ie8 fix
madison

The Mobile Gadgeteer

Matthew Miller & Joel Evans
Home / News & Blogs / The Mobile Gadgeteer

Consider the Nook Simple Touch or Kobo eReader Touch for your ebook gifts

By | November 22, 2011, 4:00am PST

Summary: In addition to the Kindle Touch, there are two lower priced alternatives that offer more open support for the EPUB standard and are compelling pieces of hardware.

If you are looking to get someone a device for the best ebook reading experience then nothing beats the latest touch eInk devices. While the Kindle Touch may be what you think of first, keep in mind there are competitors out there that offer the same experience with a bit more openness and support for the EPUB standard. I previously looked at the Kobo eReader Touch and Nook Simple Touch and think you can’t go wrong with either of these.

The Nook Simple Touch is now just $99 with no ads, making it the lowest priced touch-enabled eInk reader. I own one and enjoy using the device, especially with the physical buttons on each side of the display. My only gripe with the device is that it is a bit too wide to comfortably fit in one hand for extended use.

I have primarily been using the Kobo eReader Touch for the last couple of months because the form factor is the best I have ever seen in a touchscreen eInk device and Kobo keeps on updating it and making it better. I just connected to WiFi to sync up my bookmarks and found that version 1.9.12 is now available with the following updates:

  • Make notes within a book while you read
  • Browse and edit your notes with Annotations list
  • Customize how you tap on the screen to turn pages, including left-handed
  • Full German dictionary now included
  • Faster highlighting within books

You can buy an ad-supported Kobo Touch for $99.99 or one with no special offers for $129.99. For comparison you can buy an ad-supported Kindle Touch for $99 and one with no ads for $139.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “The Mobile Gadgeteer”

Topics

Device, E-book, Advertising, Nook Simple Touch, E-books & E-Readers, Advertising & Promotion, Personal Technology, Marketing, Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle.

Disclosure

Matthew Miller

Matthew is a professional naval architect by day and a mobile gadget freak at all other times. He purchases most of his devices and then sells them on eBay or Craigslist to buy more. Many other devices are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the carrier or manufacturer. If any are provided as “keeper” or “long term loaner units” this will be clearly disclosed in his reviews.

Biography

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle. He is one of three hosts on the MobileTechRoundup podcast and runs the Nokia Experts website. Matthew started using mobile devices in 1997 with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned over 90 different devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, Mac OS X (iPhone), Google Android, and Windows Mobile operating systems. His current collection includes a Nokia N85, Nokia E71, Nokia 5800, Nokia N810, Apple iPhone, HTC Advantage, T-Mobile G1, Palm Treo Pro, HTC Fuze, MSI Wind, MacBook Pro, and many more, along with tons of accessories and classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew co-authored Master Visually Windows Mobile 2003, was a member of the Nokia Nseries Blogger relations program, and is a member of the invite-only Microsoft Mobius mobile device evangelist group. He can be found on various discussion forums under the user name of "palmsolo".

7
Comments
Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: Consider the Nook Simple Touch or Kobo eReader Touch for your ebook gifts
InPorcelain Updated - 23rd Nov
@datrappert On the contrary, the ePub format is an open format and can be implemented into devices without restriction if the developers so will it.

Of course, the individual books may have DRM, but DRM or non-DRM, the books can technically be converted to and from the Kindle (mobipocket) format.

The Nook can read ePubs. Actually, the books from the B&N Store ARE ePub format, albeit with DRM protection. The Kindle could support ePub if the developers so chose to allow it (A firmware update should be able to include such a feature). Why don't they do it? It locks you in to buying only from Amazon. B&N is, IMO, a lot more ethical concerning this. They don't eliminate competition. You're free to buy books from whoever you want as long as they offer DRM-free, ADE, or other "compatible" DRM service. B&N only wins against these competitors by making it a lot more convenient to buy from themselves. Very fair.

What does this mean? The advantage and service to buyers for the ePub format is that it can be commonly used across various devices. Support for it means you don't have to be "locked in."

So please, continue with ePub. (:
View in thread
0 Votes
+ -
Note for Lefties:
Buzzbum Updated - 22nd Nov
Nook is also set up so left-handers can easily use the side buttons without crossing over anything else or moving their hand. Neither the Kindle or the Kobo are set up this way, you have to stretch your thumb past the "page back" area.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Consider the Nook Simple Touch or Kobo eReader Touch for your ebook gifts
kiz 22nd Nov
@Buzzbum Actually, a recent update for the Kobo Touch added support for left handers. That's one of the nice things about the Kobo is that new features are continually added.
0 Votes
+ -
Kindle has page buttons on both sides
toddybottom 22nd Nov
@Buzzbum
The non-touch version of the Kindle has page forward / back buttons on both sides of the device. Are you talking about the touch version of the Kindle?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Consider the Nook Simple Touch or Kobo eReader Touch for your ebook gifts
blacter 22nd Nov
Hi, Matt. Here's a public service warning about dealing with Kobo. I bought the Kobo Vox directly from the company through their pre-order system. Wasn't crazy about it so I decided to return it. Turns out Kobo has no system in place to deal with returns. In fact, they acted like it was a strange request. After four emails and one weird phone call they elevated my request to "Tier 2 Customer Support" before they finally sent me the address to return the unit. Since they're in Canada shipping cost $25 or so. Truth is, I have no confidence that I'll get my money back without further hassles. Botton line: buy from a retailer, not directly from the company.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Consider the Nook Simple Touch or Kobo eReader Touch for your ebook gifts
datrappert 22nd Nov
Enough with ePub already. There is nothing in ePub you can't get for a Kindle in Amazon's format or MobiPocket format. Continuing to tout it as some sort of advantage for non-Kindle eBook readers is doing a disservice to potential buyers. Full disclosure: I have a Kindle AND a Nook. I like them both.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Consider the Nook Simple Touch or Kobo eReader Touch for your ebook gifts
InPorcelain Updated - 23rd Nov
@datrappert On the contrary, the ePub format is an open format and can be implemented into devices without restriction if the developers so will it.

Of course, the individual books may have DRM, but DRM or non-DRM, the books can technically be converted to and from the Kindle (mobipocket) format.

The Nook can read ePubs. Actually, the books from the B&N Store ARE ePub format, albeit with DRM protection. The Kindle could support ePub if the developers so chose to allow it (A firmware update should be able to include such a feature). Why don't they do it? It locks you in to buying only from Amazon. B&N is, IMO, a lot more ethical concerning this. They don't eliminate competition. You're free to buy books from whoever you want as long as they offer DRM-free, ADE, or other "compatible" DRM service. B&N only wins against these competitors by making it a lot more convenient to buy from themselves. Very fair.

What does this mean? The advantage and service to buyers for the ePub format is that it can be commonly used across various devices. Support for it means you don't have to be "locked in."

So please, continue with ePub. (:
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Consider the Nook Simple Touch or Kobo eReader Touch for your ebook gifts
kindlemad 23rd Nov
My wife and I love our new Kindle Fire. It's lightweight, easy to use and has a great interface. The first thing I recommend anyone with a new Kindle do is install the nook app. We got our instructions from www.kindlemad.com through google.

It basically unlocks all the Android marketplace apps and unlocks the device. I am one very happy Kindle owner!

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix
ie8 fix