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EReader Notes: Kindle Fire vs Nook Tablet ↑

Introduction ↑

I'm trying to decide between the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet. There's an awful lot of misinformation and biased reviews out there, which is making the decision much harder. I'm trying to boil it down to pluses and minuses with ratings that take into account what's important to me, using only verified information, updated as I discover them. Right now it's pretty heavily leaning towards the Nook, but I feel I'm missing some factors.

Some things to keep in mind before calling me an idiot:

• I'm comparing what these units are capable of doing, not just what they can do as shipped. The biggest factor affected by this is the "ecosystem". While it's universally agreed upon that Amazon has a better app store (thousands more apps, often cheaper apps), since the Nook can now run Amazon Appstore and the Kindle can run the B&N Appstore (both with a bit of work), the differences in the ecosystem hardly matter.
• Privacy is of great concern to me. The fact that The Kindle's browser sends every bit of data through Amazon's servers worries me. The fact that I have no idea how secure the connection is between my device and Amazon worries me (https:// is not perfect, but it's very good and well understood)
• I run Linux 99% of the time, so a MicroSD? slot means I'll never have to worry about syncing or client software to get content on the device.
• I'm only considering these two units because every other one I could find was either in the $400 price range, or too large. The only exception to this is the Blackberry Playbook, which runs a proprietary OS with very few apps.

Please let me know if you see anything I'm missing, or see anything that's just wrong, at david@thekramers.net. Thanks.

Comparison table ↑

The ratings are 1-5, 5 being the best, taking into account how important the attribute is for me. Your judgment may vary.

Click on a column heading to sort on that column.

Feature	Fire rating	Nook rating	Winner
TOTAL	58	69
App store (Rating this low because you can install Amazon Appstore on the Nook with a bit of work, and the whole Android Marketplace on either with more work and risk)	3	2	Kindle
Battery life: kindle=8hrs Nook=11.5hrs	2	4	Nook
Boot loader: Unlocked on the Kindle, still working on the Nook	4	2	Kindle
Buttons: Nook has hard home and volume buttons	2	4	Nook
Charging: Nook needs higher (2.0) amps from special charger (some reports of VERY slow charging from computer). Kindle can charge from a computer, but very slowly.	3	2	Kindle
Content formats: Nook supports more video and ebook formats	2	3	Nook
Durability: The Nook has a border that protects the screen, Kindle is all glass up front	3	4	Nook
External storage: Kindle has 5GB cloud-based, Nook has up to 32GB MicroSD?	1	5	Nook
Hackability: Kindle: easy to root but modifies the system. Nook: Boot loader still locked, but you can sideload any app	4	3	Kindle
Keyboard: Nook keys are further apart, Kindle keys are bigger. Neither offers alternative input	1	2	Nook
Microphone: Nook has one, Kindle does not. Skype does not yet work though. Bump up if it does.	1	2	Nook
MRU Carousel: Kindle is prettier but harder to use. Nook is much easier to use	2	3	Nook
Music and video content: Both have Hulu/Netflix/Pandora, Amazon has its own	4	3	Kindle
Onboard storage for your non-app content: Kindle has 6.5GB out of 8GB, Nook has 1GB out of 16GB (1)	4	3	Kindle
Organization: Can arrange items on shelves and virtual desktops and create shelves on the Nook, the Kindle works more like IOS.	1	4	Nook
Performance: Same processor, but due to the extra memory, Nook apps load faster, videos play smoother	3	5	Nook
Price: Kindle=$200, Nook=$250, plus you'll want a microSD card	3	2	Kindle
RAM: Kindle has 512M, Nook has 1GB	3	5	Nook
Screen rotation on all apps: Kindle does, but Nook has some apps that don't	3	2	Kindle
Screen: Nook has a bonded screeen with no air gap, meaning less glare and more responsive to the touch	2	4	Nook
Sideloading apps: Kindle: You can email as attachments Nook: Sideloaded apps DO NOT show up on the default launcher, but you can get them through search, or install another launcher	3	2	Kindle
Web browser: Kindle's Silk browser renders desktop version most times, pretty fast, better tabbed browsing	4	3	Kindle

Open questions ↑

• What is the experience like reading PDF documents on both?
• How hard is it really to side load apps on the Nook?
  • Pretty hard due to the boot loader. See here and here

Helpful resources ↑

• http://dearauthor.com/ebooks/comparison-review-of-the-nook-tablet-and-kindle-fire
• APKTop: Free APKs
• Amazon Appstore and launchers on the Nook without rooting
• Permanent root for the Nookdemo
• Android Forums: Kindle Nook
• XDA Developers: Kindle Nook
• IRC on irc.freenode.net: #kindle-fire, #nook-tablet, and #nooktablet

Footnotes ↑

1 : The Nook comes with 16GB, however, only 1GB of it is usable for content that doesn't come from B&N (and apps you sideload). So for instance, if you wanted to carry around some MP3s you already own or a movie file to watch on the plan, it has to fit in that 1GB. Apps you download (or sideload) and their data can go into the 16GB space. After it's rooted and you get the Android Market on there, even those apps go into the bigger space. This really becomes functionally a non-issue because you can put in a 32GB microSD card, but it pissed off a lot of people.

-- DavidKramer - 20 Nov 2011