Six Cups of Coffee

This past Saturday, I finally received a gadget I'd been drooling over for a long time, the Amazon Kindle 2. The price had finally come down enough, to US$259 (though I got mine refurbished, for the same warranty, at US$219), that I was able to afford it. 

For those who live in caves (though I wonder how you're reading this if you do), the Kindle 2 is Amazon's second iteration of its ebook reader, a device that uses "electronic ink" (also sometimes called "electronic paper") to create a paper-like reading display. It's not at all like an LCD; there's no backlighting, and thus, unlike any kind of regular phone or computer display, reduces that eyestrain that most people experience when reading for long periods of time on those kinds of devices. 

On the Kindle, users can connect wirelessly to Amazon's store and buy books with 1-Click, or download first-chapter samples. In addition, owners can also subscribe to magazines and newspapers at a substantial discount, with two week free trials. Amazon boasts a collection of about 365,000 titles, which includes public domain books, many of which are free. Other amenities include blog subscriptions, text-to-speech, an experimental web browser, a dictionary, annotations, and even paid or free PDF conversion.

I love this thing. I'm already reading a ton more than I have before. My New York Times subscription arrives on my Kindle before I wake up, so after I hit the On button on my coffeemaker, I'm already immersed in the day's news in the morning. My small collection of Kindle books I'd already bought for my iPhone, in anticipation of one day owning a Kindle 2, synced over easily. I also renewed my interest (and subscriptions) in Time and Newsweek. 

Then Barnes & Noble threatened to make me wish I'd never bought the Kindle 2.

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B&N announced yesterday, confirming previous rumors, its own ebook device, the "nook". Similar to the Kindle in size, it features, instead of a keyboard, an LCD touchscreen under the e-ink display that users can employ to select books and see information. In addition, nook owners can lend a book to another nook owner for two weeks, during which time the original owner cannot read the book. When in a B&N store, the device will automatically switch over to free wifi, which the Kindle does not have, and push out coupons and recommendations. B&N touts "over a million titles" thanks to Google Books. 

Well, crap, I thought when I first saw all these neat details. But some further thought, as well as additional details, made me realize I made the right purchase.

First, I don't care about wifi. The 3G wireless modem on the Kindle is far sufficient to get books in under 60 seconds, and having free wifi in a bookstore is meaningless, since I don't need to go to a bookstore. While the nook has a neat feature that allows you to read any B&N ebook for free while in a B&N, it still kind of defeats the purpose of owning an ebook reader. 

Second, setting aside the fact for now that most owners of ebook readers don't know many (if any) other owners,  the lending feature is predictively restrictive; you can only lend out a book once. Ever. So if your friend doesn't finish the book in the two weeks (unlikely but not uncommon), you can't even re-lend it. 

Third, B&N's claim of over a milliion titles is offset by the fact that most titles available for purchase will be obscure academic or self-published titles. The vast majority of books that most people want to read are available on the Amazon Store - and even ones that sell well in other mediums, such as Mobipocket or PDF, can be converted for the Kindle for free (and it's really easy to do). 

Fourth, the battery life of the nook is shorter, only two days with wireless on versus four on the Kindle. That would explain the replaceable battery on the nook.

Finally, and paradoxically, depending on your point of view, the most or least important point of all, readability. Of course, the displays are the same, so what do I mean? One of the features of the Kindle 2 is that it "gets out of the way" - nothing on the device distracts you from your reading, and so, like a paper book, it's easy to get lost in the text and not the fact that you're reading on a cool, slick gadget. On the nook, the LCD panel is bright, and easily distracting. It provides a stark contrast to the grayscale e-ink display, and would easily remind you constantly that you're reading on a cool, slick gadget. 

On a final note, competition is good. It sparks innovation, and keeps the demand for new features high. While the nook does have some neat features, I'm confident that Amazon will welcome having the fire lit under its butt to keep moving forward, introducing interesting new aspects of their product on their own and improving on their competitor's ideas.

And for right now, I'm glad I made the decision I did. The Kindle 2 is wonderful. No matter which device you decide on, ultimately, the resurgence of interest in reading for many people is really the best feature of all.