The Nook, Barnes & Noble’s new ereader, has upped the ante. With a small, 3.5-inch LCD screen in the lower quadrant, the Nook adds touch capabilities that the Kindle definitely does not have.
So who will win the ereader race? While no one in particular has to “win” the race, it’s abundantly clear that Amazon has a head start. B&N was late with their readers, starting with a Kindle-like IREX and ending up with an odd duck that uses e-ink for text display but also adds a bit of UI richness with the color LCD. The specs promise an interesting experience and it’s especially nice to hear that the device will last for 10 days with wireless off, a bit longer than any of the Kindle family in practice although, in theory, any member can hit the 14 day mark.
The real value in these bookstore-backed ereaders is discovery and shopping. Sony’s offerings, for example, lost quite a bit of ground even though they were first to market. A vibrant and wide-ranging bookstore is key to an ereaders success which is what makes the Nook quite interesting.
Another interesting tidbit – the Nook, because it’s built on Android, should run Android apps natively, turning the Nook into more of a computing device than a standalone reader.
No one has to lose in this race. However, when it comes to standards and potential sales Amazon may have to change its attiutude towards sharing in order to beat the Nook’s “lending” functionality which allows users to “give” their books to other Nook users outside of their immediate circle.
I’m just glad to see a little competition. Amazon will be the better for it and B&N seems to know what people like.
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Device |
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Price |
$259 |
$489 |
$259 |
$399 |
$399 |
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Screen Size |
6 inches |
9.7 inches |
3.5 inch LCD/6 inch epaper |
7 inches |
8.1 inches |
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Touch Screen |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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Rotating Screen |
No |
Yes |
TK |
Yes |
Yes |
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Storage |
2GB not expandable |
4GB not expandable |
2GB Expandable up to 16GB |
2GB expandable via Memory Stick and SD |
No on-board memory, comes with 2GB |
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Wireless |
AT&T |
Sprint |
AT&T 3G and Wi-Fi |
AT&T |
Verizon chipset for worldwide use |
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Bookstore |
Amazon |
Amazon |
Barnes & Noble |
Sony eBookstore |
Barnes & Noble |
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Content Availability |
350,000+ books newspaper, magazine, blog |
350,000+ books newspaper, magazine, blog |
750,000+ books “Users can purchase books, *not available over 3G unless |
100,000+ books One million public domain books via Participating local library *not available over 3G |
750,000+ books “Users can purchase books, *not available over 3G unless |
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Natively Supported Formats |
Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible, MP3, |
Kindle (AZW), PDF, TXT, Audible, |
ePub, “multiple DRM solutions,” PDF |
ePub, PDF, JPEG, BBeB, RTF, TXT |
ePub, “multiple DRM solutions” |
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Formats Supported via |
PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP |
HTML, DOC, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP |
Word, more to come |
DOC, HTML, “other text file |
Not sure yet, will update when more |
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Web Browser |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
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Other Features (lists |
Bookmarks, annotations, dictionary, |
Bookmarks, annotations, dictionary, |
Dictionary |
Highlighting, annotation, |
Bookmarks, search, included stylus, |
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Available |
Now |
Now |
Nov 30 ‘09 |
December ‘09 |
October ‘09 (Europe in mid-2010) |
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