Comparing my E-book Readers: Kindle 3G vs Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight

About a....well a while ago...i had the opportunity to play with a Kindle 3G for a "few months". A few months obviously turned into over a year.

Originally, i was supposed to only have it in order to learn how it works and then use what i learned to train my mom/sister. Except she didn't ask for it back, didn't think about it. I kept telling her, if you want it back i'll give it to you and she just kept saying "oh no no. You keep borrowing it. You're enjoying it."

Well, not to long ago, i was reminded that it wasn't actually mine. And mom started hinting about how nice it would be given her shoulder surgery to not have to try and lift heavy books. So i started researching to get my own e-book reading device. Cause once you go ebook, regular books just seem cumbersome and unappealing.

So i started looking around, playing with the available models whenever i saw them on display, and comparing them back and forth. 

Things i loved about the Kindle

• E-ink, ebooks, storage capacity, were all new to me so i loved them
• The ability to download straight from a store (as well as not directly from the store)
• Insane battery life for a month!
• The ability to read multiple books at once and have my spot saved in each of them
• Font and size changing options, orientation options

Things i didn't like about the Kindle

• The keyboard was useless for me and ended up being more trouble than it was worth. 
• The buttons on the side....That's where you're most likely to pick it up so who thought of putting the buttons there?! You're dumb.
• The creepy obnoxious screen savers. (I ended up having to hack the silly thing to get my own pictures on there. Amazon, that was one STUPID choice...can't you tell from 99% of all media devices from phones to laptop covers that people love to customize their wallpapers?)
• The list only format. I'm a visual person, and cover art is mostly how i remember books. So i would have loved an alternate view. 
• No built in light. I loved my DIY cover, but all the light options were very annoying and clunky, OR i would have to pay 50$ to get one that was reasonable. Either way, no. So i developed what Boyfriend Jon joking refers to as my "various reading light options".

I'm sure there were other things, but I got used to using the Kindle. It was my friend. But to be honest, i had little to no brand loyalty. I was just enjoying being able to carry many books at once anywhere to read almost anytime.

That is...until my new 

Nook Simple Touch with GLOWLIGHT! 

I can't believe it took this long for these competing companies to come up with a built in light. I don't know about the rest of the world, but most of my reading takes place just before i go to sleep. 

So i got not only every thing that i love about the Kindle....but each of the things i didn't like above...were taken care of by the Nook development team. Congrats to you guys for building a Ebook device that appeals to more than one kind of reader. 

I now have

• A touch screen with touch and swipe page turns (no keyboard or directional needed)
• One button for home, and just needs to be held down to turn on the glowlight.
• Cover Art thumbnail lists (or just lists if i wanted)
• Screen saver folders that don't need to be hacked in order to upload my pictures, and it's easy to turn off theirs.
• Built in wireless
• An awesome invention of the Glowlight...which i expect will become an industry standard very soon. 
• it's also great that they didn't have to sacrifice the battery life too much in order to achieve this technology. I should still get about a months worth of battery even if all i did was read at night.
• An online bookstore that's equal to Amazon's for the normal reader. 

This is a great device. And while it wasn't free...the 139 price tag was well worth it. Considering i would have paid that additional money to get one of those covers with a built in light....yeah, definetly worth the money in my opinion. 

Again, i don't have a strict adherence to brand loyalty, but rather go for the best fit for me. 

I read mostly at night, normal novels, not comics or articles, and i take these camping with me away from outlets. I didn't want a tablet...i have a perfectly good computer for that, and i have no intention of writing a report on this device. 

So for ME, the Nook was a much better choice. And the Kindle will find a happy home with my mother, i'm sure. 

And i can make the Halo over-shield sound effect every time i turn the glowlight on now. Cause i'm a dork like that. :)