Readers' Choice Awards 2012: Tablets and Ebook Readers

[gb18]

"The categorical confusion started with Barnes & Noble's Nook Color."

Game-changer that it was!

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2406727,00.asp

[TnTexas]

gb18: "The categorical confusion started with Barnes & Noble's Nook Color."

Game-changer that it was!

It's amazing how much things can change in a year. 

[flyingtoastr Scribe]

"B&N continues to play catch-up with Amazon, but customer satisfaction still runs high among Nook users."

BN stopped playing catch-up with Amazon when they came out with a reader/tablet hybrid before Amazon, a touch-screen eInk reader before Amazon, and an illuminated eInk reader before Amazon. And some of those were even done years ago by Sony.

/sigh 

Bezos' propaganda machine rolls on.

[doncr]

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flyingtoastr wrote:

Bezos' propaganda machine rolls on.

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Seems to be working.

[keriflur]

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doncr wrote:

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flyingtoastr wrote:

Bezos' propaganda machine rolls on.

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Seems to be working.

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It seems that competing with Jobs has taught Bezos a thing or two.  This has been Apple's model too.  "Advertise it like it's a new idea and no one will know the difference."

[Seabreeze-1]

Aside from the propaganda, I think that Amazon offers some values that B&N either cannot or has chosen not to deliver.  Amazon offers a larger selection of content; almost never has the highest price on the books its sells; appears to be better able to deliver on pre-ordered books; offers an ereader that allows any content to be deleted without connecting to the computer; offers a process for creating shelves/collections that works a lot better for people who buy lots of books, especially if they want to assign a book to more than one shelf/collection; and offers a much larger set of reviews for any book, and quality controls them very well.

On the other hand, the nook is, in my opinion, a nicer device for reading ebooks, though I wish it would fit in my jacket pocket like the kindle does.  And B&N has a physical store, which I would really hate to lose.

So, I think there can be a legitimate debate about the nook vs the kindle, independent of "propaganda."

[LisaK-BookLove…]

Hmm, I've got to disagree with you on some aspects here. While I will agree that Amazon sometimes has lower ebook prices, they do not have a larger selection of titles. I used to read on my phone & computer (and now I own a Nook Tablet) and would shop from both Amazon and B&N. There were dozens of times that B&N had books that Amazon didn't. 

As for my Nook, I can directly delete or store content from my Tablet. I find the shelving feature easy to use (just press and hold), and I mutliple books on different shelves. While I'm not 100% sure that every nook works exactly the same, my does all of those features you listed. 

I do agree that B&N should encourage more reviews, and should post a quality control over them (that and the summaries of items). 

[Seabreeze-1]

I think that the nook simple touch is the one B&N device that does not make shelving easy.  The way to assign a book to a shelf is to select the shelf, and scroll through several pages (up to 30+ for me) to find the book you want to place on that shelf.  Then, to assign to another shelf, you go through the same process again.

Also, on the simple touch, side loaded content, including library books, and samples can only be deleted from the computer, the former with the nook attached.

It is interesting to hear that you have found B&N to have books that Amazon has not had available for Kindle.  I have never had that experience.  You probably read smarter books than I do.

[Omnigeek]

I also have found B&N to have a wider selection than Amazon although wider doesn't always mean better (e.g., most self-published works).  I am able to fit any one of my Nooks in my jacket pockets and even the front pocket of most of my trousers.

I sure wish B&N would make shelving easier and sync'd across devices using a spreadsheet-like web interface.

I stopped taking the veracity of PC Magazine's articles seriously after about the third issue I read back in the 1980s.  They're interesting reads from time to time but frequently need some fact-checking.

[DeanGibson Distinguished Bibliophile]

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Omnigeek wrote:
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I stopped taking the veracity of PC Magazine's articles seriously after about the third issue I read back in the 1980s.  They're interesting reads from time to time but frequently need some fact-checking.

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frequently -> usually

I stopped taking them seriously after they published an article explaining "even/odd parity bits":  They said, in an even parity-bit system, that if a byte had an even number on "one"-bits, then the parity bit was also set.

Even back then, parity-bit systems had been around for decades, and that answer was 100% wrong (the parity-bit is set in an even-parity system to make the total number of "one"-bits (including the parity bit) even).

The fact-checking hasn't gotten any better over time, but that's not the worst part.  PC Magazine often biases review articles in favor of large advertisers, and will drop a product from a comparison review if the product's manufacturer doesn't advertise in the magazine.  I have first-hand knowledge of both.