Well, I’m not sure I’d get the Fire vs. the new iPad 3, but for reading books, it does seem like a dedicated device is the right answer. So is it Nook or is it Kindle?
Both are $99, so what are the pros and cons?
The pushes are:
- Identical hardware, both are touch screens
- The screens look the same, the battery life is the same (months!) and the form factor is the same
- The prices are the same at $99
The differences are:
- The Kindle Touch has advertising on the front page (not that big a deal)
- The user interface on the Nook is better
- Amazon has Prime so it acts like a subscription service for $80, you get free 2-day shipping and get a rental model for books, so you likely won’t be buying anything at all most of the time. You can borrow a book a month, one at a time.
Net, net most reviewers like the Nook Touch for lack of offers and better navigation, but practically speaking the Prime thing is pretty important price-wise and I can’t help but wonder if B&N will be here in five years. But some give to Kindle because of cloud storage etc.
