Barnes & Noble throws the gauntlet down to Amazon!
"The Nook" challenges The Kindle
And Amazon fights back with lower pricing and a new application!
The Nook by Barnes & Noble is an eReader that offers real competition to The Kindle... especially if you love your Kindle. Although I haven't actually seen one yet, only the photos all over the internet, it looks very similar to the Kindle... A slim ergonomically designed eReader that will be comfortable to hold in your hand, with page turning buttons right where you want them - where your thumb is resting already.
There are a few BIG differences between The Nook and The Kindle though such as,
*The Nook can display texts in PDF and ePub format. ePub is a new standard format supported by numerous publishers who make e-books. That means you aren't limited to just what Barnes & Noble sells.
*The Nook will have both 3G and WiFi built in.
*The Nook will have a 3.5 inch color touchscreen LCD on the bottom of the reader. You can see your eBooks that you own in full color covers, and can browse thru them at the touch of your finger. (similar to Apple's cover flow). And you can shop for eBooks the same way.
*There already will be 2GB storage for 1500 books, but if that isn't enough for you there is a expandable microSD slot for more storage.
*You can lend your eBooks to your family & friends. Whoever you lend the book to must have the Barnes & Noble eReader software installed on their device, but the software is free. I actually have this installed on my iPhone. ** Thanks to J.T. Oldfield of Bibliofreak, we have a little more info on The Nook's lending "restrictions". Seems that it's a one time lend to someone for 2 weeks. No renewals. When you lend your eBook, you can't read it at the same time- kind of like a real book. Here's the link J.T. shared about The Nook and lending practices.
Standard on both Kindle and The Nook is the ability to look up words in a dictionary, highlight passages on the page, and make notations. You can easily personalize your screensaver with your photos on The Nook too. You can load your photos for screensavers on The Kindle too, although it's not a direct download. You can get samples of books before purchase from both, but Barnes and Noble is promising exclusive content if you are in their store and sampling books via your Nook. (of course my comment to my husband was why not just open the book...)
Would you like to compare The Kindle to The Nook? Here's the comparison chart from Barnes & Noble. And here's The Nook page at Barnes & Noble, where you can watch a 3 minute video about The Nook. And the price? The Nook is retailing for $259, which is the new lower price of The Kindle2.
Book sales have been falling for Barnes & Noble and they are hoping that this device will boost sales. Barnes & Noble says that they will have The Nook is stores to try before you purchase. And if you order one now, shipping is scheduled to begin end of November.... I love my Kindle, but The Nook looks like it combines the nicest features of The Kindle with the features I wished it had (great PDF display & ePub! AND that beautiful full color touch screen.) What do you think? Kindle or Nook? Are you in the market for an eReader, and are you going to wait now to take a real look at The Nook? I can't wait to actually see one! And competition is always good, it can only spur on innovations in the new eReader market.
And speaking of competition, Amazon has lowered the Kindle International/US version to $259! And has eliminated its US only version! You can still get a US version as a refurbished model selling for $219! PLUS Amazon has just announced Kindle for PC! "Kindle for PC," the free application that lets readers around the world enjoy Kindle books on their personal computers (PC). Kindle books can now be read on the Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, and PC. Read more about Kindle for PC HERE. And go to Amazon.com's Kindle for PC page HERE to sign up to be notified when "Kindle for PC" actually becomes available for download!
12 comments:
I've been looking at e-book readers, but the only one available in Canada is the Sony one (and when I looked at it in the store, I was nearly blinded by the glare off the screen... I was not impressed).
I'm wondering about that book lending thing on the Nook. How are they going to prevent theft? Couldn't one person buy one copy and then conceivably lend it to every other Nook owner for free?
One thing that still has me leaning towards the Kindle is its text-to-speech feature, which makes the device able to read books to you, which makes this device usable by the blind and visually impaired. I don't see a similar feature on the Nook. But what I'd really like to see is a big price war between B&N and Amazon with the price of these devices getting even lower. If they make them cheap enough, I might actually consider taking the plunge. :o)
Hi La Coccinelle!
Yes, that Sony Touch has way too much glare- the reasoning is that there is an extra layer for the touch feature. I didn't think the Sony Pocket Edition was so bad, but it is a bit hard to read without proper lighting.
As far as lending, I'm thinking that you can only lend out your book to one other person at a time. But after 2 weeks the ebook disappears from the reader you lent it to, so they don't have it forever, but still, you're right- won't they lose money only selling one copy? Something I'm sure we'll read more about as The Nook is dissected more and more.....
Hi Sheila,
You know I've never used my text to speech feature. I've heard that there are some copyright issues with some of the books that is preventing the text to speech to be implemented in some. But yes, that is a great feature for the visually impaired. Just one more feature that hopefully will be ironed out and put into the next eReader that comes out!
Aiee!! Everyone seems to be blogging about it and it's getting me more excited about the Nook
I can't wait until someone we know here actually has one in their hands! I hope the local Barnes & Nobles get their store sample soon!
Oh no...I can't even decide if I should get a Kindle. But then again there are no Barnes and Noble stores in Denmark anyway, so IF I am going to get an e-reader, it will most likely be the Kindle.
Hi Louise!
Just when you thought it was safe to go outside! :D I love my Kindle, but I can't wait to get a peek at The Nook... I'm going to have to see about downloads for international customers with The Nook... In any case, the prices keep creeping lower... The International Kindle is now the same price as the Kindle2 was!
BUT, have you heard about the restrictions on lending books?
http://gizmodo.com/5388168/dont-get-too-excited-about-the-nooks-lending-feature
Thanks J.T. for the link on the lending policy for the Nook! Slowly we start learning a little more about some of those wonderful features... The lending feature is one of the features I really thought could be great, but I can understand where it would be a problem to "renew" constantly. But to limit for 2 weeks forever?! And I would think they would work out the whole copyright issue before pushing the feature! I will have to update the post.
I like the price wars this could be in my favor to get a refurb Kindle.
Thanks for the info!
I had not heard of the Nook yet. Thanks for the introduction. I agree with what someone else said I want a price war so they are more affordable.
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