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In the debate concerning "old" versus "new," it seems the most polarized rift today exists on the subject of books. Ebooks are rapidly advancing in the marketplace, boosted by affordable, convenient readers, and to a certain extent, by the environmental factor of getting the books you want to read without killing trees for the paper. This is countered, though, by people who prefer the feel of a printed book in their hands, and the fact that you don't need electricity to keep your library available to you. You can read a printed book by sunlight, candlelight, kerosene lantern, and so on. You never have to recharge a printed book to enjoy it.
I'm not going to get into the whole debate of printed books versus ebooks. As far as I'm concerned, whatever medium you prefer for your reading is just fine, and I'm of the opinion that the fact that people are reading is in itself a good thing. The reason I bring this up, though, is my own transition from the printed book reader to using an e-reader. I certainly have not sworn off printed books, but I have found that I have read more in the last month or so since receiving a Nook Color for Father's Day, than I have in many months previously.
Others who are considering taking that same step have asked us which e-reader is better. There are quite a few on the market now, but the dominant two are the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook. The Sony Reader has been on the market for a bit longer than either of those, but has failed to capture as large a market segment, most likely due to not having the direct affiliation with a large bookselling concern. The Borders chain marketed the Kobo device, though it was a relative latecomer to the category, and with the recent announcement of the demise of the Borders chain, its future may be up in the air as well.
Since my wife owns a Kindle, I thought I would address the comparison question between the two main contenders in the e-reader category. It's difficult to quantify that one is better than the other, as it depends heavily on what you're looking for in a reading device.
Both the Kindle and the standard Nook employ what is called an "e-ink display." One of the first things you will notice about these displays is that, unlike the normal computer device display, they do not routinely turn off. In essence, the pixels of the e-ink display get set to either light or dark, and then stay that way until toggled again. Visually, this gives a very paper-like appearance to the pages being read, and - like a print book - requires external lighting on the display. Electrically, this offers a very low power draw, and hence the ability of both devices to go for as much as two months between recharging the battery. The drawbacks are that you DO need external lighting to read, and that, so far, the color e-ink displays are still in development. You're not going to enjoy color on any pages on these devices.
One thing that should be mentioned on the battery life as well - while the advertisements speak in terms of time, the real determination of battery draw is in page changes. If you get some of the games that can be played on the Kindle, the rapid page changes of a game will result in a significant reduction in time that the battery remains charged. This is not a criticism, but rather just something to be aware of, particularly if you're heading out on a long trip. Also, on all the devices, leaving the wi-fi turned on will drain the battery much faster.
The Nook Color, on the other hand, employs a display similar to many smart phones and Notepads. It is fully backlit, and works nicely for displaying photographs, videos, and webpages. In return, the battery life is about eight hours, and the display turns completely off when you shut the device off (the Kindle switches to either a classic author image, or for the "Special Offer" editions, an advertisement). Under bright lighting, the backlit display can be more difficult to read than an e-ink display, but you won't need a supplemental light if you're reading in a dark location.
Both the Kindle and the Nook include wi-fi connectivity as standard. If you have a wireless network in your home, setting either device to connect to your network is simple, and you can then connect to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble to download books. Kindle offers a 3G variant, which extends connectivity anywhere 3G is available, courtesy of Amazon.com. You don't have to pay any additional fees to use the 3G connection on your Kindle. The Nook offers free wi-fi connections at any Barnes & Noble store, and both readers advertise free wi-fi connection at any AT&T wi-fi hotspot in the country. With the Nook Color, you can use any accessible wi-fi to connect to the internet, and browse just as if you were using a notepad type computer (the Nook Color employs a limited functionality Android OS). You can also hook the devices to the USB on your computer, to transfer books without using wi-fi.
The Nook Color offers a wider variety of available apps, taking advantage of the similarities to the Droid devices. Not all Droid apps will work on the stock Nook Color, and I cannot comment on the effectiveness of doing some software modifying on it to expand it to the full Android OS. I've been told it can be done, but I have not tried it, and don't currently plan to do so.
From our experience, and that of others that I have heard from, Amazon's customer service on the Kindle is exceptional. Shortly after getting her Kindle, my wife accidentally broke the display. When she called Amazon to inquire about repair service, she was told they don't currently offer repairs. However, even though she had clearly told the representative that the breakage had been her fault, he told her he would send out a replacement Kindle. It was overnighted to us, and was already pre-loaded with all the books she had gotten through Amazon. To date, I cannot compare that to Barnes & Noble's customer service, and - frankly - I hope I never need to. You will find Nook techs in the local Barnes & Noble stores, and my dealings with them have been pleasant and effective. If you have a local store, it is nice to be able to walk in and ask questions in person, particularly if you learn better by having them show you on the device, rather than trying to talk you through it over the phone.
If you are concerned about losing ebooks that you have purchased, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble keep a record of your purchases, and you can download them again if needed. The nice thing, also, is that if you forget that you have a certain book, and try to buy it again, they will let you know that you already own this book.
The Kindle comes with sufficient memory for up to 3500 books, depending on the size of the book and how much of any other media you may have stored on the device. The Nook comes with 2Gb of installed memory (rated for roughly 1000 books), while the Nook Color comes with 8Gb (up to 5000 books). Both variants of the Nook have the advantage of a Micro SD slot for adding additional memory, which the Kindle does not currently offer.
The Kindle has a physical keyboard on the front of the device, and uses buttons on either side for turning pages. Both Nooks use a touchscreen, with an onscreen keyboard appearing when needed. Touchscreens can sometimes be tricky, and when you think you're lined up over one key, you find you actually pressed a different one. For reading, pages are turned with a quick swipe of the screen, either right-to-left to advance the page, or left-to-right to back up a page.
The primary file format for the Nook is epub, and here is one place where the Nook has a definite strong point over the Kindle. Libraries all over the country are adding ebook capability to their lending catalogs, and you can check out books to your Nook (IF they are available. Just as with a print book, a library will only have a certain number of copies in their inventory, and if that many copies are checked out, you have to wait for them to be returned before you can check out the same book). The Kindle's primary format is AZW, and it cannot read epub. So far, libraries are not carrying AZW files. Additionally, the Nook is set up to allow loaning of books between devices. Amazon is working on a loan system for the Kindle, which should be available soon.
Both the Kindle and the Nook are comparable in size and weight (7.5 oz. for the Nook, and 8.5 oz for the Kindle), while the Nook Color tips the scales at almost a pound. For comparison, a single print copy of Cardan's Pod weighs 13.5 oz. A hardcover book will weigh even more, while smaller paperbacks will weigh a bit less. If you actually loaded the Nook Color's memory to capacity with ebooks, you could be carrying the equivalent of about 2 tons worth of print books. If you travel a lot, that's something to think about with airlines getting more restrictive on luggage weight and size.
E-readers may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's becoming apparent that they aren't just a passing fad. The ebook may not completely eradicate the print book, but if this trend continues, we're going to see the balance between electronic and print books change to favor the ebook. In many ways, it makes sense, even if it's not as satisfying as curling up in bed and feeling the paper pages beneath your fingers.
On the other hand, if you borrow an ebook, you don't have to worry that the previous reader was a smoker, and the book is going to smell like tobacco. Just don't try to fold down the corner of the page (then again, I'd tell you that with a print book, too).
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