Archive for the ‘kindle vs nook’ tag
Barnes & Noble now ereader market leader no comments
According to International Data Corp (IDC), the Kindle is now in second place after Barnes & Noble’s Nook ereaders. B&N can probably thank the Nook Color for that — Amazon has been hurt by the lack of a color device according to IDC’s latest Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker study.
I would add that thanks to the Nook Color B&N also has a vast lead in the number and quality of its newsstand and children’s ebook offerings. For a change Amazon will be the one catching up even when it does release a tablet of its own.
The findings of IDC’s study seem to be similar to the recent Pew study that found tablet sales slowing in recent months, although IDC did raise its shipment forecast for the year to 53.5 million tablets (vs 50.4 million previously predicted). IDC is predicting worldwide ereader shipments to be up 24 percent this year to 16.2 million units.
"Like the PC market, Media Tablets had a bit of a challenging quarter in Q1, as concerns about general macroeconomic issues and the post-holiday letdown took a toll on demand," said Bob O’Donnell, IDC Vice President, Clients and Displays. "We expect the rest of the year to be much stronger, but we believe vendors who continue to focus on the telco channel for distribution will face serious challenges."
"Although media tablet sales were not as high as expected in 1Q11 due to slower consumer demand, overall economic conditions, and supply-chain constraints, we believe with the entrance of competitive new devices in second half of 2011, the market will sell close to 53 million units for the year and continue to grow long-term," said Jennifer Song, IDC Research Analyst.
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Kindle Update 2.5 Coming Soon no comments
Amazon has released details of an upcoming software update for the Kindle and Kindle DX on the Kindle help pages. Software update version 2.5 will include the promised improvements to the way in which you can organize your library in addition to other new features:
- Collections: Organize books and documents into collections.
- PDF Zoom and Pan: Adds the ability to zoom and pan your PDF documents.
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Password Protection: Adds the ability to password protect your Kindle ereader when you are not using it.
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More Fonts and Improved Clarity: Two new larger font sizes and sharper fonts.
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Facebook and Twitter Posts: Will add the ability to share book passages directly from the Kindle to Facebook and Twitter.
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Popular Highlights: See what the Kindle community thinks are the most interesting passages in the books you are reading.
These are all great features and will be welcome. The password protection sounds as though it totally locks the Kindle. At some point I would also like to see the ability to lock individual books or documents. This might be useful for adults who share their Kindles with their children. Maybe someone will make an app for that? It is also interesting to see the Kindle adding more social networking. Once all of the usability and accessibility features we want are successfully implemented this will probably become an increasingly important feature for the ereaders of the future – social networking is the main feature that Copia is building its ereading community around.
The new Kindle update should see general release in late May 2010.
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Disturbing Cracks Starting to Appear in the nook’s Facade no comments
There are a few disturbing reports on the Barnes & Noble nook related forums of nook ereaders which are already developing stress related cracks on the page turning buttons. There are also reported sightings of cracked nook demos in B&N stores.
Unlike most other ereaders which have a page turning button presented through a cutout in the bezel, the nook uses a flexible plastic bezel that when depressed activates the page turning mechanism. This repeated flexing is apparently causing fatigue in the plastic which is then cracking.
The picture above shows the page turning buttons on the Kindle and the nook, and a close-up shot of a cracked nook bezel submitted to the B&N forum by icebike.
This is a worrisome development as the nook ereader has only been on the street for less than two months. Hopefully this will prove to be a production problem that only affects a certain percentage of nooks, though I really doubt it. B & N should have known better than to expect a strip of plastic like this to withstand thousands and thousands of flexes as users advance pages. As the nook ages this could blow up into a major headache for both owners of the nook ereader and Barnes & Noble.
Barnes & Noble appears to be replacing nooks with cracks; but from what I have read I would advise that when you call their customer service you stress that the crack is interfering with your use of the ereader rather than just being a cosmetic problem. Even if it seems to you to be only a cosmetic problem at first, it will interfere with your ereader’s operation as the crack gets worse.
It might also be a good idea to use the LCD touchscreen for page turns as much as possible.
Update: It seems a reasonable assumption that this problem is exacerbated by cold. If you are out and about in the winter wonderland with your nook, you might want to let it warm up a bit before using the page turning buttons.
