Nook vs Kindle

I think competition is a great thing so while I am obviously a Kindle fan I was very happy to see that Barnes and Noble's eReader device, the Nook, is ready to be released.

How does the Nook compare with a Kindle? I think both have pros and cons. Just from the specs and pictures of the Nook they are head to head in the eReader competition.

Barnes and Noble has a page just to compare the Nook to the Kindle so I'm not going to go over everything just the major points.

What is the same is that they both have e-ink technology, same size, adjustable text, same internal memory size, wireless connectivity and rechargeable battery, etc.

What is different is that the Nook offers the option to add memory via a Micro SD card. I myself do not see myself reaching the 1500 book limit any time in the near future so I am not worried about this at all.

Nook's wireless uses At&T, while Kindle works with Sprint. It may make a difference to you if your area has limited connectivity with one of the providers.

They both have dictionary support, although Nook uses Marriam-Webster's and the Kindle uses
the New Oxford American Dictionary. It's a personal preference and I know the Kindle lets you change your dictionary if you so wish.

The Barnes and Noble site claims the Nook supports more books than the Kindle but I do not believe that is true. E.g. Kindle also has more than a million titles available. It is true that lot of those titles in a PDF format but it's very easy to convert PDFs to Kindle formats. The same is true for the free books. You can get thousands and thousands of free books for the Kindle.

In the Nook the screensaver can be customized which is not easy on the Kindle. I have heard people finding a hack for it but I myself was never interested in that. I use the Kindle to read and not to look at my screensaver.

Nook advertises a color touch screen. From the picture it seems like the book itself is not in color though.

So far none of the differences would really sway me from one to the other.

But here is one thing that makes the Nook very interesting. It lets you lend your books to friends who also have a Nook or other supported device. There are some heavy restrictions on this though. A book can only be borrowed for 14 days and while it's lent out, you may not read it on your own device. I have also heard that a book may only be lent out once but I am yet to confirm that rumor.

Now this is the feature that I was waiting for! I will still stick with my Kindle but I know that soon Amazon will also make this available on their Kindles. Competition is a very powerful thing my friends!