Barnes & Noble Nook
If we had to opt into any ebook user experience on the market right now, we’d opt for the Barnes & Noble nook.
With a vast catalog of titles, instant downloads via 3G or Wi-Fi, and a nifty second touch-screen display, the Barnes & Noble Nook E-Reader does everything Amazon's Kindle can, but it isn't a best seller—yet.
The Nook's extra features make it a worthy and enticing alternative to the Kindle, but Barnes & Noble will have to work out the device's kinks before it can reach its full potential.
In the end, the Nook is an intriguing product launched by a powerful force in the world of booksellers, but the initial offering feels long on promises and short on delivery. With the right software revisions, the Nook could be a tsunami, but as it stands right now, it's only a mild swell.
Now, the Nook may have some hardware advantages — a removable battery, a memory-card slot and (because of narrower plastic margins) a slightly trimmer shape — but the Kindle is still a better machine.
Overall, after testing the Nook for about a week, I don't think it's as good as the Kindle, at least not yet. At launch, the Nook has the feel of a product with great potential that was rushed to market before it was fully ready.
There’s no doubt that the Nook is a cool product – but the device feels a little rushed at this point which makes us question if it can truly give the Kindle a run for its money.
It can't kill Kindle yet, but it's an alternative worth considering.
When they finally get the kinks worked out, the Nook will be an elegant, customizable, competitive alternative to Amazon's Kindle. Until then, it's a slightly awkward runner-up.
The Nook isn’t a Kindle killer–not in this initial form, at least.
