A lot of people are interested to see which ebook reader would take top honors in a Nook vs Kindle matchup. The big question mark is — which one? While Amazon’s Kindle is undoubtedly the dominant ereader out there today, some are saying that the Barnes and Noble gadget has what it takes to give the Kindle some serious competition. But does it really? Let’s put the two devices side by side.

Size, Weight and Design

Measuring 7.7 inches in length and 4.9 inches in width, the Nook is somewhat smaller than the Amazon Kindle which is 8 inches long and 5.3 inches wide. But on the other hand, at 0.3-inch in depth, the Kindle is thinner than the Nook at half an inch thick. The Barnes & Noble device also weighs a tad heavier at 11.2 ounces compared to the Kindle’s 10.2-oz weight.

Unlike the Kindle, the back cover of the Nook is designed to be removable, allowing quick access to its replaceable lithium ion battery. But what actually sets the Nook on an entirely different level is the 3.5-inch LCD color touchscreen which replaces a standard keyboard for navigation. The contrast between the colored LCD monitor and the grayscale e-ink screen offers an interesting dynamics to the gadget that only a small number of other ereaders can take pride in.

Other Add-Ons

Both ebook readers are equipped with 2GB of internal memory, but while that’s the most storage the Kindle can manage, the Nook gives the user the option of adding more memory via its microSD memory expansion slot. The two devices are also connected through AT&T’s 3G wireless network but only the Nook offers WiFi connectivity. Get inside a Barnes & Noble shop and you get direct free access to WiFi.

Unique Features of Each

Now here are the more interesting Nook vs Kindle facts. So what features are present on the Nook that can’t be found on the Kindle and vice versa? For one, the Barnes and Noble ereader offers two novel services – book lending (being able to loan your ebook to another Nook owner) and in-store browsing (being able to look over full ebooks for free within Barnes and Noble shops).

On the other hand, Kindle does come with text-to-speech feature which allows the user to just relax and listen to the book being read. In addition, the Kindle allows web browsing, while the Nook doesn’t. Finally, the Nook’s battery life of 7 to 10 days (more like 4-5 days according to users) is way behind the Kindle’s up to 14 days battery power (users say 10 days). These are battery life estimates with the Wifi turned off. 

The Verdict

As expected, finding a clear winner between the Nook vs Kindle is not that easy. But while both have exciting features, Amazon’s device takes the upper hand in overall use as it has practically perfected the technology, having gone through several Kindle generations. On the other hand, the Nook’s numerous issues, like slow page turns and sluggish startup will likely be improved in future versions, and then it can truly be a possible Kindle killer.

1. Can You Make Your Kindle Finance Itself In Twelve Months? Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader has been a tremendously successful product for them. It was first...
2. The Kindle Reader – Finding A Solution For Customer Needs Amazon's Kindle e-book reader seems to be forever in the public eye. It certainly gets...
3. Kindle 2 is Amazing! Author: JessieMoore If there’s another perfect word than the word amazing, then that would best...