Kindle vs Nook in 2011

Posted on May 8, 2011 by switch11

Please Note: This is a Kindle vs Nook strategy review + predictions post. For a device comparison, check out my Kindle vs Nook Review.

The Kindle dominated most of 2010 due to Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi being an entire generation ahead of the Nook 1. It also helped that Kindle WiFi was at a ridiculously low $139.

Nook Color dominated two emerging markets in 2010 – Reading Tablets, low-price and high-quality non-iPad Tablets. It had no competitors – it still doesn’t.

2011 promises to be different.

Kindle vs Nook in 2011 – Context & Thoughts

With Nook 2 and Nook 2 WiFi probably arriving on May 24th, and with Kindle Tablet rumored to be arriving in the second half of 2011, we suddenly have Kindle vs Nook take on a very different complexion.

  • Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi will finally get a worthy competitor. If Nook 2 is as good at attacking Kindle weak-points as Nook 1, we’ll have a really exciting 2011.
  • Kindle Tablet will challenge Nook Color. It’s probably not lost on Amazon that if B&N keeps selling 800,000 Nook Colors a month the Nook Color might single-handedly resuscitate B&N.
  • Nook Color’s status as the absolute best reading device for reading at night will probably be threatened.
  • The iPad will become far less relevant for people looking for a reading device. A $249 Nook Color was compelling. Add on a decently priced Kindle Tablet and we might find that noticeably fewer people are buying iPad for reading.
  • A good rivalry will reinvigorate eReaders. Kindle 3 came out a year ago – There haven’t been any hugely significant advances since then. Nook 2 will force Amazon to evolve.
  • Prices will get cut further – increasing the number of people buying reading devices, increasing the percentage share of ebooks.
  • Kindle vs Nook (as opposed to Kindle vs iPad or Nook Color vs iPad) will become the major storyline for readers in 2011.

May 24th might mark the beginning of the Age of Reading Devices. A time when eReaders and Reading Tablets start selling tens of millions of units a year and begin to dominate all of Publishing. 

Kindle vs Nook in 2011 – Kindle Tablet vs Nook Color

Kindle Tablet vs Nook Color will be the battle for casual readers. Not an ‘empty as a Politician’s Speech’ + ‘make animated page turns and forget to get books in the store’ pretend-battle. This will be a real battle.

The most amusing part of it is that both sides will probably be using closed ecosystems built on Google’s ‘open’ Android ecosystem. B&N already uses Android. Amazon’s focus on building its own Android App Store suggests it’s thinking of using Android for its Kindle Tablet.

Here are some things that will define this battle -

  1. Will Amazon release a Tablet or a Reading Tablet? My guess is that Amazon will try an Apple-style ‘it’s great for reading and for 1,000 other things’ strategy. A general Tablet from Amazon would fail to effectively counter Nook Color.
  2. What price will the Kindle Tablet be at? Nook Color’s $249 price is a big part of its appeal and competitive power.
  3. What does B&N have planned for the Nook Color? It already has email, a social network, and an App Store. If B&N keeps adding more high-value features, or if the Nook App Store takes off, then the Nook Color might become the story of 2011. 
  4. The Nook App Store has got off to an interesting start. There’s no way it can compete with Amazon’s Android App Store in a broad sense – However, it might be able to compete effectively when it comes to ’Apps for Reading Tablets’ and Apps built to help readers.
  5. Can Amazon channel Android Apps into a powerful App Store? In some ways it seems almost too easy – Just take all the good apps from the Android Market and make your own store. Will it work?
  6. What will casual readers think of the Kindle Tablet?
  7. Will Nook Color end up being a Reading Tablet for readers, a cheap and hackable General Tablet for techies, or a mix of both?

The two App Stores really are the wild cards. It’s a tough exercise – both Amazon and B&N are trying to ensure quality and quantity.

Prediction: Amazon misses the mark and releases a general Tablet. It has little impact on the Reading Tablet market and very little impact on reading in general.

Kindle vs Nook in 2011 – Kindle 3 vs Nook 2

Kindle 3 vs Nook 2 is the battle of the full-featured eReaders.

A battle for hardcore readers willing and able to pay for a full-featured eReader. This is the single most important battle. The lower priced versions might get more device sales - but it’s these main-line eReaders that will capture far more book sales.

Nook 2′s ability to compete with, and perhaps even beat, Kindle 3 depends on 5 factors -

  1. Will Nook 2 leap-frog Kindle 3 technologically? Adding in Mirasol displays would qualify. Adding in just touch would not.
  2. What price will Nook 2 be at? If B&N can come in at $150 for Nook 2, with a feature-set that matches Kindle 3, it’ll put Amazon in a tough spot. 
  3. Does B&N have some hidden trump card? At various times, and for varying lengths of time, Nook has had various advantages over the Kindle – PDF support (it wasn’t there in the Kindle when Nook 1 was announced), Library Book Support (Amazon has promised this will arrive in 2011), Lending (until end 2010, only Nook had Pretend-Lending), and so forth. If B&N can create a new advantage that is as significant as any of these, it will have a powerful new weapon.
  4. Can B&N distribute and sell Nook 2 as well as Amazon distributes and sells Kindle 3? B&N still doesn’t sell Nook internationally, and its advantage in retail has been whittled down as Amazon is now available at WalMart, Best Buy, Staples, and several other retail chains. If B&N can find a way to distribute Nook internationally, or if it can find some retail distribution advantages in the US, it can tilt the contest in its favor.
  5. Could B&N use Amazon’s enemies against it? The list of Amazon’s enemies seems to grow by the day – Google, WalMart, State Governments, Publishers. If B&N can get help from one or more of these parties it stands a better chance. By the way, it’s inexplicable that WalMart is selling Kindles – Isn’t Amazon the company that shot WalMart’s dog when it killed Amazon’s pet rabbit?

Nook 1 was a surprisingly strong contender to the Kindle when it came out. Nook Color was even more impressive (though not a direct Kindle competitor). If B&N meets the bar it has set with Nook 1 and Nook Color, Nook 2 will give Kindle 3 a real run for its money.

Kindle vs Nook in 2011 – Kindle WiFi vs Nook 2 WiFi

Kindle WiFi vs Nook 2 WiFi is the battle of the low-priced eReaders.

A battle for readers at the intersection of casual and hard-core. A battle for readers at the intersection of ‘able to spend $189 on an eReader’ and ‘able to spend only $99 on an eReader’.

The main-stream media is fixated on this. But it isn’t really the battle that will define who wins the Publishing War. It’s more of a contest of who gets higher total eReader sales. Winning this and losing the Kindle 3 vs Nook 2 battle would be pretty painful.

A lot of the factors here are similar to what we discussed in the Kindle 3 vs Nook 2 section – technological advantages, price, hidden trump cards, distribution, using Amazon’s enemies as friends.

Price sensitivity is the main factor and B&N has a lot of places it can cut costs – the LCD being one obvious area. If Nook 2 WiFi can hit $99, B&N will win the lower end of the market. Given that the Nook Color comes in at $249, there’s no reason B&N can’t release a $99 Nook 2 WiFi. 

The other main factor is a strange one – promising more value for money by offering things that aren’t necessarily reading related. If B&N can bundle in a free email client, a few basic free tools, and one or two other value-add features – It will win. WiFi isn’t costing B&N anything. Neither are Apps.

Users would prefer a $99 eReader+eWriter+Email Device over a $99 eReader.

B&N could turn the ‘readers won’t pay more than $99 for an eReader’ theory on its head by providing a device for $99 that isn’t just a great eReader – It’s also a great email client and a great productivity tool and a great eWriter.

Kindle vs Nook Closing Thoughts

The success of the Nook Color has re-energized B&N. You see it in the moves it’s making – Adding an email client to Nook Color is a big deal. As is the Nook App Store. Flash support is pretty impressive too.

We’re dealing with a company that has suddenly discovered it can keep up with the technology big boys - perhaps even beat some of them. Nook Color proving itself to be the best Android Tablet (in terms of value for money and usefulness and perhaps even looks) has to have had some effect on B&N. An effect that ought to be evident in the feature-set for Nook 2.

2011 is going to be the Year of Kindle vs Nook and the beginning of the Age of Reading Devices. Not a year when iPad makes eReaders redundant but a year in which eReaders and Reading Tablets use technology to revitalize reading and further hasten the destruction of the existing Publishing hierarchy. The winner of Kindle vs Nook will be in prime position to take over all of Publishing. The loser will have to settle for billions of dollars a year in revenue from eBooks and eReaders.

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Could Nook sales be within striking distance of Kindle sales?

Posted on December 25, 2010 by switch11

The Kindle is alleged to have sold 8 million units in 2010. That’s a HUGE number.

It makes you wonder whether Amazon has destroyed the competition, and accounted for 80% of eReader sales in 2010, or whether the Nook and Sony Reader have done quite well too.

Let’s look at 3 scenarios, and the data points that support each. To simplify things, we’ll only consider Kindle and Nook sales.

8 million Kindle Sales, 2 million Nook Sales

This is the ‘Kindle dominating 2010′ scenario.

Here are the data points, and factors, that support this -

  1. [Rumor] ’Insider sources’ claiming they saw Kindle sales projections of 8 million units sold in 2010.
  2. [Vagueness Overload] Amazon saying it sold ‘millions of Kindles’ in the first 73 days of Q4, 2010. Also, that sales exceeded Kindle sales in all of 2009 – which were also stated to be ‘millions of Kindles’.
  3. [Vagueness Overload Part 2] Amazon saying it sold more Kindles around the time of Kindle 3 launch, than it sold in December 2009. 
  4. Kindle was the markedly better eReader, once Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi came out.
  5. Kindle WiFi at $139 was a steal.
  6. Kindle is available internationally. Nook isn’t available outside the US. Sony Reader is only available in some countries.
  7. Kindle was finally available in stores – Target, BestBuy and Staples. 
  8. Kindle 3 won over some of the main stream press.
  9. Amazon did a lot of advertising.
  10. Kindle 3 reviews were very good.

It seems 8 million Kindles might be a possibility. Does that mean Amazon dominated Nook thoroughly, and only 2 million Nooks were sold?

Here are some things that make it unlikely that Nook accounted for only 20% of eReader sales in 2010 -

  1. There wasn’t a very clear cut winner between Nook and Kindle 2 at the beginning of 2010. It’s not until the end of July, when Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi came out, that Kindle became the no-doubt-about-it #1 eReader choice.
  2. Then in October end, Nook Color was announced, and it again muddied up the waters. Kindle was still the best eReader – However, there was doubt over which was the better reading device.
  3. Kindle doesn’t support ePub and library books – That causes a significant number of people to choose Nook or Sony Reader instead.
  4. Kindle doesn’t have lending and the Nook’s LendMe feature must have made a difference, until October, when Amazon announced it would be adding lending.
  5. Nook Color has done very well in the last few months. B&N’s CEO claimed he was seeing 540,000 Nook Color sales per month – which probably means Nook Color alone sold around a million units in 2010.
  6. Nook is available in more stores than Kindle, including WalMart. It was available at BestBuy earlier than the Kindle was. Plus, it’s available at all B&N stores.
  7. Kindle was not available internationally for the last two months of the year. 
  8. Kindle was often out of stock at retailers – which meant people chose Nook or iPad instead. 
  9. B&N has had Nook in stock throughout.
  10. There was a brief period, perhaps 2 to 4 weeks, where Nook WiFi was available, and Kindle WiFi hadn’t been announced.
  11. Authors have been talking about the impact Nook ebook sales are having.

Looking at this list, it seems extremely unlikely that Amazon managed to sell 8 million Kindles while B&N got stuck at 2 million Nooks. The gap couldn’t have been 6 million units.

8 million Kindle Sales, 5 million Nook Sales

Let’s assume, and it’s a big assumption, that Amazon did sell 8 million Kindles in 2010. Then we could extrapolate Nook sales by comparing the two eReaders’ relative appeal, their value for money, and their availability.

What do we know about Kindle vs Nook -

  1. Until Kindle 3 came out the two were neck to neck. After Nook Color came out, you can argue they were again close.
  2. DigiTimes claimed that Nook was doing better than Kindle in April and May of 2010.
  3. B&N’s Nook has had better retail availability throughout 2010.
  4. Amazon has been available internationally in 2010 – until the last two months, when it was sold out.
  5. Amazon has the Kindle DX. B&N doesn’t have a competitor for the DX.
  6. B&N has a ‘Reading Tablet’ (the Nook Color), while Amazon doesn’t.
  7. Nook WiFi was the cheapest eReader for a few weeks. For the rest of the year Amazon has had the cheaper eReader.
  8. Kindle is the ‘default’ eReader associated with reading.
  9. Kindle has a slightly better store.
  10. Kindle has better infrastructure and provides free Internet.
  11. B&N’s Nook supports library books and lending.
  12. B&N has its book store and book store based features.

If you look at all the factors, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Nook sales could have been less than 50% of Kindle sales.

Kindle 3 is clearly better than Nook – However, Nook has some strengths Kindle can’t match (library books, ePub, lending) and better retail availability. Kindle WiFi beats Nook WiFi – However, the Nook WiFi has much better availability and some clear advantages. It’s unlikely that Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi were outselling Nook and Nook WiFi 4:1 or 3:1.

Combine that with the fact that Nook Color probably sold 1 million units, and that for the first 6 months of the year, Kindle and Nook were neck to neck.

If Amazon sold 8 million units - B&N must have sold 4 to 6 million units.

Amazon selling 8 million Kindles in 2010, and B&N selling 5 million Nooks in 2010, is pretty optimistic – However, it’s not impossible. If true, it would be great for readers, eBooks, and eReaders.

6 million Kindle Sales, 4.5 million Nook Sales  

What if we play devil’s advocate, and assume one of the following -

  1. Kindle Sales Projections of 8 million Kindles sold were for lifetime sales. Which would mean 2010 Kindle sales projections were around 5 million.
  2. Kindle Sales Projections for 2010 were 8 million, but they weren’t hit. That we ended up with around 5 million or so sales instead.
  3. The ’8 million Kindles sold’ rumor is not based on fact. Bloomberg is basing its article on kindle sales projections that two people saw at some unspecified point of time in 2010. It’s pretty sketchy – even for a rumor.

We’re saying the ’8 million Kindles sold’ rumor/projection/estimate is nonsense.

Let’s build our own rough estimates of what Kindle sales and Nook sales were like in 2010.

First 6 to 7 months (before Kindle 3 came out)

Let’s assume that true sales lay somewhere between what DigiTimes claimed (Nook outselling Kindle, 1.3 million eReaders in Q1, 2010), and what a 8 million Kindle sales figure would suggest (2 to 3 million Kindle sales in the first 6 months of 2010).

Let’s say Kindle saw US and International combined sales of around 1.25 million Kindles. Nook saw US sales of around 1 million Nooks.

Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi golden run

For the first 3 to 4 months the Kindle 3 was out, it was the best option. Let’s assume that it captured the majority of eReader sales during that stretch.

In July through September, Kindle saw US and international combined sales of around 1.75 million Kindles. Nook was hit by the Kindle being so good, and only saw sales of 1 million Nooks.

Holiday Season

Here we’ll assume that Amazon was correct – that it did sell more Kindles in the first 73 days of the Holiday season, than it did in all of 2009. We’ll also assume that 2009 saw 2 million Kindle sales.

Add to that – Kindle wasn’t being sold outside US and UK for most of the Holiday season. Nook Color was doing very well, and iPad was again getting a lot of buzz.

It would suggest 3 million Kindle sales during the Holiday Season. Nook probably saw 1.5 million units sold, and Nook Color probably saw 1 million units sold.

Putting it all together

For Kindle we get: 1.25 + 1.75 + 3 = 6 million Kindle sales.

For Nook we get: 1 + 1 + 2.5 = 4.5 million Nook sales.

For some reason, even these seem a bit optimistic. However, ’6 million Kindles sold and 4.5 million Nooks sold’ sounds a lot more believable than ’8 million Kindles sold and 2 million Nooks sold’.

Kindle = new iPod, or ’8 million Kindle sales’ is an anchor

The rest of this post is a wild, wild guess. Based on zero facts.

There seem to be only two plausible explanations for the 8 million Kindles sold rumor – Either Kindle is the new iPod, or Amazon is using amazingly good anchoring.

If it’s the first, then there’s nothing to discuss - Amazon has won the eReader wars, eReaders are going to sell tens of millions of units a year, and the eBook wars are effectively over.

The second possibility is very interesting. The 8 million Kindles sold rumor seems like anchoring.

Could Amazon be leaking inflated sales figures to establish social proof, and anchor Kindle as the winner?

Consider what we have -

  1. Nook Color doing well, and selling half a million units a month.
  2. iPad doing very well, and having sold 7.3 million units between launch and Holiday Season. 
  3. Nook and iPad being available in a lot more stores.

Amazon needs to take back the momentum. It needs to re-establish ‘Kindle = Reading’. The best way to do that would be to leak a very impressive figure for Kindle sales which makes the Nook Color’s sales seem trivial, which shows Kindle is doing nearly as well as the iPad, and which makes it seem that Nook has lost the eReader wars.

8 million Kindles does that. It makes everyone assume that Kindle is the new iPod, and that Nook is dead and buried. It makes every potential eReader owner feel she must join the 8 million people who have chosen a Kindle.

Why doesn’t Amazon make the killer announcement?

If Amazon wants it can drive a stake through the heart of every other eReader by announcing 10 million total Kindle sales. If Amazon has sold 8 million Kindles this year, it has the opportunity to tell every potential Kindle owner – Choose our team of 10 million Kindle owners, and not that team of 1 million Nook owners.

Yet, it would rather let people ponder Kindle vs Nook and Kindle vs Nook Color. That makes no sense.

At this point everyone knows the market for eReaders is huge. They just don’t know whether it’s 5 million eReaders sold this year, or 10 million. Amazon can’t fly under the radar any more. What reason is there to hide actual Kindle sales figures?

Every single Amazon rumor seems to have amazingly good timing – the Kindle DX rumors, the Kindle WiFi rumors, this 8 million Kindles sold rumor. Amazon seems to be doing its best to either make good sales figures seem great, or to hide great sales figures from competitors. Yet, the second seems more doubtful by the day.

If Kindle sales figures really are absolutely amazing, and Amazon wants to hide them, why are there constant strategic announcements (millions of Kindles sold) and strategic leaks (8 million Kindles sold)?

If Kindle sales are so great that Amazon doesn’t want anyone to know, the most effective move would be to say nothing. The fact that Amazon isn’t choosing that option might be more revealing than all the rumors and estimates.

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Kindle vs Nook vs Sony (December 2010)

Posted on December 12, 2010 by switch11

The Kindle, the Nook, and the Sony Reader are the Big 3 eReaders. If you want a dedicated reading device with an eInk screen you’ll probably end up having to make a Kindle vs Nook vs Sony decision.

This Kindle vs Nook vs Sony post will cover the strengths and weaknesses of each and help you decide which eReader suits you best.

Kindle vs Nook vs Sony – What Sony brings to the table

There are two new Sony Readers - the ultra-compact Sony Reader Pocket Edition (Sony 350) and the Sony Reader Touch Edition (Sony 650). Sony killed sales by introducing them at $180 and $230. However, these are now sporadically available for $150 and $200, sometimes even lower, and this makes them a lot more competitive with Kindle and Nook.

Sony Reader Strengths

Sony 350 and Sony 650 pack in some solid features -

  1. They both have touch. It’s touch enabled by using IR rays and in no way impedes readability.
  2. They have the new eInk Pearl screen.
  3. They support library books. 
  4. They support DRM’ed ePub which means ebooks from any store that sells books in DRM’ed ePub format can be read on the Sony Readers (except B&N as it adds its own proprietary DRM on top of Adobe’s DRM). In addition, Sony Store sells ebooks which can be read on any eReader that supports DRM’ed ePub – so you can switch to another eReader later without losing your books.
  5. Decent battery life of 2 weeks.
  6. The smaller Sony Reader (Pocket Edition) is incredibly light at 5.47 ounces and very compact at 5.71″ by 4.11″ by 0.33″. The Pocket Edition is also quite light at 7.58 ounces.
  7. They come with 10 built-in language translation dictionaries in addition to the standard English dictionary.
  8. They come with the ability to do freehand drawing in addition to scribbling notes.
  9. They have slightly better PDF support than Kindle and Nook.
  10. They are available in a variety of colors and are the best looking eReaders by far. Sony Reader Pocket Edition is available in silver and pink and Sony Reader Touch Edition is available in black and red.
  11. The Pocket Edition has a SD Card slot and a Memory Stick slot.
  12. The Pocket Edition lets you play MP3 and AAC files (Apple iTunes format).

The new Sony Reader Touch Edition is, arguably, the best eReader if you consider just the eReader itself. It’s let down by a poor ebook store and by poor infrastructure.

Sony Reader Weaknesses

The Sony Readers share a few weaknesses -

  1. The eBook store is painfully bad.
  2. There is very little in terms of infrastructure. For example: Sony reading apps for iPhone and Android are slated to arrive in December 2010 - That’s a long, long time after Kindle for iPhone and Nook for iPhone arrived.
  3. They don’t have wireless support – neither WiFi nor 3G.
  4. The user interface for taking notes and making highlights is awkward and wastes the touch capability.
  5. There’s no text to speech feature like the one Kindle has.
  6. There’s no ebook lending like Nook.
  7. No in-built browser.
  8. There’s no App Store on the horizon and no games.

Sony has, rather strangely, decided to forsake wireless support for the 350 and 650.

The Pocket Edition has some additional limitations -

  1. The Sony Reader Pocket Edition has a slightly smaller screen (5″).
  2. It’s also pretty fragile – more so than the other eReaders, which are quite fragile themselves.
  3. There is no SD card slot on the Pocket Edition.
  4. It doesn’t have audio support.

It’s a bit sad to see Sony limit the Sony Reader Pocket Edition so much. There really was no need to remove audio support and to get rid of the SD Card Slot.

Kindle vs Nook vs Sony – What Nook brings to the table

Nook is the only second generation eReader in the Kindle vs Nook vs Sony discussion. That means it doesn’t have the benefit of the eInk Pearl screen and is missing some of the newer technologies (such as Sony Reader’s touch screen and Kindle’s Voice Guide feature). It still manages to put up quite a fight.

We’ll consider only the Nook for our comparison since Nook and Nook WiFi are almost identical. The only difference is that Nook WiFi doesn’t have the 3G support the Nook has.

Nook Strengths

B&N has done a good job of supporting Nook with software updates, a good ebook store, and good wireless features.

  1. Nook is supported by a very good eBook store.
  2. Nook is also supported by good infrastructure - free Nook store browsing and free ebook downloads via AT&T wireless, lots of Nook reading apps for other platforms, and features like syncing your place in a book, and your notes and highlights, across devices.
  3. Nook has a LendMe feature that lets you lend a book once, to one person, for up to 14 days. Kindle is supposed to add this feature in 2010 but hasn’t yet.
  4. Nook gets some bonuses when you go into B&N stores – you can read any book for up to an hour per day, there are sometimes offers, and there’s B&N support staff to answer questions in person. 
  5. Nook supports library books.
  6. Nook supports DRM’ed ePub. We’ve already discussed how this means ePub books from any store can be read on Nook. Note that Nook’s own books aren’t readable on other eReaders – more on that in the Nook weaknesses section below.
  7. Nook comes with a microSD card slot.
  8. Nook has a pretty decent audio player. Kindle only lets you skip to the next track and pause.
  9. The Nook comes with a small 3.5″ color touchscreen that is used for navigation and flipping through book covers.
  10. Nook looks quite good. Not very pretty like the Sony Readers but passable.
  11. You can password protect your purchases.
  12. Nook is built on Android and there are hacks available for it.

Overall, the Nook has a lot of strengths and, despite being a second generation eReader, it stays within striking distance of the Kindle and the new Sony Readers.

Nook Weaknesses

Nook has quite a few weaknesses -

  1. It doesn’t have the new eInk Pearl screen. If you were to place Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader side by side you would always pick one of the other two for reading. 
  2. It’s quite unwieldy as it weighs 12.1 ounces and measures 7.7″ by 4.9″ by 0.5″. 
  3. The color touchscreen for navigation doesn’t gel with the much slower eInk screen for reading. This problem is compounded by a user interface that is rather complicated.
  4. Nook has the slowest page turns out of the Big 3 eReaders (Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader).
  5. There’s no text to speech feature. 
  6. The Nook App Store is only going to be for Nook Color in the beginning. Given that only a million or so Nooks have been sold, Apps for the eInk Nook might never really take off.
  7. It doesn’t have touch for the main reading screen.
  8. Battery life is relatively low when wireless is on. Total battery life is also a bit low at 10 days.
  9. It doesn’t support Audible audiobooks and only supports MP3s for music.
  10. It’s only available in one color.
  11. It doesn’t support text files.

Nook suffers, in comparison to Kindle and Sony, and my recommendation would be to pick one of those if you’re looking for a dedicated eReader. Buying a second generation eInk based eReader makes little sense when multiple third generation eInk based eReaders are available.

Kindle vs Nook vs Sony – What Kindle brings to the table

The Kindle is a third generation eReader and also has a good ebook store and good infrastructure to support it. Amazon’s desire to preserve its eBook revenue stream means the Kindle imposes some limitations which end up being its major disadvantages.

Kindle Strengths

The Kindle is solid across the board -

  1. It has the new eInk Pearl screen which is great for reading. It’s the exact same screen as the new Sony Readers. It’s also a much better eInk screen than the one the Nook has.
  2. Kindle has the best eBook Store, with the best range and the best ebook prices. Nook Store is close, while Sony Store is a distant third.
  3. Kindle is the simplest eReader to use. You don’t need a computer. You don’t have to figure out complicated menus. It just works.
  4. Kindle has amazing infrastructure to back it up. Not only does it have 3G for free store browsing and free downloads - It also offers free internet browsing to US Kindle owners.
  5. Kindle has the best international support – It’s available to be shipped to over 150 countries, WhisperNet is available in 100+ countries, and it’s begun to add books in non-English languages to the Kindle Store.
  6. Kindle is great for travel for US Kindle owners as they get free Internet Browsing and free store browsing in over 100 countries.
  7. Kindle has the best battery life – It’s up to a month with wireless off, 3 weeks when using WiFi for wireless, and 10 days when using 3G wireless.
  8. Kindle’s text to speech feature is great – It lets Kindle owners listen to books, and also makes the Kindle more “accessible” to blind and low vision readers.
  9. To enable full “accessibility” the Kindle has a Voice Guide feature that reads out menus and book listings.
  10. Kindle has a physical keyboard – While Amazon has tried its best to nullify this advantage by removing the number keys and making the keys tiny, it’s still good to have a physical keyboard.
  11. Kindle has an App Store that’s begun to churn out games. There haven’t really been any life-changing apps released but there’s a chance killer apps start appearing eventually.
  12. Excellent customer service from Amazon.

If you factor in the entire ‘eReader + eBook Store + Infrastructure’ ecosystem the Kindle comfortably edges Nook and Sony Reader.

The Kindle is clearly the best dedicated eReader available.

It does, however, have a few significant weaknesses because Amazon wants to make sure that it keeps the eBook revenue stream intact. This leads to strange decisions, such as not adding PDF support until a competitor adds it, and staying away from ePub.

Kindle Weaknesses

Here are some Kindle weaknesses -

  1. No support for library books.
  2. No support for ePub.
  3. No support for DRM’ed books other than ones from the Kindle Store. This means that the only stores from which you can get eBooks for the Kindle are the Kindle Store and stores that sell DRM-free ebooks.
  4. It doesn’t have a touch screen. 
  5. It doesn’t support Apple iTunes format music. Also, the music player is hilariously rudimentary – the only options are Next Track and Pause.
  6. It doesn’t allow custom screensavers – Nook does.
  7. Kindle isn’t the prettiest eReader around.
  8. There’s no SD card slot.
  9. The battery isn’t replaceable.
  10. There is no ebook lending yet – though it’s supposed to arrive by the end of 2010.
  11. It isn’t as compact and light as the Sony Reader Pocket Edition.

The significant disadvantages are the first 4, with the first 3 being a direct result of Amazon’s attempts to keep its ebook revenue stream intact.

The Kindle vs Nook vs Sony Decision

At the moment it’s a pretty clear-cut decision -

  1. Kindle wins Kindle vs Nook vs Sony unless you really need one or more of – library book support, ePub support, a touch screen, lending, a SD Card Slot. If you don’t need these then get the Kindle.
  2. If you need one or more of these features then the new Sony Reader Touch Edition is the best option. It’s a latest generation eReader with the new eInk Pearl screen, a touch screen, support for ePub, and library book support. It’s a better choice than Nook.
  3. Nook is the third choice. It’s still a decent option due to the Nook Store being quite good, and because B&N provides good infrastructure and frequent software updates.

Kindle is clearly the best eReader available, and Sony Reader Touch Edition is a very clear second. Nook loses out in the Kindle vs Nook vs Sony comparison. Depending on which features are most important to you, my recommendation would be to pick either Kindle or Sony.

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Kindle, Nook Comparison (December 2010)

Posted on December 11, 2010 by switch11

Have the Kindle 3 and the Nook, with software upgrade 1.5, in front of me and it’s time for a Kindle, Nook comparison to end off 2010.

Kindle, Nook Comparison – Kindle 3 vs Nook with software upgrade 1.5

The first thing to keep in mind is that Kindle 3 is a third generation eReader and Nook, even with the 1.5 upgrade, is a second generation eReader. While each has its strengths and weaknesses, the Kindle does have all the advantages that come with being a latest generation eReader - newer technology, more polished software, better resale value, and so forth.

A quick 2-sentence Kindle, Nook comparison would be -

  1. Kindle 3 is the better eReader when it comes to screen quality, ebook range, ebook prices, speed of doing things, simplicity, and focus on reading.
  2. Nook’s strengths include support for library books, ePub support, having a memory card slot and a replaceable battery, and having a color touchscreen at the bottom.

If you prefer the Nook’s strengths over the Kindle’s strengths and don’t mind reading on a LCD screen it’s well worth taking a look at Nook Color.

Kindle, Nook Comparison - 4 Critical Nook Advantages

Despite being a second generation eReader the Nook has some critical advantages - 

  1. Support for Library Books. This is a big advantage as you can supplement the books you buy, and the free public domain books available online, with books from your local library. 
  2. Support for ePub. This means that DRM’ed ePub books from other stores, such as Google’s new eBook store and Sony Store, can be read on the Nook. This wasn’t a very significant advantage – but the arrival of Google eBooks threatens to make it one.
  3. It has several things Kindle is missing. Nook comes with a microSD card slot, a replaceable battery, and custom screensavers. It also has a serviceable audio player. Nook has three different fonts while Kindle only has 3 variations of a single font. These are all features missing from the Kindle and one or more might be important to you. 
  4. B&N Store Support and Lending. You can read any ebook for free for up to an hour a day at any B&N Store. You can lend a book once, for up to 14 days, to one other person. The latter is a feature the Kindle is going to add but the former will, for obvious reasons, remain a Nook-only feature. 

Those are the Nook’s critical advantages over the Kindle. The remaining Nook advantages are discussed in the ‘Remaining Kindle, Nook Features’ section below and are worth a look.

Kindle, Nook Comparison - 7 Critical Kindle Advantages

Kindle 3 is a third generation eReader and has some critical advantages over the Nook -

  1. eInk Pearl screen. This is an eInk screen with around 50% more contrast than the Kindle 2 screen and around 35% more contrast than the Nook 1′s eInk screen. If you have them side by side you’ll always pick the Kindle to read from – the screen is just a lot clearer 
  2. Kindle Store. The Kindle Store is the best ebook store. It has more new books than any other ebook store and also the lowest prices. It’s backed up by excellent customer service.
  3. Speed and simplicity. Kindle 3 has slightly faster page turns and everything seems a little faster on it. The Nook’s navigation touchscreen makes things a bit awkward as the LCD screen has to synchronize with the slower eInk screen. Kindle is much more intuitive. 
  4. Text to Speech. The Kindle will read out books to you – provided publishers haven’t disabled the feature. It will also read out your personal documents and all public domain books. 
  5. Free 3G based Internet Browsing and Wikipedia Access. If you’re a Kindle owner in the US you get free Internet browsing from your Kindle 3. You also get free Internet browsing in 100+ countries that have WhisperNet (AT&T network coverage). Nook offers free store browsing and downloads – Kindle offers that plus Free Internet.
  6. Kindle App Store. The Nook App Store will initially be only for Nook Color, which leaves out Nook. The Kindle App Store is already here and is slowly adding apps – there are now 15 or so games. Of course, if you don’t want apps on your eReader then this advantage means nothing.
  7. Lighter, More Portable, Better Battery Life. Kindle 3 is just 8.7 ounces while Nook is 12.1 ounces. That makes a difference when you’re holding it and carrying it. Kindle 3 is also more compact at 7.5″ by 4.8″ by 0.335″ – the Nook is 7.7″ by 4.9″ by 0.5″. Perhaps most importantly, the Kindle has much better battery life (up to 1 month with wireless off, 2 weeks with wireless on) than Nook (up to 10 days with wireless off).

There are also two cases where Kindle might be a clearly better choice – If you live outside the US (only Kindle ships outside the US and only Kindle offers 3G wireless support outside US), if you need an “accessible” eReader (Kindle has a Voice Guide feature for menus and book listings that goes very well with the text to speech feature).

Kindle being a 3rd generation eReader makes a difference

There’s a reason why Kindle has 7 critical advantages and Nook has only 4 – Kindle is a newer-generation device.

Unless you need Library Book Support or ePub support or a memory card slot it’s a very good idea to get the Kindle.

For around the same price you get a lot more value for money and you get a latest-generation device. Amazon will probably add new software updates to take advantage of Kindle 3′s faster speed and various capabilities such as the currently disabled microphone. There is also a chance the Kindle App Store takes off and starts adding valuable apps in addition to games.

If Kindle vs Nook still isn’t clear, the next section should help you decide. My recommendation is to either get a Kindle or take a look at the Nook Color – There’s no point in buying a second generation Nook when third generation Kindles and Sony Readers with the new eInk Pearl screen are available.

Kindle, Nook comparison - Remaining Kindle, Nook Features

Areas where Kindle, Nook cancel each other out

First, let’s take a quick look at features which both eReaders have – areas where they effectively cancel each other out.

  1. Both have an eInk screen, which is better suited to reading than LCD screens. 
  2. Folders feature to organize books. B&N calls it Shelves while Amazon calls it Collections. Both allow for single level folders and are closer to tagging than actual folders. 
  3. Decentish PDF support. Note that a 6″ screen isn’t ideal for PDFs and there’ll be a lot of zooming and panning involved. Kindle 3′s PDF note-taking support is very spotty while Nook doesn’t allow notes for PDFs.
  4. Free Store Browsing over 3G and 60 second ebook downloads. Kindle, Nook both support this.
  5. eBook Lending – Amazon has said it will add ebook lending to Kindle by the end of 2010 so both Kindle, Nook will have lending by year-end.
  6. Password protection for Kindle, Nook – You can lock them so no one else can access them.
  7. Price – They’re close enough in price for it to be a non-issue.
  8. 3G and WiFi – Both offer 3G and WiFi support.
  9. Reading Apps for your other devices – Kindle and Nook are both supported by reading apps for PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android.
  10. Free AT&T WiFi Hotspot Access – Both use AT&T’s network and thus get the bonus of being able to use AT&T WiFi hotspots for free.
  11. Decent Browsers. Nook probably has a slightly better browser but the gap isn’t big.
  12. Lots of font options. The font the Kindle uses, Caecilia, is better in my opinion. You might, however, prefer the Nook’s fonts – Amasis, Helvetica Neue, Light Classic.
  13. Multiple devices on one account – You can add any number of devices to one account.
  14. One Book shared across 5 to 6 devices – You can read a single book across 5 to 6 devices.
  15. Screen Rotation – Both Kindle and Nook have screen rotation.

It should be clear from this long list that Kindle, Nook have closed the gap between their feature sets over time.

Next, let’s take a quick look at Nook’s remaining advantages.

Areas where Nook wins over the Kindle

This is in addition to the Nook’s 4 critical advantages over the Kindle – Library Books, ePub support,  B&N Stores, absence of several Kindle weaknesses.

  1. 3.5″ color touchscreen for navigation. This lets you browse your books and the Nook eBook Store using cover view.
  2. You could make a case that it looks better than Kindle 3.
  3. Being able to check out the Nook at a lot of stores – WalMart and B&N Stores are two stores in particular that carry Nook but not Kindle.
  4. You can migrate over your Sony Reader library, your Google eBooks, and any ePub books you might have.
  5. Nook is built on Android and you can hack it to run various apps.
  6. Nook 1.5 upgrade added the ability to password protect your purchases.

There might be a few Nook advantages missing from this list – However, we have the important ones covered.

Let’s end by looking at the Kindle 3′s remaining advantages.

Areas Kindle beats Nook

This is in addition to the 7 critical advantages of the Kindle – eInk Pearl screen, Kindle Store, Free 3G Internet, speed and simplicity, portability and battery life, Kindle App Store, text to speech.

  1. Choice of graphite or white Kindle 3. 
  2. The largest font size on Kindle is bigger.
  3. Support for Audible audiobooks.
  4. You can get a Kindle Lighted Case for $60 that draws power from the Kindle itself to power a reading light built into the case.
  5. Physical keyboard. Unfortunately, the keys are tiny and there is no row for number keys.
  6. Support for .txt files. It’s extremely strange that Nook doesn’t support text files.
  7. Stereo speakers.
  8. Amazon is in much better financial condition than B&N. It is a factor worth considering - you’ll want your eReader company to be around to offer you support and to keep the bookstore and infrastructure intact.

Given that the Kindle 3 is a third generation eReader it should not be a surprise that it has a longer list of advantages.

The Kindle and the Nook each have certain critical and non-critical advantages over the other. The Kindle pulls ahead due to being newer, having better technology, and getting excellent support from Amazon and the Kindle Store. However, you should weigh the relative strengths and weaknesses of Kindle and Nook yourself and figure out which is a better fit for your reading needs.

Filed under: kindle vs | Tagged: , , | 25 Comments »

Nook vs Kindle vs Nook Color, incremental Nook improvements

Posted on December 5, 2010 by switch11

The Kindle now faces off against both the eInk based Nook 1 and the LCD based Nook Color. Not only does Amazon have to worry about Nook vs Kindle vs Nook Color, it has to worry about the fact that B&N is stealing Amazon’s incremental improvement concept (kaizen).

In this post we’ll look at different facets of Nook vs Kindle vs Nook Color and also at the multitude of ways in which Nook Color improves on Nook 1. It’s almost as if B&N sat down for a Kaizen training session with Mr. Bezos and then started working on Nook Color.

Nook vs Kindle – The gap is narrower

A few weeks ago the Nook 1.5 software upgrade was announced. It might not seem like much but it addresses some areas in which Kindle was hammering Nook -

  1. Now you can sync your place in a book across Nooks and Nook reading apps. This adds a lot of convenience and now Nook has a feature that a lot of Kindle owners love. 
  2. The ‘My Shelves’ feature is the equivalent of the Kindle’s Folders feature. This is another big Kindle advantage that B&N has negated.
  3. Password protect your Nook. Yet another Kindle feature that Nook was missing and isn’t any more. 
  4. Faster Page Turns – Still not as fast as Kindle but noticeably less slow than before. 
  5. B&N also mentions Improved Search but it’s still not very good.

While B&N has been doing this Amazon has started sending out games from the Kindle App Store and has announced that it will add the lending feature. The lending feature is a bit of a big deal when it comes to selling Kindles and Nooks.

However, the real impact would be adding ePub support and/or support for library books. That’s still missing and that’s still Nook’s main advantage over the Kindle.

B&N has also added two pluses in the recent months -

  1. It’s done a lot in terms of increasing retail availability and making sure Nooks are actually available – it’s even available at WalMart now. Kindles are available at Target, Staples, and Best Buy but only in theory - multiple stores are claiming they get only 2 Kindles a day and lots of users have complained about not being able to find Kindles in stock.
  2. In the Nook 1.5 upgrade B&N added the ability to password protect your purchases. This is a feature the Kindle is missing.

B&N has improved the Nook more since Kindle 3 came out than Amazon has improved the Kindle 3. That should be very worrying to Amazon because two of its strengths are constant incremental improvements and reacting very quickly to rival’s improvements.

Is Kindle 3 better than Nook 1? Yes, it’s got the eInk screen and lots of improvements and a faster processor and an easier user interface and faster page turns. However, the gap is a lot less than when Kindle 3 first came out and Nook 1′s retail availability is a lot better.

You can’t let a last generation product compete with you – Amazon has the opportunity to blow away Nook 1 and it ought to go all-out.

Where’s the Kindle 3.5 upgrade with better PDF support and support for library books? Where’s the next killer Kindle WhisperNet feature? What is Amazon waiting for – Has it assumed the battle is already won?

Kindle vs Nook Color – Different devices with an intersecting market slice

Just finished a Kindle vs Nook Color Review and comparing the Kindle 3 and the Nook Color head to head was very revealing.

  1. Firstly, there are just as many improvements in Nook Color (over Nook 1) as there are in Kindle 3 (over Kindle 2). Amazon is the software magic company with its lead in Cloud services and its infinitely scalable website and all its optimization algorithms – How on Earth is B&N managing to keep up? Why is Amazon not able to pull away?
  2. Secondly, the Nook Color manages to be a better choice for people who read around a book a month. That’s very, very significant. It means that instead of having a market of 40 million people to itself the Kindle only has a market of 20 million people to itself.

The latter was a very stunning realization. The Kindle is undoubtedly the best option for people who read more than a book a month. However, Nook Color edges out the Kindle when it comes to people who read 1 book a month or less. It also edges out iPad.

If Nook Color takes off, and it might, that’ll give B&N the financial strength and morale boost it needs to make a really good Nook 2 and a really good Nook 3.

A Kindle Color or a Kindle Tablet is sorely needed. The whole Kindle Reading Apps strategy is a trap – It seemed like Amazon was getting something for nothing and then B&N came out with a reading tablet and started eating up the casual reader market. Kindle Reading Apps should be add-ons that go out alongside a Kindle Tablet and a Kindle Phone – not replacements.

Nook vs Nook Color – Kaizen at the level of Amazon

You could argue that B&N made a fundamental mistake by choosing LCD over eInk. However, it ends up with a device perfect for casual readers.

Apart from the LCD choice B&N doesn’t make very many mistakes – In fact it improves things across the board.

  1. In the main menu B&N gets rid of ‘The Daily’ and ‘Reading Now’ tabs and rolls the ‘Games’ and ‘Audio’ tabs into a section called Extras. It also puts the ‘WiFi’ tab into the Settings Tab. The result is that there are now 6 main tabs in the Nook Color Main Menu and it fits on the screen. It makes the most important menu on the Nook Color a lot easier to use.
  2. B&N went from having almost no search to devoting an entire tab to search and making the Search an ‘instant’ search. It’s really very good and uses the touchscreen very well.
  3. Instead of a ‘LCD-eInk marriage from hell’ we now have a very well done Touch Interface. It’s not silky smooth – it’s just easy to use.
  4. The keyboard is so much better it’s a pleasure to use compared to the Nook 1′s ‘type the wrong keys constantly’ keyboard.
  5. Nook Color replaces whatever super slow processor and buggy code the Nook 1 had with a 800 MHz processor and code that’s reasonably fast.
  6. Nook Color uses an IPS LCD screen. That’s ridiculously good for a $250 device. Using LCD instead of eInk hurts reading but not as much if it’s a very high quality LCD screen. It also has much better pixel density than the iPad and about the same pixel density as Kindle.
  7. The Design is a big improvement. It could have used a few more buttons but it does a lot of things right design-wise including getting rid of the all-white casing of the Nook 1.
  8. The browser is really very good and uses the touch screen well – It’s instantly much better than the original Nook’s decentish browser.
  9. It makes the home page customizable and gives users 3 home screens they can set-up any way they like. That’s a great touch because who wants a boring list of hard to arrange book titles like the Nook 1 had.
  10. Nook Color makes lending very easy by including a LendMe Network App. Nook 1 owners had to use Internet forums and keep track of things themselves. Now users can just use their Nook Color’s LendMe App - though they still have to find other Nook owners on the Internet.
  11. Sluggish page turns on Nook 1 versus instant page turns on Nook Color.
  12. Need for a reading light on Nook 1 versus back-lit screen on Nook Color.

Perhaps Kindle 3 had a similar or larger number of improvements – However, Nook Color was working from such a poor base (Nook 1′s software and usability were both terrible) that its improvements seem more impactful.

Please Note that someone who hasn’t used Nook 1 might find the Nook Color less impressive. It’s not as smooth as iPad and that’s actually OK as it’s half the price. Whether or not you’ve used Nook 1 you’ll find Nook Color impressive for the price. If you love reading, the Kindle is still the right choice – However, Nook Color is a better choice for people who ‘read once in a while’.

Nook vs Kindle vs Nook Color – Amazon needs to move quickly and make BIG changes

Amazon is faced with a unique and unexpected challenge. Nook Color represents a threat that wasn’t supposed to materialize until the 7″ iPad 2 arrived in early 2011. It’s a 7″ LCD screen device that’s actually focused on reading and does a decent job. It also comes in at $250.

At the same time the Nook 1 has improved enough that the Kindle 3′s complete domination of the dedicated eReader market no longer seems guaranteed.

Here are 5 completely unsolicited suggestions Amazon should consider -

  1. Stop being complacent. A lot of people stopped thinking about the Nook once the Kindle 3 came out – think that extends to Amazon. In customers’ eyes things like support for library books and support for other book stores makes the Nook 1 a legitimate contender.
  2. Be proactive instead of reactive – Why isn’t Amazon the one coming out with a ‘reading tablet’? Why isn’t it bundling physical books with ebooks? Why is it not sending out software updates every 2 months?
  3. Focus on winning the eReader battle rather than winning the ‘who sells more ebooks’ battle. Ultimately, the company that wins the eReader battle will have the eBooks market to itself.
  4. Stop depending on Kindle Reading Apps. It’s lunacy to promote another device in TV ads and to start depending on devices that other companies control. Amazon should think about how tightly it runs its own platform and whether it would sell a B&N reading app and then wonder why it’s assuming other companies will keep giving it a free ride.
  5. Beat Nook and Sony Reader on device and software as thoroughly as Amazon beats them on book store and services. Sony Reader 350 is lighter, more compact, has touch, and looks better than Kindle WiFi - that should be unacceptable to Amazon. Kindle needs to be a better eReader than the Sony even when you strip away the book store and infrastructure supporting it.
  6. Make sure no one beats Amazon at its core strength i.e. incremental improvement. If Nook 1 manages to improve in 4 key areas Amazon should have a software update out within a month that improves Kindle 3 in 10 key areas.
  7. Add Revolutionary to its evolutionary (incremental improvements) greatness. B&N is taking a big chance with a ‘reading tablet’ that might end up in a big empty pit between Tablets and Dedicated eReaders – or it might create a new market. Amazon really should be taking chances like this. Sooner or later a reading device that has a fresh new approach is going to beat dedicated eReaders or carve up the market – might as well be a device from the Kindle family.

All of this brings to mind 2009 when Amazon sat on its Kindle lead and did nothing until Nook 1 arrived with PDF support and the fancy navigation touchscreen and jolted Amazon out of its slumber.

With rapid improvements to Kindle 2 (like adding PDF support within weeks of the Nook announcement) and by releasing a ‘better across the board’ Kindle 3 Amazon showed it can fight back. However, it’s gone back to sleep. This time, instead of being aware of the danger Nook Color and Nook 1.5 pose and waking up, it’s taking the easy way out and assuming that B&N has killed itself.

Nook Color is eating away at the casual reader market and Nook 1 is clipping at the Kindle 3′s heels. Both are very real threats and no amount of ‘We’re No. 1 and B&N is probably financially insolvent’ sentiment is going to change that. Add on the Press’ non-stop love-fest for a certain Tablet and you have a very hard next 9 months for the Kindle.

Nook vs Kindle vs Nook Color is not a fight Amazon can win over the long term – It needs a Kindle Tablet, it needs a lot of software improvements, and it needs a color eInk Kindle 4. It also needs them yesterday – though within the next 6 months would probably work. The Kindle is under threat on all fronts and it’s time Amazon started acting like it.

Filed under: kindle vs | Tagged: , , , | 5 Comments »

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