Rating:

First, reasons why we prefer the kindle over nook:

* Page refresh speed

Kindle 2 was twice as fast as nook, Kindle 3 is slightly faster yet. However, I read a whole book on the nook and didn’t find page refresh to be so slow as to be annoying. You get used to it, and automatically develop the habit of pressing the page turn button a second before you need it.

* Navigation speed

Here is where the kindle has a huge advantage. Moving the cursor around the screen (e.g. to select things) is way, way, way better on kindle than nook. When you use the rocker button (on kindle 3, or the joystick on kindle 2), the cursor moves almost immediately. In contrast, when you use the “virtual rocker button” on nook’s color touch screen, there’s a noticeable lag before the cursor moves. Plus, just to get to the cursor control on the nook, you have to turn on its color touch screen (which is normally off when not in use, to save battery power). This adds to the lag time. [UPDATE: Nook will soon get a software update that supposedly speeds up performance, specifically navigation and page turns. If this were a software issue, why wasn't it fixed a long time ago? No software update can compensate for a slow processor.]

* Screen contrast

You’ve seen Amazon’s claims that the Kindle 3 e-ink has 50% better contrast. I can tell you, it makes a difference, particularly in low light conditions, when you have to strain a little to make out the not quite as dark characters on Kindle 2 and Nook. When lighting is not ideal, it’s much easier and more pleasant to read on Kindle 3 and Kindle DX than on Nook or Kindle 2.

* Battery life

The nook’s color LCD touch screen drains its battery quickly – I could never get more than 5 days out of a charge. We got at least 7 days or more on the Kindle 2, and the Kindle 3 uses a battery with more capacity than Kindle 2′s battery. My wife and I each get at least 3 weeks of battery life between charges (we keep wireless off about half the time).

* Weight

Nook weighs about 3 ounces more than the new Kindle, and you can really feel the difference. Without a case, Nook is still light enough to hold in one hand for long reading sessions without fatigue. But in a case, Nook is a heavy sucker and wears you out after a while. I found myself taking Nook out of its case when I was reading Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. The new Kindle 3 is so light, even in a case, my wife and I read on our new kindles until quite last last night, each holding them in their lighted leather case with one hand (we are such an old married couple!).

Reasons some people might prefer the nook:

* In-store experience

If you need help with your nook, you can take it to any barnes and noble and get a real human to help. You can take your nook into the coffee shop section of your local B&N store and read any book for free for up to one hour per day. When you take your nook to B&N, some in-store special deals and the occasional free book pop up on your screen.

* User-replaceable battery

After a year or two of moderate use, the battery will start to lose its ability to hold a charge. Nook’s battery is user-replaceable and relatively inexpensive. To replace Kindle’s battery, you must ship your Kindle to Amazon. Amazon’s customer service told me that they ship you back a DIFFERENT kindle (though the same model as yours) with a new battery inside. I really don’t like this, at all.

* ePub and loaning e-books

Nook uses the ePub format, a widely used open format. Amazon uses a proprietary ebook format. Many libraries will “lend” ebooks in the ePub format, which works with nook but not kindle. Nook owners can “loan” ebooks they purchased to other nook owners for up to two weeks. You can’t do this with kindle.

[UPDATE: Kindle will soon get the same lending feature that Nook has.]

* Nook’s color LCD touchscreen

This could be a pro or con, depending on your preferences. It makes nook hipper and less drab than kindle. Some people enjoy using the color LCD to view their library or navigate. I did, at first. But after two weeks of use, and comparisons with my wife’s kindle, I found the dedicated buttons of the kindle easier and far quicker to use than the nook’s color touchscreen. I also found the bright light from the color screen distracting when I was trying to read a book or newspaper (though when not in use, it shuts off after a minute or so to conserve battery).

A few other notes:

* MP3 player

I’ve used it on the Kindle 3, and it has less features than a first-generation ipod shuffle: no way to select a specific track to hear, let alone see the name of the currently playing track.

* Web browser

The browser on Kindle 3 is easier to use than Nook’s browser, particularly when navigating. But neither is really very good, most people will probably use their e-reader’s browser only in a pinch.

* PDF support

Viewing PDFs is better on Kindle 3 than on Kindle 2 or nook, but still not that great. You have to zoom in on part of the page and pan around to read the page, which is slightly cumbersome; this is less an issue on Kindle DX, because of the DX’s much bigger display. Graphics in my PDF documents don’t usually display correctly on Kindle, and sometimes Kindle can’t even open the PDF file if it has certain kinds of graphics. I imagine the only worthwhile use of Kindle’s PDF compatibility would be if you’re trying to read an e-book that comes in PDF format, provided it was pre-formatted for reading on a device with a 6″ display. Of course, you can convert many PDF documents to Kindle’s native format (you do this by attaching the PDF document to an email that you send to a certain address).

SUMMARY:

Nook and Kindle each offer their own advantages. We like the nook’s user-replaceable battery, compatibility with ePub format, and in-store experience. But we strongly prefer Kindle 3 because its performance is far zippier, it’s screen is easier to read, and its smaller and lighter so it’s more portable and more comfortable to hold in one hand for long reading sessions.

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UPDATE 10/17/2010:

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There are 200+ comments here, and many commenters have posted extremely helpful replies. There are a few questions that keep getting asked over and over, which I’ll address here

So that you don’t have to wade through all the comments, I’ll summarize what I see as the key points from the discussion. Keep in mind that much of the great info that follows comes from other Amazon customers who took the time to contribute.

1) Kindle’s battery

a) Thanks to commenters for pointing out that 3rd party internet retailers will sell you a replacement battery and include instructions on how to change it yourself. (Some post a video showing how to do it.) This is not only much cheaper than Amazon’s option, you also keep your own Kindle. Opening the Kindle will void the warranty, but it’s not likely the battery will die before the warranty expires – and if it does, Amazon replaces it at no cost to you.

b) Other commenters obtained objective information about the life of the battery that comes in the Kindle 3, and after doing some math, calculated that the original battery in the Kindle will live for 3-6 years. I’ll probably upgrade to a newer model before the battery in my Kindle 3 dies, so I’m no longer concerned about this issue.

c) My wife and I get a LOT of battery life out of our kindles between charges. She uses hers an hour a day, I use mine about 2 hours a week. We each keep the wireless off about 2/3 of the time, and we both get three or more weeks before we have to recharge.

2) 3G vs. wifi

3G and wifi are two ways for the kindle to connect to the internet. You don’t need an internet connection to read ebooks and newspapers that are already on your device. You need a connection to download new content to your kindle, and also to use kindle’s browser to surf the internet. Let’s suppose for the moment that you don’t use Kindle’s browser very often.

If you don’t have wifi at home, you should probably get the 3G model, otherwise you’ll have to take your kindle to a wifi hotspot every time you want to download a book or newspaper.

If you do have wifi at home, you can probably survive without the 3G version. What about when you’re away from home? If you read ebooks while traveling, just load up your kindle with a few ebooks before leaving home. It becomes an issue if you subscribe to a daily periodical on your Kindle, like the New York Times; then, it’s handy to have 3G so that you continue to get your new issues every day. Yet, wifi hotspots are popping up everywhere – many of them free – so 3G connectivity is less and less a necessity for many of us. And, 3G coverage is not universal – I have two sets of relatives I see regularly who live in areas where 3G coverage is spotty; but in both of those towns, the hotels I stay in have free wifi, so I’m covered.

If you use Kindle’s web browser frequently, it may be worthwhile to get the 3G model. I don’t really like Kindle’s web browser, and my phone has a good web browser and display, so there’s almost never a need for me to use Kindle’s browser.

Most of this argues for getting the cheaper wifi version. But there are reasons to consider the 3G version. First, the extra money you pay for the 3G version buys you unlimited lifetime free 3G service; thinking of it this way, the price really doesn’t seem unreasonable. Second, the more you’re away from home, the more likely you’ll find yourself in a situation in which wifi isn’t available but 3G coverage is good; probably not TOO often, but once in a while. Then, it’s nice to have 3G, especially if you get a daily periodical or if you want to download a new ebook.

3) Amazon’s proprietary format, ePub, Calibre

It’s true, with a nook, you can “borrow” ebooks from a library, if those ebooks are in the ePub format. Some commenters have said this works well on their nook; other commenters have said the selection of ebooks at some libraries is frustratingly small. Whether you have a Nook or a Kindle, check out the free Calibre software. Calibre works with Kindle, Nook, and most major ereader brands. It allows you to convert ebooks from one format to another (so long as the ebook file is not copy-protected). You can convert ePub files into a format that works well with the Kindle. Calibre is very reputable and reliable. I am just starting to use it, and it works well for me. I no longer feel tied to Amazon’s proprietary format. Though, frankly, I LIKE shopping Amazon’s store from my kindle and buying Amazon kindle books. I will probably continue to get the vast majority of my content from Amazon, so the fact that the kindle uses a proprietary Amazon format isn’t really a problem for me.

4) PDF files

Nook does not have native PDF support. When you put a PDF file on your nook, nook converts it into an ebook-like file, then you can adjust the font size and the text and pagination will adjust just like with any ebook. But you cannot see the original PDF file in the format it was created.

Kindle 3 and Kindle DX have native support for PDF files. You can see PDF files just as they would appear on your computer. You can also convert PDF files to an ebook-like format, and then Kindle handles them just the way the Nook handles them – text and pagination adjust when you change the font size.

Unfortunately, some symbols, equations, and graphics get lost or mangled in the translation – even when viewing PDF files in their native format on the Kindle.

Moreover, the small screen size of the Kindle 3 is not great for PDF files, most of which are designed for a larger page size. You can zoom and pan, but this is cumbersome and tiresome. Thanks to commenters who suggested viewing PDF files in landscape mode; this way, you can see the entire top half of the page without panning, and then scroll down to the bottom half. This works a little better.

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UPDATE 10/26/2010:

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Today, a new color version of the Nook was announced. It is a very different product from the ones I wrote about above. The color nook uses a color LCD display, not the eInk displays found on the Kindle and (original) Nook. This is a huge difference. It means that reading a book on a new color nook will feel like reading it on a computer monitor or an iPad. The color Nook is also heavier – almost twice as heavy as Kindle. It only comes with wifi, not 3G. And its battery is only rated at 8 hours before needing a recharge, whereas the original nook gets a week and the new Kindle gets 2-4 weeks. On the plus side, it has a touch screen and will run a limited selection of apps. If you want a device for reading books, Kindle or the original Nook are much easier on the eyes, and much less expensive. If you want a device with a color touchscreen for consuming all kinds of entertainment, an iPad might be a better choice, but the color Nook is worth checking out if you can’t afford an iPad.

Rating:

I don’t even know that this screen protector is on my Kindle. My husband said that it was easy to install and I have no glare in any situation. I know my screen is protected yet I didn’t have to sacrifice any screen quality whatsoever. To me that absolutely justifies the additional cost.

My only complaint is that the screen protector should have been available for an individual purchase instead of just as a two pack.

Rating:

1. Calls sound isn’t passed via RF as iPod songs, so if you receive a call in the car you will have to hear it on the iPgone’s speaker or using a bluetooth device.

2. If you connect the iPhone to the power cable the GPS signal stops since it is not compatible which to me is a major downside of the device…

Rating:

I tried accessing my Pandora account, but I receive a “content error” after it tried to play a few songs. Slacker and NPR drop the same error. UPDATE: I unplugged the unit after the firmware update, and now it can access internet audio.

The DLNA capabilities of the unit are poor. If you’re expecting it to be on par with the PS3, you’ll be very disappointed. It cannot display any mpeg, mpeg-4 (mkv, mp4), or wmv content via DLNA, which makes it useless as a DLNA streamer, at least for my media. These limitations are listed on page 26 of the manual, so I can’t imagine they’ll change with a firmware update.

If you need a set top box for streaming content from your computer or NAS, look elsewhere because this isn’t it.

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This screen was so much easier to apply. I had it on with absolutely no bubbling in less than 5 minutes. I fought with the BoxWave version for at least 15. Part of it may be that I have a better sense of the application process having already screwed one up (thus the beauty of the back up second protector), but I also think the quality of this product is slightly better. It seemed a bit firmer, fit the screen better (it’s a tiny bit undersized whereas the BoxWave seemed a tad too big), and I didn’t have to smooth out as many bubbles during the application product. I really wish I had bought this product the first time.

I found there was some debate over the need for a screen protector if you have a cover for your Kindle. After looking at the beating my iPod cover took, I figured I’d rather be safe than sorry. Chances are my screen will be fine without a protector so long as I keep the case closed when I’m traveling with my Kindle. Still, I’d rather pay the $15 instead of the cost of replacing my Kindle if I’m wrong.

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Music

AAC(M4A)

MP3

WAV

WMA

Photo

JPEG

It has built-in wireless: 2.4GHz N band

On the back it has: ethernet, HDMI, composite, component, optical and analog

It can output: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p

So far I’m happy with it. One word of caution though, make sure to turn off the device before plugging or unplugging a USB device.

UPDATE 10/15: Qriosity works. The player does not support ISO files and the only video you can stream is DivX, WMV and MPEG. I was able to get WMV and MPEG to stream by changing the extension to .divx .

Rating:

Any how. I love the Kindle, but having to stair through my own reflection to read a book is a terrible experience. My own looks aside I want to see the words, not myself, not the sky above, not my ceiling fan, etc.

This anti glare screen protector is a great size, applies (and re-applies if you mess up) very easily and just works.

It’s been on for over a month, no moving, no bubbles, nothing. If it gets smudgy or water drops on it or whatever, just wipe it clean.