nook vs Kindle vs iPad – The Tablet Wars

May 25, 2012

So… the tablet war is still going on and will be for some time to come. iPad vs Kindle vs nook vs Samsung Galaxy Tab vs Motorola Xoom vs someone else. The list goes on. Everyone is trying to break into the tablet market. Trying to compete with the iPad. All I can say is, “Good Luck.”

I was a first adopter of the Barnes and Noble nook. I got version 1 as soon as it came out in order to help me with my postgraduate studies. I am also an avid reader (juggling about 5 books at a time), so the tool seemed like the most logical choice. I can carry around my required reading: research articles, as well as a collection of books. When I did an analysis between the Amazon Kindle (of then) and the nook (of then) it was the best choice. The nook allowed for an expansion disk, you could change the battery, PDF usage was easier… I don’t remember all the factors, but I do remember it was essentially a no brainer.

Books for the nook were well priced. They were actually cheaper than buying the hard copy. Then came version 2 of the ereaders and the iPad. I stuck with my nook. It still seemed like the best choice and if I wanted a tablet (computer) there didn’t seem to be a better choice than the iPad. Why bother with the Kindle Fire and the nook Tablet. Other manufacturers, such as Motorola, Asus, and Samsung run a version of the Android OS which is more susceptible to malware and poorly designed applications (due to the lack of restrictions and QA).

As the years passed I noticed an annoying trend, the Barnes and Noble ebooks began to increase in price. The price was becoming much higher than the cost of a hard copy of the book. So, convenience is what you were paying for. The ability to get the book now and have it on your nook as opposed to going out to buy a hard copy of the book and having to carry that around. Amazon on the other hand offered the Kindle Fire which is equivalent to carrying around the Amazon store front with you everywhere you go. (Now they are talking about selling advertising to the Kindle — that is a big no thanks for me.)

The new iPad is the winner and here is why:
I now have access to Amazon Kindle’s library with the Kindle App.
I have access to my Barnes and Noble nook library through my nook app.
I have access to iBooks from Apple through the iBooks app.
I am not restricted to purchasing from just one retailer. I can shop around for the best price of the book and download it into one spot — my iPad. Yeah, they will be kept in different apps. So I would have to look at the different “shelves” on my iPad to find the specific book I am looking for, but that is no different than looking on the different shelves in my actual library at home.
I can still order the books in hard copy through the respective retailers sites via their store applications or searching with the browser. I am not restricted to sucking up the offering at only one location.

Image representing iPad as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Anyone living in the land of economics knows that competition drives pricing. Barnes and Noble has not impressed me. Lately, their customer service has been sliding. This became apparent when I contacted them via phone and via email and received canned responses that had nothing to do with my problems. Amazon is looking at selling advertising on their tablets/eReaders. Why would anyone even want to put up with that? The iPad applications allow me to have the best of everything available without the headaches. Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s ereader/tablet business models are going to feel some pain from the steady competition. Amazon has a great business strategy and they are not dependent on book only sales. I’m not sure how much longer Barnes and Noble will be able to hold on.