Tablet PCs have become one of the most sought after electronic gadgets recently, and the affordability of recent models has brought them into the price range of average consumers. Most people find the 500$ iPad to be over priced. Luckily book barons Amazon and Barnes and Noble have entered the tablet market with products that are capable and moderately priced because the companies are counting on media sales to constitute most of the profits. If you’re looking at buying a Nook Tablet or Amazon Kindle, be sure to consider these important features before making the purchase.
There are Lots of Similarities
Both of the tablets feature 7″ displays and weigh a little over 14oz. They are both optimized for reading with the added ability of being able to handle web browsing and multimedia. You will be locked into one brand or the other once you make the purchase, so if you have anything against Barnes and Noble’s business practices or Amazon’s outspoken CEO you may want to consider the competitor’s product.
Storage
The Amazon Kindle offers 8GB of internal storage, plus unlimited storage for Amazon products on the cloud. The Nook Tablet’s 16GB seems superior until you look at the specifics. Roughly 13GB is allocated for content and 12GB of that is for Barnes and Noble content. Any 3rd party content will be left with a measly 1GB internal memory. Luckily the Nook Tablet has a slot for an SD card that allows users to add 32GB of storage.
Battery Life
Amazon states on their website that the Kindle will get approximately 8 hours of battery life if you’re just reading, and about 7.5 hours of video playback. They also mention that wireless usage can decrease battery life, and in my experience I get about 4 hours of battery life with wireless engaged. I’m only getting about 4.5 hours of battery with wireless on, so needless to say I was disappointed. The Nook Tablet gets 11.5 hours of reading and over 9 hours for video playback. Even though the devices are similarly sized, the Nook has a much better battery life, and recharges quicker as well.
Overall Quality
The Nook Tablet feels sturdy and I have yet to run into a design flaw that I considered a nuisance. The Amazon Kindle on the other hand feels comparatively generic, and everything from the analog buttons to the speakers are lacking. There is nothing about the Kindle that makes it unusable though as some tech pundits would have you believe. I believe that both of the devices are well worth their price points and most users will be satisfied with their purchase, especially if they don’t have any tablet experience to compare it to.
My Dad decided that the Nook was the best choice because of the specifications I’ve listed, and he is entirely happy with his purchase. I bought an Amazon Kindle because it’s a trending gadget, and I don’t see a 100$ difference in the models. This is one purchase that should be dictated by how much money you have to spend, and which bookstore you see as a greater value.
Disclosure – I have not been compensated by Amazon, Barnes and Noble or any 3rd party in regards to this article. – Adam Justice