E-Readers: Kindle or Nook?

[steadyrock]

As some of you know, we homeschool our kids. Our school year just got underway on Monday, and we're still getting some of our curriculum and books in. We have three kids in school currently (grades 6, 3, and K) and will have a fourth in K next year. Recently, my wife floated the idea of getting Kindles for the kids so we could avoid the storage hassle of paper books and they could take more of their stuff with them when they're on the go (they tend to travel as a pack and spend lots of time at each others' baseball, swim, or karate practices and events, so being able to take a few books along with them is beneficial).

I'm not sold on the idea, because I like real books - but I'm willing to entertain it. So, which is the better unit? Kindle or Nook? Can we download books and store them offline (say, on a USB drive)? This would be helpful if we could build a "5th grade" library, and a "6th" grade library, and so on. Does the free 3G access really work on the Kindle and is it really free? Is there a web browser / do they do anything other than read books?

I have an iPad2 and really like it, but I'm not buying a $500 device and paying for a data plan for a kindergartner. $149 or so with no data plan I could manage, though.

Any thoughts? Are most titles (including textbooks) available in e-book format?

[Eirerogue]

Kindle. More options for readers, greater investment for the long-term by Amazon. All purchased books are stored in the Cloud, which you can retrieve at anytime. 3G access really does work and is free. I travel a lot for work and never jump on a plane with less than 5-8 books in my Kindle. I get the WSJ delivered daily. Kindle can read PDF files as well. You can highlight text, clip passages and store, etc. I too have the iPad2 and the Kindle is MUCH easier to read in the sunlight. Many, many textbooks are available in Kindle. The list gets shorter as it becomes more technical in nature. For example, medical texts.

My Doctor says he's waiting for his medical library to get duped into Kindle format so he can take them everywhere. As for 'real' books, read one or two on a Kindle and you won't miss anything. I've heard all the 'real paper' and paper feel arguments. Try one and you won't look back.

[Shellshocker66]

+1 for the kindle!

[Futurecollector]

Kindle. More options for readers, greater investment for the long-term by Amazon. All purchased books are stored in the Cloud, which you can retrieve at anytime. 3G access really does work and is free. I travel a lot for work and never jump on a plane with less than 5-8 books in my Kindle. I get the WSJ delivered daily. Kindle can read PDF files as well. You can highlight text, clip passages and store, etc. I too have the iPad2 and the Kindle is MUCH easier to read in the sunlight. Many, many textbooks are available in Kindle. The list gets shorter as it becomes more technical in nature. For example, medical texts.

My Doctor says he's waiting for his medical library to get duped into Kindle format so he can take them everywhere. As for 'real' books, read one or two on a Kindle and you won't miss anything. I've heard all the 'real paper' and paper feel arguments. Try one and you won't look back.

What about prices? And can you download an E-book to put it on a flash drive?

[gorn5150]

I have the kindle, nook color, both versions of iPad and an Acer android tab. I like them all for different reasons, but the winner for book reading hands down is the kindle. The screen is amazing. It is real light weight and runs on a charge for weeks.

[RazzB7]

I got my wife a Kindle for Christmas last year and she absolutely loves it. The 3G is totally free, no hidden fees. But it's only real use is for browsing and downloading books. You can't surf the web or anything on it. The screen is truly amazing. It's not like looking at a monitor at all. It is like looking at a piece of paper. Even in full sunlight. It will store over 3000 books in it's memory and has cloud storage if you ever have data loss. Book price is reasonable on Amazon.com. Every month they have free books on their website and a lot of the classics can be had for free. Current best-sellers are available for less than the newsstand price. I really like it and will be getting one for myself soon. I think Amazon hit a home run with the Kindle. I think this is the wave of the future when it comes to books.

[loose_electron]

A good place to start:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20009738-1/kindle-vs-nook-vs-ipad-which-e-book-reader-should-you-buy/

Cnet does good tech reviews without bias.

[thy95]

If you want feature get the nook color. You can also port android to it and download the kindle or any e-reader app.

[jonzer77]

I would vote for the kindle special offers model since it gives you some awesome coupon codes. I just ordered a MacBook air off amazon and got 20% off along with saving tax and I ended up getting a awesome price. That coupon is dead but they always have cool specials.

[Peter.Steele]

Nook Color.

Root it, install Android, install both Kindle and Nook apps on it. Along with anything else you want.

[redrex]

The choice is really about what you want the emphasis to be on.

• The Kindle - This is the best book replacement. As others have noted, batter life is huge, the screen does look like paper and is easily read in bright light. It's light and easily portable. But this is a book device only. The 3g service is for delivering those books and nothing more. And no, there is no way to take a book off of the device like to a thumb drive or such.
  
• The iPad - You can get a refurbed 1st gen for $400. I've even seen it for as low as $350. This is a multimedia device, it can do books (Kindle Nook iBook and more), movies, educational games and more. Battery, with heavy use, will last about a day. The screen has gotten some knocks for reading in bright light. If this is an issue for you, just get a stick on screen guard for $2. It will turn the screen from high gloss to matte. This is a device you could design your who ciriculem around. Note that there is not thumb drive access but you can save files to DropBox and then access them from anywhere.
  
• Nook Color - This is your compromise. Root it, its very easy to do, and you now have a basic Android 7" tablet. It does not have a very fast processor as it was made to be an ebook reader so keep that in mind.
  
• The Asus Transformer - This is a tablet that runs android that can convert to a notebook. Just like an iPad but runs Android, it's fast, it's slick and it's beautiful. AND it's at target for $400 but they give you a $100 target gift card.
  
• "other" ereaders - If you want to just dip you toe in the market and see what it's like. Aluratek and Skytex have ones that sell for just over $50

I have a son who just turned 5 and he has laid claim to my iPad. He loves it. I set up a bunch of games and books on there for him. He loves it. He has been using a planetarium app lately. He now knows all of the planets and their moons. It's pretty cool to see how he has mastered this device.

Also have you checked out Project Gutenberg, it is a free ebook service.

[Werewolf1021]

Kindle.

If you want to read E-pub formatted ebooks, you have to convert them with a program. I use calibre, as it manages ebooks as well as converts them.

[Bert Gamble]

I chose the Nook and really like it. I think the Kindle is nice also though. The Nook was the choice for me because of B&K customer service in helping me set up the account and get started. I also like the idea of going into the bookstore, selecting the titles, and downloading them on the spot.

I don't think you will be disapointed either way.

[blakdawg]

+1 on the Kindle for long battery life and easy readability.

[shotcaller6]

The Kindle is excellent, I'm very pleased with it. I just signed into Kindle with this new Touchpad, and now my books are on my pad now as well.
So far seems fairly easy on the eyes, time will tell.