Kindle 3 versus Nook

In March 2011, CNet Reviews placed the two top digital reader contenders Kindle and Nook face to face. Kindle won hands down at a score of 3.5 while Nook came in at a close 3.1.

The e-book reader market is evolving at light speed, but--in the pre-iPad era, at least--the current focus is on the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook.

Now in its second generation, Amazon's Kindle has a leg up on the competition, if only because of its growing install base and Amazon's marketing muscle. The Nook, meanwhile, adds quite a few features not available on the Amazon: a color touch-screen navigation pad, an Android-powered operating system, and the ability to freely browse books while inside Barnes & Noble's brick-and-mortar stores.

With a closely matched feature set--and an identical price tag--we put these two e-book readers head to head, with a trio of CNET editors judging the five-round contest. Let's head to the ring to see which product comes out on top. 

Read more at CNet Reviews

Round 1: Design: Hot or not?

In Round 1, we examine the physical design and ergonomics of each product. How does the Kindle's hard keyboard compare with the Nook's touch-screen navigation pad? (We'll focus on the interface for each product in the next round.)

player	David	Tom	Brian	the winner
Amazon Kindle (global wireless, 2009 version)	4This Kindle certainly looks better than the original, but it's not that sleek and many argue that the built-in keyboard makes the device longer than it needs to be. All that said, I think it's more important what cover you pick for your Kindle rather than what the device itself looks like.	3Lipstick on a pig. This Kindle is prettier than the last but it's still beige and blocky.	3It's definitely improved from the first gen, but I still feel like I'm using something from 1985. Design was not a priority here.	3.3
Barnes & Noble Nook (3G/Wi-Fi)	4The Nook's a tad heavier than the Kindle, though its dimensions are smaller. The built-in mini color LCD gives it a bit of flash, and I like the whole touch-screen virtual keyboard concept. Overall, however, as far as cosmetics go, I think it's a toss-up between the two e-readers.	4The Nook looks hot. The color touch screen lends a splash that gives it panache.	4Cosmetically, the Nook looks clean. The backside is one piece, and you won't see a physical button on the front.	4

Round 2: Navigation and interface

Unlike the iPad, the e-ink screens on the Kindle and Nook are black and white--and they aren't touch screens. However, the Nook adds a color touch-screen navigation bar, whereas the Kindle relies on good old-fashioned buttons. How do they stack up?

player	David	Tom	Brian	the winner
Amazon Kindle (global wireless, 2009 version)	4The Kindle is pretty easy to use and navigate, and the Kindle Store currently has a design edge over Barne's & Noble's store. Amazon does a better job of breaking down subcategories and surfacing more e-book titles from the Kindle itself.	3The navigation gets quirky at times, but overall it's intuitive. Not quite to the point where it "just works," though.	3Navigating the Kindle is relatively easy, but that joystick nub you have to use, placed on the far side, is not comfortable.	3.3
Barnes & Noble Nook (3G/Wi-Fi)	3I got used to using the capacitive touch-screen LCD at the bottom of the device for navigation, but some people don't like it. I think it's definitely a plus for looking at cover art and I like flipping through the covers like you would on an iPhone. It's also worth pointing out that Barnes & Noble has fixed some early bugs and improved the overall performance of the device. I hope it continues to get better.	2The navigation being split between buttons on the plastic and buttons that show up in the touch screen makes for a steeper learning curve. Not very intuitive, but still useful once you figure it out.	2I though I'd really like the touch-screen navigation, but when I actually started using it, I wasn't a fan. It's cramped, with a scroll bar directly next to two selection arrows, and then the selection button is on the side of that. Plus, the touch screen's brightness makes e-ink look so bland. The contrast is distracting.	2.3

Round 3: Features and technology

Both the Kindle and the Nook are narrowly focused as e-book readers: their primary purpose is to view books, magazines, newspapers, and other documents electronically. But scratch the surface, and the two devices do have some notable differences in the features department.

player	David	Tom	Brian	the winner
Amazon Kindle (global wireless, 2009 version)	3The Kindle's strengths are its excellent integration with the Kindle Store and the option to buy e-books online (using your desktop computer) and transfer them wirelessly to the Kindle and other devices, such as an iPhone or BlackBerry. The Kindle also gets points for its international wireless support and text-to-speech functionality.	4The Kindle seems to have more experiments going, but really I just want to read books. Whispersync is a key feature for me, since I read on my phone as well as on the Kindle itself.	3The Kindle's Whispersync feature, which keeps the place of your reading on different devices, is slick. And the international version gives it a lot of flexibility to download books on the go almost anywhere you are. The Web browser is worth mentioning, but you're not going to use it at all. More than 460,000 books are available for purchase. I also prefer the Kindle Store experience.	3.3
Barnes & Noble Nook (3G/Wi-Fi)	3Aside from its capacitive color touch screen, the real unique feature of the Nook is the inclusion of Wi-Fi, along with 3G wireless connectivity. That Wi-Fi connection allows you to access special content in Barnes & Noble brick-and-mortar stores. The Nook also has expandable memory, supports more file formats, and offers a "lending" function not found on the Kindle.	4Not much else to offer than audio and book reading, though I expect that will change. Overall, a solid but not special offering of features.	4Wi-Fi and 3G combination is killer, and is enticing if you hang out at Barnes & Noble stores. The sharing feature is innovative, but it's also really limited. You won't be able to purchase books if you're in other countries unless you're on Wi-Fi. Expansion slot for memory for additional content is nice. More than 1 million books available, but larger library is because of the EPUB format.	3.7

Round 4: Performance

There are no "performance" worries with a paper book or magazine. But with e-book readers, battery life and screen response time are just two of the primary concerns.

player	David	Tom	Brian	the winner
Amazon Kindle (global wireless, 2009 version)	4The Kindle has a slight edge in terms of speed and battery life, but the readability of both devices is the same.	3E-ink screens are a little slow, but they do the job. If I'm ever slowed down it's by the Net connection. Battery life is insane with the wireless off and even pretty good with it on.	4The speed of the Kindle, although it could be a lot faster, almost feels snappy compared with the Nook. E-ink refresh rates are annoying, but that's the tech. You're also getting a longer battery life here.	3.7
Barnes & Noble Nook (3G/Wi-Fi)	3The color LCD does require some extra energy, so the Nook battery life numbers aren't quite as good as the Kindle's. Performance-wise, the Kindle initially had the clear edge, but Barnes & Noble's latest firmware upgrades have made performance zippier.	1Fail. I shouldn't have to wait forever for the navigation options to come up on the touch screen before I can even make selections. Not as big of a problem once you're into a book, but still terribly frustrating when you just want to start reading. The speed makes the Nook almost unusable.	2I'm tempted to give it a 1, because I was so frustrated, and this is after the firmware update. This thing is slow; the touch-screen responsiveness is buggy; it will disappear and then take a few seconds to reappear when you want to use it. The "page back" on the left side of our Nook is loose and makes too much noise.	2

Round 5: Value

Last, but definitely not least, we consider the price of these e-book readers measured against their respective features, design, and performance. This task is made somewhat easier given that both are (at the time of this writing) priced identically at $259.

player	David	Tom	Brian	the winner
Amazon Kindle (global wireless, 2009 version)	4Both devices cost the same, but the Kindle--at least for now--probably has a slightly wider selection of books and slightly better prices on those books. Neither device comes with a cover, which is too bad.	4The Kindle is pricey, but not out of line at this point. Books are cheap for now, though publishers intend to change that. But you seem to get more for your money with the Kindle.	4It's $259 for both devices. I think performance alone makes a hug difference here, because you won't be annoyed by the tech.	4
Barnes & Noble Nook (3G/Wi-Fi)	4When Barnes & Noble finally allows you to stream and sample e-books in its stores via Wi-Fi, that will give it some extra value. To me, they're both priced fairly well, though the arrival of the iPad may force both to go down to $199.	3The price is right in line with the Kindle, and the books, if anything, seem to be a tad cheaper overall. But if I'm going to pay the same for either, I'd rather have the Kindle.	3There are a lot of features packed in here, but I was constantly distracted by its poor performance.	3.3

The winner is...

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle
3.5

Barnes & Noble Nook (3G/Wi-Fi)
3.1

Oh, Nook--close, but no cigar. Even though the Nook edges Amazon's reader on features, the Kindle ekes out a win thanks to a more polished experience. Of course, with these products, you're always just a theoretical firmware update away from turning the tables. Still, we'd expect future versions of both of these products to benefit from a combination of improved features and performance with lower prices to combat the oncoming Apple iPad juggernaut.

Amazon's Ad-supported Kindle Helps it Sell More E-readers

Amazon says the $114 ad-supported version of the Kindle e-reader is riding high as its best-selling item in electronics.

With the Amazon tablet expected to launch sometime in 2011, Amazon could use lower prices to reel in customers loathe to spending money on the more expensive iPad tablet. Having the devices carry ads could help the company turn a buck while selling its devices cheaper.

Considering how many of your applications run wild with ads, a cut-rate Amazon tablet with discreet advertisements could be a boon for consumers who want a tablet on the cheap.

Amazon's "Special Offers" Wi-Fi-only version of the Kindle, which includes homepage and screensaver advertisements, was a good idea to help it lower the price. It is $25 cheaper than the $139 Kindle. 

Read more at PC World

iPad 2 Reviews are in

From PC Mag Blog

The most positive of the reviews comes from David Pogue of The New York Times. "My friends, I'm telling you: just that much improvement in thinness, weight and speed transforms the experience," he says. "We're not talking about a laptop or a TV, where you don't notice its thickness while in use. This is a tablet. You are almost always holding it. Thin and light are unbelievably important for comfort and the overall delight. So are rounded edges, which the first iPad didn't have.

The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg is positive in his review but more measured. "Unless you are desperate for the cameras or feel you are laboring under the greater bulk of the original model, I don't advise that iPad owners race to get the new version," he says.

Edward Baig of USA Today says the new model "makes what was already a splendid slab even better, even if the overall upgrade is relatively modest." He notes some flaws: the screen resolution and storage are unchanged; it doesn't take advantage of 4G cellular networks; it only has a mono speaker, there's no card slot or USB support; and he reported several glitches with the AirPlay feature for streaming video. But he calls these items "nitpicks."

"The iPad 2 doesn't deliver everything on your tablet wish list," he says."But when it comes to the ever-evolving state of the art, iPad 2 is second to none."

Closer to home, PCMag's Tim Gideon says that "As cocky as it may seem, when Steve Jobs boasts that most of the new 2011 tablets are no match for the original Apple iPad, he has a point."

Engadget's Josh Topolsky covers much of the same ground, but adds a number of benchmarks to the coverage. The benchmark numbers looked better, and he concludes, "When we first handled the device, it seemed noticeably faster to us, and even after a week with the tablet, it's still zippier than the previous model by a longshot."

Bloomberg BusinessWeek's Rich Jaroslovsky is also generally quite positive, but he joins Mossberg in complaining that it's harder to hook up to cables than the older one and that the cover comes loose and turns on the device. Overall, says there's no real need to upgrade to the iPad 2, but "let's face it: Many of you are going to anyway.

PC Mag 10 big questions about iPad 2

From PC Mag

1. Why No Memory Specs? 

Apple's busy touting the iPad 2's huge performance increase (over the original), which comes courtesy of the A5 chip. That makes sense, a dual-core processor should beat the pants off a single core CPU. However, as with any computer, the CPU is only part of the performance story. What's the easiest way to increase system performance? Add memory. We know that the first-generation iPad has 256MB of RAM, but Apple isn't saying how much is in the iPad 2. "More" seems like a reasonable guess.

2. Why No 4G?
Apple's new best friend, Verizon, has a brand-new LTE network, but you won't find 4G on the new Verizon iPhone 4 or the latest-gen iPad. Why is that? Price is one reason: Adding a 4G radio would certainly have increased the price on the top-of-the line iPad 2. Also, Apple pays pretty close attention to the market and early market research indicated that almost 50 percent of potential iPad buyers were picking up a Wi-Fi-only model (Apple does not break out Wi-Fi-only iPad sales figures). I have a 3G-ready iPad, but I've never activated the service (I find ample Wi-Fi access almost everywhere I use my iPad). I suspect that's a common scenario. If a good percentage of iPad owners aren't using 3G—even when they have it—why would Apple jump to introduce 4G?

3. Why No Apple TV Gaming? 

There was some conjecture that Apple might try to make Apple TV and the iPad 2 into a de facto console-gaming solution: The games would reside on the iPad, and they would play on your HDTV via Airplay and Apple TV. The iPad, then, would essentially become the game controller. Apple seems committed to keeping iPad gaming firmly on the iPad and it always tries to avoid subpar user experiences. Any iPad game scaled up to play on your HDTV could look bad, plus, Wi-Fi might not support real-time interaction.

4. Why No 7-Inch Tablet? 

Have you not been listening? Last year Steve Job's called 7-inch tablets "dead on arrival." Now, the Cupertino leader has been known to change his mind. He famously dismissed Apple making phones only to turn around and deliver the groundbreaking iPhone. Even so, 7-inch tablets have not set the world on fire. Apple will gladly point those who want a smaller iPad to the iPhone or iPod touch.

5. Why No Flash Support? 

Really? Did anyone think Steve Jobs was going to change his mind on this? Apple reportedly believes Flash support would cut iPad battery life from 10 hours down to 1.5. That's unlikely, but note how proud Jobs was that the iPad 2 has gotten more powerful without sacrificing a lick of battery life. He's right about one thing: When it comes to mobile devices, nothing is more precious than long battery life.

6. Why No Display-Resolution Boost? 

I really thought Apple would go above 1,024 by 768 to at least 1,280 by 1,024. But screen resolution and perception are somewhat fungible. Some screens simply look better than others, and with the relatively small screen size of most tablets, including the original iPad, iPad 2, and Motorola Xoom, telling the difference between HD imagery and average screen resolutions can be difficult. You don't, for instance, realize how good the iPhone 4's Retina display really is until you hold it up next to another similarly sized phone. Plus, while the HD-ready Xoom has a 1280-by-800 screen resolution, the pixels-per-inch comparison between the iPad 2 and the Xoom puts the screen image quality somewhat closer: The Xoom is approximately 149ppi and the iPad 2 is 132ppi. Again, it goes back to perception. If your apps, movies, and photos look good enough to you on your iPad, then perhaps you don't need a higher-res screen. Two other, fairly obvious reasons: Higher resolution would definitely have an impact on battery life, and keeping the same screen resolution means no upscaling for existing iPad apps.

7. Why Can't the iPad 2 Be a Phone? 

The iPad 2 has more power and more carriers than its predecessor, yet it still can't act as a phone—not at least without third-party application assistance. How easy would it be for Apple to add the phone features (voice plan, virtual keypad, voice dialing, etc.)? Once again, Apple has a phone and they want you to buy it if you plan on making calls. The iPad is not a device you should be holding up to your ear. Obviously, if the iPad 2 works with a Bluetooth headset then you don't have to hold it against your head. As I see it, Apple's strategy is to convince consumers that the iPhone, iPad, MacBooks, and Macs are all very distinct devices, each with their own skill set and purpose. Turning the iPad into a phone would muddy the waters, confuse consumers, and possibly eat into iPhone sales.

8. Why Didn't We Get a 128GB Model? 

Going from 64GB to 128GB of flash memory might have added another $100 to the price of the high-end iPad 2. Apple seems determined to keep its pricing strata the same as it was for the first-gen iPad. Also, I've heard from some iPad users that they have trouble filling up their 64GB first-gen iPads. I guess that's a good problem to have.

9. Why No SD Card Slot or USB Ports? 

It's likely because the iPad 2's new cameras mean you can snap and store photos and videos on thetablet and you don't need to collect them off your camera's memory card. Plus, with iOS 4.3's new home-sharing capabilities, you may find it easier to grab what you need directly from your PC. The other reason may be that once Apple committed to the thinner design and radically tapered edges, an SD card slot simply wouldn't have fit. Same goes for USB ports. And if you want a super-thin Apple device with USB, go buy a MacBook Air.

10. Can the Smart Cover Really Clean the iPad 2's Screen? 
I'll be honest, I prefer a full cover for my iPad, but that magnetic Smart Cover, which will only work with the iPad 2, is pretty cool, and Steve Jobs said it'll even clean the screen when you open it. Wait a minute. It'll do what? I have a little trouble believing that claim, since you usually have to rub the Gen 1 iPad screen vigorously with a cloth to obliterate all the finger smudges. Sorry, there's no way a cover—even a micro-fiber one—can clean simply by folding over the iPad 2's glass face. That just sounds like "magical" thinking to me.