Kindle vs. Nook (E-reader)

E-readers... When the first hit the market a few years ago I was ADAMANTLY opposed to them.  I couldn't figure out why someone would want to forsake holding a real book in their hands for a gadget, an expensive gadget at that.  Plus, what happens if the world goes to hell - how would I read my books without electricity to charge my device.  In my eyes this was much too large an issue for me to overlook!  Visions of book burning (in an electronic) sense filled my head.  People would migrate to an e-format and good ol' paper books would be a thing of the past.  Again, what happens if we lose electricity.  Do we lose a wealth of knowledge with it?  Ridiculous - yes... 

As seems to be the case with me I have come around to see the utility in these little devices.  This change in heart was initially fueled by the drastic price decrease these devices are seeing.  No longer are they asking upwards of $350, but a more reasonable (in my opinion) $150/or so.  That coupled with the amount of travel time I have and my love of reading has added up to me wanting one.  How awesome is it that you can put a number of books on the device and have at your fingertips whatever you are in the mood for. 

So began my extensive search and agonizing over the perfect device.  Did I want a Kindle (amazons) or  Nook (b&n). 

Things about the nook that appealed to me -

• You can check books out from the library
• You can lend books you own to other Nook owners
• The device is run on the android platform (smart phone) making it updatable
• It is an open platform (non-proprietary) so you can get books from any location
• In store customer service

Things about the nook that didn't appeal to me -

• It is slightly thicker and heavier than the Kindle

There are many great features that both readers have that I haven't listed here.  I should note -  The Nook has a color touch screen for navigation while the Kindle has a keyboard.  Also, you can play games and load music on the Nook.  And the Nook has expandable memory (SD slot).

It is amazing the pull that a known name can have.  As you can see from above it seems obvious that I was much more interested in the Nook then the Kindle, however, you always hear people talk about the Kindle.  This made it hard for me to accept that it may not be the best device for me.  It makes so many other people happy, why wouldn't it make me happy? 

In the end (if you haven't already determined this from the lack of Kindle information above) I went with the Nook - I LOVE IT!  I cannot think of anything that I do not like on it, other than the mentioned extra weight.  However, I think it is a fair trade-off for the other options I did get. 

If you are in the market for an e-reader and want to hear more about the Kindle I am more than happy to pass along what I learned.  I wouldn't count it out, it just wasn't for me. 

Happy Reading!