A Review of the Barnes and Noble Nook and Amazon Kindle

After months of anticipation Barnes and Noble's e-book reader the Nook has finally arrived. Though touted as the Amazon Kindle slayer it ends up being much more like its competition. Both e-readers, the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook are very similar in their looks. However, the Nook has a few new features that the Kindle does not.

The Startup of the Barnes and Noble Nook vs Amazon Kindle
The Nook's new extra features do not make up for a glaring lack of speed. From opening a book, to turning the pages, the Barnes and Noble Nook is much slower than the Amazon Kindle. When starting Amazon's Kindle 2, their current version, from pushing the power button to the point you can start reading is less than five seconds. In comparison, the Nook after pushing the power button made you wait almost 2 minutes before you could start reading. That huge difference is one that Barnes and Noble will need to address in future software updates for its new Nook.

The Displays of the Barnes and Noble Nook vs Amazon Kindle
The Nook and the Kindle are very much alike once their up and running however. They both have 6-inch black and white displays and both currently use AT&T's 3G Wireless Network for browsing and downloading books, magazines, and newspapers. E-readers will find that both the Barnes and Noble Nook and the Amazon Kindle currently have very competitive retail price tags.

Navagating the Barnes and Noble Nook vs Amazon Kindle
When looking at the Nook and the Kindle side by side the most notable difference between them is that instead of tiny keys and a joystick at the bottom of the Kindle, the Barnes and Noble Nook uses a color touchscreen. It is this touchscreen that the reader uses to adjust the settings, navigate to their stored library or to go online to the Barnes and Noble bookstore. Many have found the Nooks touchscreen to be more useful than the Kindle's awkward keyboard. However, having a touchscreen gives the Nook a shorter battery life. The Kindle boasts an advertised 14 days between charges, the Nook when its Wi-Fi is turned off will stay up for 10 days.

Networking the Barnes and Noble Nook vs Amazon Kindle
Since the Nook and the Kindle both use the AT&T 3G Network, they download books bought over that network at the same time. However, since the Nook is the only one with Wi-Fi, you can turn it on when entering your local Barnes and Noble store and take advantage of what is offered. You will be privy to in-store offers and you can access the contents of any e-book in the store. The Nook will also allow you to lend your e-book to a friend, something that the Kindle does not support currently. If a friend has a Nook, an iPhone or if their computer is running Barnes and Nobel e-reader software, you can lend them your e-book. There are certain restriction on lending and not all titles will be available to do so, but having the option is nice.

Getting Support for the Barnes and Noble Nook vs Amazon Kindle
The Nook also supports the ePub standard of open platform software. The Kindle currently uses the proprietary book format instead. Having an open platform allows the Nook to access a wider variety of sources such as Google's book project. In addition, the Nook uses the Google Android operating system that could allow it to run various applications in the future.

Our Conclusions for the Barnes and Noble Nook vs Amazon Kindle
So to conclude, the Nook benefits from a color screen and allows other users to borrow your books. The Nook also allows you to browse while in your local Barnes and Noble bookstore. However, the Nook is slow on startup, its color screen and continuous Wi-Fi, if not turn it off, will drain the battery significantly. The Kindle is faster on boot up than the Nook and has a sustainably longer battery life. The Kindle has been on the market for some time and is a well tested e-reader. On the other hand, the awkward keyboard of the Kindle and lack of features boasted on the Nook do make for an uninspired device.