Ok.. Let's get them straight.. This is HUGE TO YOU! To me, it's worthless because my public library doesn't even CARRY E-books. As for that *pretty* touchscreen I looked at nooks off and on for 3 months... and it just plain did not impress me at all. If you want a pretty touch screen, get an iPad, or even an iTouch. Much better responsiveness. I do not have an iPad, but my DH does.
I am impressed with book selection & price.. Kindle wins in both of those catagories. Hands down.
As a Kindle lover and new nook owner, I prefer my Kindle.
But, I've discovered the library feature is indeed huge after all, because I'm not limited to my local library. I found (thanks to a lovely member here) that while my local library has nothing, there is a library in my state that has instituted a free "e-card", that I applied for and received online. And they
do have a good selection of books I'm interested in - enough that if I check them all out, I've pretty much paid for my nook. Plus there's the Free Library of Philadelphia - you can get a card there for $15, and they have a bigger selection of books, and a couple of checkouts will pay for that card. I look forward to using both.
To address someone else's comment, as far as ePub goes, it isn't that it's a superior format, it's that my nook can handle books from Sony, Borders, Kobo, any site that sells ePub - so I can shop around for the best price (although frankly, that "best price" usually is with Amazon - I've made very few e-book purchases outside of Amazon) and get freebies almost anywhere. It's far from perfect - customer service for warranty issues with B&N appears to be slow and pretty much totally non-customer-service oriented - luckily I got my nook on eBay so I'm warrantied through Square Trade if I have an issue in the next couple of years. There's no organization feature beside having separate folders for B&N books and "outside" books. The touchscreen is underwhelming at best (to me), the only thing I like about it is swiping to turn pages (and that takes a while to perfect - I'm not there yet). I don't anticipate paying for any books from B&N (or probably Sony or anywhere else anymore with the library feature) - great for me, not so great business-wise for them. Any e-books I pay for will almost certainly be from Amazon. Esthetically, it may be "sleeker" looking on the surface, but it's heavier and bulkier than the K2.
Having a Kindle and a nook feels a bit like having the best of both worlds, and neither is perfect. But if I had to choose just one, it would be Kindle. Best selection, best prices, best customer service, and if you're only going to have one, I think it's The One. It's amusing to me that some people want ePub so they can shop around - when they can shop around anywhere
but the Kindle store, where the best selection and prices are. And I think Amazon has the best business model for the Kindle, so I think they're most likely to come out on top in the end. But clearly, that's my opinion, and people who chose to go with nook (or Sony, or Kobo, or whatever, as their only reader) have other priorities and disagree.
