I recently decided it was time to get an eReader and did some pretty extensive research before making a purchase. In the end I got both a Nook and a Kindle. Here is the comparison. This is the side by side comparison of the Nook and Kindle black and white Wi-Fi models.

Kindle

A Kindle should have been the natural choice for someone who has been using Amazon.com for many years. Kindle uses proprietary DRM and Kindle-specific file type. Amazon does provide free Kindle apps for Mac, PC, Android, iPad, iPod and iPhone. You can easily sync across all devices.

Positives for the Kindle:

• Lightweight.
• Comfortable to hold, pages are easy to flip.
• Fast page flip.
• Goes from out of the box to reading a freshly downloaded book in literally five minutes.
• Connects to Amazon.com.
• It has a keyboard. This is really great for the search and find features which are also great.
• Two click font size adjustment.
• Plays audio books and connects directly to Audible.com. Purchased audio books show up on your archive list.
• Download thousands of free eBooks.
• Battery lasts for 20 days on a one hour charge.
• Emailing files to your Kindle email address will convert them to the Kindle format so you can download them. Some charges may apply.

Negatives for the Kindle:

• You can’t sell, trade or give away your eBooks.
• Can’t check out library books.
• Kindle displays Locations instead of page numbers, and as far as I can tell, they seem to be random nonsense. The percentage will give you an idea of where you are in the book. You can see how many pages are in the book before downloading it.

Nook

The Nook was not a first choice until it was recommended by others who had done their research. The Nook Color screen is similar to a big cell phone and has a bright, reflective reading screen. The black and white Nook and the Kindle are both ePaper and very easy to read. The Nook also has free reading apps available. To upload your PDFs, you do a separate converter like Caliber to convert books to the Nook format.

Positives for the Nook:

• Download millions of free eBooks.
• Convert and upload all of your PDF eBooks to be read on the Nook.
• Check out library books.
• Loan books to friends.
• Plays audio books.
• Preview the book covers in color.
• Clock in upper right of the display.
• Can read selected books for an hour at a time in the store at no charge.
• Connect to the Internet and view web pages in black and white with a small section in color.
• Page numbers are clearly displayed at the bottom of the screen.
• You can deactivate your account and sell your Nook. It’s actually easy to do.

Negatives for the Nook:

• It’s connected to Barnes and Noble’s website.
• Difficult to search for and download books.
• You need a credit card (not debit card) to download eBooks. Even free eBooks.
• Some downloads take half a day. *The last download took three weeks.
• If a download doesn’t work, it can take several hours for the error message to show up.
• Must register on BN.com and download software before downloading books to the Nook.
• Battery lasts only two or three days.
• Page turn is slow.
• Support is necessary by design.
• When the Nook goes online it displays advertising for Starbucks.
• There is no easy way to delete the sample chapters.

After all the research, I purchased the Nook.

Disappointment started the same day.

Setup time took way too long. The first day with the Nook I spent hours setting up the account, searching books, downloading software and trying to download books. It took several hours for one book to download. The first book I downloaded had a tiny, nearly unreadable font that couldn’t be changed. Further research showed this is the case with about half of the Nook books. There are no refunds on downloads, so make sure you download a sample chapter first.

The eight day battery only lasts two or three days and takes three hours to charge fully.

Downloads stopped working then it gave me an 800 number to call. After waiting on hold for 20 minutes, the operator explained that it was a debit card, not credit card and that is why it doesn’t work. I asked why it worked at first since it has been a debit card all along, and she laughed. Yes, laughed. She said read the terms on the website for an explanation. Customer service anyone?  Three weeks after the initial “debit card” transaction wouldn’t go through, the book I was trying to order suddenly downloaded and my debit card was charged. Something to be aware of: the last credit card on file at BarnesandNoble.com cannot be removed.

After three weeks with the Nook, I purchased a Kindle.

The usability of the Kindle is impressive right out of the box. It was literally five minutes after the Kindle was delivered that I was downloading and reading books. No doubt it helped that I already had an Amazon account and ordered the Kindle through it. The battery was fully charged in an hour. After a week of reading, using the light and listening to audio books, the battery had only run half down.

The only down side is Kindle’s one-click purchasing through Amazon. To change the debit or credit card on file, just go online and change the one-click default card. It would be nice to have the option to download book through a business or personal account each time.