Kindle Touch vs Nook Simple Touch- The Hottest E Inks Go Head to Head. Which Is Best?

Amazon and Barnes and Noble, after more than 3 years of competing to provide the best E Ink ebook reader on the market, have continued their battle in late 2011 at a whole new level. Starting out as clunkier and perhaps more confused devices, today we are comparing sophisticated full-touch screen E-Ink versions. Which is the better device, though? Let's compare the Kindle Touch vs Nook Simple Touch in detail.

There are many differences between the Kindle Touch and Nook Simple Touch. Let's list them all and we can go into the details next.

1. Memory capacity out of the box and expanded memory
2. Wifi and 3G capabilities
3. Page Turn and Navigation
4. Battery Life on one charge
5. Library Book Checkout methods and book availability
6. Other Differences

Many shoppers are wondering Kindle or Nook this 2011 Holiday Season and beyond. Here we go into detail some major differences, and also similar features to help one decide which is best for their needs.

1. Memory Capacity

The Kindle comes with the ability to store 3,000 books on the device on the box, whereas the Nook comes with 1,000. Extra or expanded storage is handled differently for each company. Amazon boasts the new "Cloud" service, allowing for Kindle users to store any overflow content on the Cloud for free. Barnes and Noble allows for insertion of SD card to expand memory capacity.

2. WiFi and 3G Options

The Kindle Touch comes in a "WiFi only" version and a "WiFi + 3G" version. The Nook Touch only comes in a WiFi version.

3. Page Turn and Navigation

Both the Kindle Touch and Nook Touch are completely touch controlled in all aspects, however only the Nook has page turn buttons as well. It's interesting that Amazon ended up doing away with all the buttons after hanging onto the push button keyboard for so long.

The Kindle Touch has a "multi touch" feature on the e-ink screen that allows the user to pinch and zoom for changing fonts and other uses.

4. Battery Life

Both the Nook Simple Touch and Kindle Touch allow for 2 months usage on one full battery charge.

5. Library Books

Amazon has finally put forward it's solution to the EPUB controversy of years past. The issue wasn't about the EPUB file as much as allowing users to check out library books and read titles for free.

Amazon didn't go the "Epub" route in the end, but instead worked out a deal behind the scenes. Now Kindle users can check out many titles from their local library through the OverDrive system, and have them wirelessly delivered from Amazon.com.

Downloading a Library Book On the Kindle vs Nook

For the Nook, one must download and install "Adobe Digital Editions". Important Tip: For Nook users, make sure to sign up with the same email in Adobe Digital Editions as registering your Nook, or it will not work. Next the user downloads the book from the library into A.D.E., then transfers the book via USB to the Nook itself.

For Kindle users, one clicks on the "Get For Kindle Now" button, and prompts are followed to then have the book wirelessly delivered to the Kindle.

Library Book Availability for Kindle Vs. Nook

It's immediately obvious when searching for a Kindle book in the public library that there are many more EPUB files available than Kindle Library Books. What the Nook lacks in ease of book download, it makes up for with book availability.

Having said that, Amazon is adding more and more titles by the day to libraries, and there are numerous best sellers and older novels available as well.

There are a lot of other differences to take into account when comparing the Kindle Touch vs Nook Simple Touch.

Pricing:

The most obvious thing a shopper will look at is the pricing when comparing the two ereaders. Remember, the Nook comes in a WiFi Only version, and it is priced between the two Kindle versions, but closer to the WiFi + 3G nonetheless. It remains to be seen if this will be a deterrent for shoppers or not.

Kindle Touch WiFi Only= $99.00 (With Special Offers)
Kindle Touch WiFi + 3G= $149.00 (With Special Offers)

Nook Simple Touch= $139.00

International Usage:

For people who are residents of countries outside the U.S., or for people who travel abroad a lot, the Kindle is most likely going to be the right choice, as it works in over 100 countries world wide. It "works" in the sense that the user can wirelessly download books, and use the 3G in these countries.

The Nook works in the continental U.S. only. One cannot download books wirelessly, nor download books online and transfer them to the Nook.

Text-To-Speech Feature:

Amazon offers a "text-to-speech" feature on the Kindle Touch, just like the previous Kindle versions. This is a computerized voice that reads the book out loud. It should be noted that not all publishers and authors give permission to use this feature.

Kindle's X-Ray Feature:

This is a new feature for the Kindle Touch that shows the "bones" of a book, hence the name "X-Ray". Selecting this feature for a book allows the user to see all the characters and important concepts of a book at a glance. One can choose the concept or character and see all instances within the book in a list form and a bar-chart like form.

"Special Offers" On the Kindle Touch:

Amazon is offering cheaper pricing of the Kindle if one opts for the "special offers" versions. Advertisements are shown on the home screen when the Kindle is in sleep mode, and also on the home screen. There are not ads within books or publications.

As one can see above, there is a lot to think about when comparing the Kindle Touch vs Nook Simple Touch. It comes down to a few important features such as international usage, pricing, need for the 3G option, the EPUB vs Kindle Library books issue, and whether or not the user sees "special offers" as good or bad. You can click to visit http://www.techwham.com for more information about the kindle vs nook including videos. I hope you liked this comparison and would love to here your take on which is best!