Feb 7 2012
With the iPad 2, Apple has solidified its presence on the e-reader device market, a market that had previously been the domain of Amazon, with its Kindle, and Barnes and Noble, which offers the nook.
Those devices are dedicated e-book readers, while the iPad 2 packs an e-book reader in along with its other features, such as web browsing, multimedia, and App Store support. But that versatility doesn't necessarily make it a better product. Devices that do one thing really well can also be appealing.
This chart doesn't compare user experience or book price. It simply stacks the three devices up against each other from a hardware and cost perspective to help you make a purchase decision.
e-Reader Comparison: iPad vs Kindle vs nook
| iPad 2 | Kindle 3 | Kindle DX | nook/ nook Color |
Sony Reader (3 models) |
Borders Kobo eReader Touch |
|
| screen (inches)/ resolution | 9.7/ 1024x768 LCD |
6/ 600x800 E Ink |
9.7/ 1200x824 E Ink |
6/800x600 E Ink/ 7/1024x600 |
5-7.1/ 800x600 - 600x1024 E Ink |
6 E Ink |
| color | yes | 16 shades gray | 16 shades gray | 16 shades gray/ 16 million colors |
8/16 shades gray |
16 shades gray |
| storage | 16GB-64GB | 4GB | 4GB | 2GB / 8GB (both expandable) |
512MB (expandable) | 1GB (expandable) |
| connectivity | Wi-Fi/3G | Wi-Fi/ 3G | 3G | Wi-Fi | 3G | Wi-Fi |
| connectivity cost | optional, US$15- $50/month |
free | free | free | free | free |
| ebook format | ePub, Kindle, |
Kindle, PDF, MOBI |
Kindle, PDF, MOBI |
ePub & PDF/ePub, PDF, Doc, | ePub, PDF, TXT, RTF, DOC, BBeB Book |
ePub, PDF, MOBI, TXT, RTF |
| web browser | yes | limited | limited | limited/ yes | no | no |
| audio/video? | yes | audio | audio | audio + images / yes |
audio + images |
no |
| games | yes | no | no | yes | no | no |
| size (in.) | 9.56 x 7.31 x 0.34 | 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.33 | 10.4 x 7.2 x 0.38 | 6.5 x 5.0 x 0.47/ 8.1 x 5 x 0.48 |
varies | 6.5 x 4.5 x 0.4 |
| weight (lb.) | 1.3-1.35 | 0.54 | 1.2 | 0.47/ 0.99 | 0.485-0.798 | 0.44 |
| price | US$499-$829 | $139/ $189 | $489 | $139/ $249 | $169- $349 |
$129 |
| reviews | iPad 2 review | coming soon | Kindle DX review | nook Color review | Sony Reader review | 1st gen. Kobo review |
