her. Forgot to mention, this girl lived in the 21st century where everything good was considered digital and everything else was just old news. Naturally this girl was opposed to all e-reading devices, she suspected them to be witchcraft of the foulest sense (definitely not Harry Potter friendly, more Voldemort style), and thus ran away from them as fast as she could. However the girl wasn't quite athletic so the e-reader hype caught up to her eventually. After doing much painstaking research (and looking around her small college bedroom which was filled to the brim with bookcases because she couldn't bare to part with her precious treasures) she decided to finally give in and dip a toe into the e-reader world. Naturally her mother thought better of it and pushed her all the way in by getting her a new Nook.

And so this is where the comparisons begin, because the little girl is now all grown up and has decided to buy an e-reader device of her own volition, and it wasn't no Nook. Behold, the Kindle Fire HD.

 

Nook- Kindle Fire HD

Let's cut the bull crap. If you are like me then you distrust e-readers. While you realize they are convenient you also see them as the epitome of evil that will allow disguised officials to come into your home and someday consider your books, your pretty real books, to be illegal (went a bit Fahrenheit there, sorry). In the end if you have giving in like me and are looking for a starter e-reader then here is some advice that might help.

First off let me just say that having a Nook will be an exercise on your wallet. For the most part you have to pay for any and all apps you may like to have, even the ones that seem like they should be free (your basic calculator app). On the Kindle? App galore! All kinds of things, choices everywhere. Gotta love it.

Books. I mean, it's amazon vs B&N, who do you think has the better discounts on e-readers? This round goes to the Kindle Fire. Now for the system and how the books are presented both devices are pretty neat in their own ways, though I am liking the font choice of Helvetica-Light the Kindle has a bit more than the choices Nook gives you. It's neater.

Now for the bloggers, here is the allure of the Kindle (and possibly the main reason I love it more). When you ask for a review book in Netgalley or something they come with a timetable. Read it in a given amount of time or else it is gone forever. At least, that's how it is with the Nook. With the Kindle the book stays with you forever. So if you are a busy person (college and work, maybe?) on top of trying to be the best blogger you can be then this is a very good advantage because it means you wont let anybody down by not getting to their book giving the timetable. I love this because other than blogging and reviewing I have other interests as well, not to mention bills to pay.

The bottoms of the Nook are more pronounced than on the Kindle, which can be a very good thing. You clearly know where the on/off switch is, and is comforting to feel the click of the bottom while pressing it. In the Kindle the bottom is more obscured and small. Again this could be a good or bad thing, depends on the person. I like both options.

On the kindle the "main page" is more interactive than on the Nook. When I first opened up my Nook I felt discouraged because the main page was essentially empty and I didn't know where to start because I felt like no options where given to me. On the Kindle I went crazy. There is a lot of interaction and options! Sure it gives me recommendations that some would be annoyed with because they are basically ads (I got the Kindle with promotions, cheaper but comes with ads) but I like the recommendations because they are personalised to my tasting. Also on the Kindle the options you can go through (like looking at your library and documents) are right there for you to see (just browse through the options on top) on the Nook you have to dig a little deeper in order to find anything.

Apps on bottom, browsing history on top.

Apps on top, browsing history on bottom.

The configuration of both tablets is different too. On the Nook the apps appear on the top while your "history" of what you have been doing (which books or apps you have read/used recently) is on the bottom (and it looks quite small). On the Kindle it's reversed with your "browsing history" on top and apps on the bottom. I like this arrangement a lot better. The "browsing history" looks bigger on the Kindle as well, which I like.

In the end it depends on the reader, always. But my final  verdict?

KINDLE > NOOK.

I am still keeping my Nook though :3