I think the most important thing to realize is that all of the early reviews were based on the 1.0 firmware. That's actually a shame, since it gave a very unfavorable impression of the nook and in reality - by the time all but the very earliest adopters (I'm talking people who pre-ordered on day 1) received their nooks, 1.1 was out minimally, and 1.1.1 for most of us.
So here's the scoop on the 1.1.1 update:
- Page turning is noticeably faster. It's probably a quarter to a third of a second slower than the Kindle 2 but still responsive enough for all.
- The LCD screen is incredibly more responsive. The book cover feature is still a tad sluggish when you swipe left and right, but ALL other aspects are absolutely tremendously more responsive.
- Entering a book is perhaps 100% improved. If you've already started a book, it jumps right to where you left off (no stopping at the details page and clicking on read). If it's the last book you were reading - no "formatting" delay. If it's not the last book you read, it still has to "format" - but that time seems to be a tenth of what it used to be.
- Free cookies when at a brick and mortar Barnes and Noble store. Don't under-estimate this. Between the lower price versus hard cover books and promises of regular free snacks and coffee at the store - your $259 investment will eventually be returned to you. Who doesn't like FREE COOKIES?
Versus Kindle:
I think there's one very obvious difference between the Kindle 2 and the nook - the nook's screen is easier to read. Part of this, I think is a better choice of fonts, but the screen is just easier on the eyes, and seems to require less ambient light for comfortable reading as well. This is a HUGE difference. I had heard that the Kindle 2 had a worse screen than the Kindle 1, and if true, that's a BIG selling point in Barnes and Noble's favor.
In addition, there are a few other pros:
- Competition. In addition to the B&N store you can purchase any ePub file, even if it has DRM. This means that early next year when Borders opens their store - you'll have TWO major booksellers offering content. Plus there's a HUGE market of internet-based sellers that support ePub. Plus there's a little company called Sony that is converting all of their books to ePub. That will make for THREE large sellers and MANY indies. Also, Google is throwing their hat into the ring with a commercialized version of their Google Books going live early next year.
- Better PDF support. The Kindle 2 magically gained PDF support after it became known that nook would support it. Prior to that announcement, the only method was their conversion service which operated via email, and had limited success in my examples. Having compared both - the nook does a tremendously better job displaying PDF content.
- Graphics. Photos just look better, I don't know if it's a contrast thing, or a better resolution screen, but B&W photos look nicer on the nook than the Kindle 2.
- Magazines and Newspapers. They are formatted better, include more graphics, and have a better flow. Download PC Magazine to see a good example - every article has a picture, and the layout is more browsable.
- Dimensions. By being slightly smaller in width, the nook is easier to hold one handed. That's pretty big, actually, in my book.
The Kindle certainly has a few things going for it. For one, it has better battery life, especially with wireless on. There are two caveats to that. The first - is that a recent update has the wireless radio going off on its own, so there's a big lag now when going online in some cases. The second, is that as long as either device can go a couple of days between charges - who cares! I'm rarely away from an outlet for more than 72 hours, after all!
In addition, in the battle of features that some publishers are crippling, the Kindle wins. I'd prefer text-to-speech being available on most books (Kindle) then a book lending feature that only works once per book (nook). Then again, I rarely used text to speech on the Kindle - I used to do it quite a bit late at night via headphones but found I wasn't retaining as much information as when reading. Book lending sounds nice... but whatever - go buy your own books!
At the end of the day, the biggest issue I had with the Kindle was lock in. You were locked in to the Kindle and the Amazon Kindle store for books. Or non-DRMed books, which are going to be a rarity in the near future - and limited to non-major authors for sure.
Right now I can buy ePub books from any ePub seller and read them on nook. Or I can download them for free from Google Books (older books out of copyright, of course). Or I can check out a few from the library and read them for free. In the future, the form of encryption used by the nook will be compatible with other ePub readers, so I'll have an exit path if some company comes out with a better eReader. Tired of your Kindle - you're either stuck without your books or need to wade through the murky waters of removing DRM which I am fairly sure violates the DMCA law in the United States.
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