# Nook vs Fire Review



## Alice Coyl (Mar 29, 2011)

If this is a duplicate post, I apologize. There is so many threads to go through. I saw this comparison this morning and was wondering what Fire owners think.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-57330571-251/kindle-fire-vs-nook-tablet-how-to-choose/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=E-bookreaders


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## Bob327 (Nov 17, 2011)

I purchased the kindle Fire MAINLY because it was my first ever Tablet and its low price...  

I'm a senior citizen and to be honest I still have not found a "real" need for a Tablet  .. but I found that the Fire does what I expected it to. 

Any tablet would be too large for me to carry around  BUT I always have my Smart phone in my pocket so when I want to know the latest stock prices etc or check my bank balance (important at this time of year) The phone is just more handy 

Amazons Content and reputation also played a huge part in my decision... BUT I totally agree that the location of the on/off button is TERRIBLE especially with the case I purchased for the Fire... The lack of a Volume control at first I had no issues with (I run my computers with the sound turned off) but after watching  a few old Star Trek episodes sure wish the Fire had a volume control and I have NO MUSIC  (OR GAMES) on my Cell Phone so I seriously doubt that I will ever need or want any on the Fire...

For me the Fire was the right choice the Nook was just to much money for my personal use... BUT IF I were a younger man especially one who had a pair of Cargo pants with huge pockets all over the place then maybe the Nook OR even an iPad would be somewhat useful "to me" ...

I have had no second thoughts  about going with the fire...(so far anyway) 

Bob G


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Bob, I've been meaning to tell you I love the 'Vette in your avatar.  Is it yours?

Betsy


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

Had I not already been "tied" to amazon, I may have found the Nook more interesting. I wanted a tablet, but wouldn't pay the huge price of an Ipad ...I can't justify that price for fun. I already purchased all my music at amazon, so I have several gigs of music already on the cloud. Books are also purchased here. 

The fire was a no brainer for me. I must be one of the few who doesn't have an issue with the location of the power button or the on screen volume control. I like the lack of external buttons. I've never hit the power button accidentally. The only things I'm waiting for is a few more apps and the ability to control the carousel's contents.

A friend has the first gen Nook color and loves it. I tried to talk her into a Kindle, but she wanted the Nook and the Fire hadn't come out yet. She's a former librarian and won't buy books. The Nook was a better choice for her, but she won't read on it. It's too hard on her eyes.

To each his own. That's one of the things I like about Amazon's line of kindles--there is an option for almost every preference.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


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## racheldeet (Jan 21, 2010)

I actually had some money to throw around, so I picked up the Nook Tablet just to see if it held any advantages over the Fire. What I found was that it was larger and therefore more cumbersome to hold, the interface was clumsy, and there was no easy way to determine what I had on the device vs. what I needed to go buy or download. All in all, I kept it for a day and returned it, frustrated.

It might be better for other people, but for me, the Fire is the obvious choice here.


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## maries (Dec 29, 2010)

Both products are very new and time might change how I feel but right now I am very happy with my decision to get the Fire.   The Nook Tablet appears to be a little more rich in features but it doesn't have the Amazon services and customer service and the K-Fire is $50 less.   I haven't had much time to play with my Fire yet so I'm sure as I get to know even more what it does, I will be even happier with it.   I expect the people that like the Nook reader will gravitate to the B&N tablet and the Kindle camp will go for the Fire.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

I have the original Nook Color.  I got it for the purpose of rooting and using as a tablet.  The price was right and it worked great.  Both the Fire and new Nook Tablet are welcome upgrades, but I'm frequently shopping at Amazon so the Fire fits a bit better (at the moment).  If I'd have gotten the Nook Tablet first, I wouldn't have looked back.  

But, I've got a Fire burning, and I'm pleased.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Hoosiermama said:


> Had I not already been "tied" to amazon, I may have found the Nook more interesting. I wanted a tablet, but wouldn't pay the huge price of an Ipad ...I can't justify that price for fun. I already purchased all my music at amazon, so I have several gigs of music already on the cloud. Books are also purchased here.
> 
> The fire was a no brainer for me. I must be one of the few who doesn't have an issue with the location of the power button or the on screen volume control. I like the lack of external buttons. I've never hit the power button accidentally. The only things I'm waiting for is a few more apps and the ability to control the carousel's contents.


I have a Nook Color (rooted with the N2A card) - got impatient waiting for Amazon to announce their tablet and jumped on a good deal for a refurbished one. it's okay, but I like my Fire a lot better and have used it pretty much exclusively since I got it. I've found it to be much more intuitive for me to use. I like the look of it better (despite what the CNET review said, I find it to be a much cleaner look than the Nook Color or Tablet). I like the smaller size of the Fire.

I'm with you, Mary - I have yet to turn my Fire off accidentally while using it - I mostly use it in my Oberon K3 cover, which leaves the power button a little recessed, but even when it's not in a cover I haven't hit it accidentally. I thought I'd miss the volume buttons, but it's so simple to access the volume control on screen I find I haven't missed them at all. That little "n" Home button on the Nook Color is convenient, though.

I'm glad they mentioned that while the Nook Tablet has more memory, to do much sideloading at all you'll need to invest in a micro SD card (and that slot can be tricky to access even with my medium-sized lady hands). I do wish the Fire had expandable memory - I've never needed it on an eInk Kindle, but with something that plays music and videos, it would be nice to be able to have those on board and not have to depend on wifi for streaming them, or have them hogging a lot of your memory.

And of course what tech reviews almost never mention is customer service/support - which isn't a big deal until you need it. But I've spent enough time on Nook boards to know who wins that contest.

Overall I thought it was a pretty balanced review - for myself, I know the Nook Tablet comes out ahead on specs, but specs matter less to me than actually using it, and when it comes to that, I'm finding that I prefer the Fire.


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

I actually had both and decided to keep the Nook Tablet.  It was just easier for me to hold.  I also like the different background colors and love their version of night.  
Ultimately, it came down to which felt better in my hands and which played both the Kindle app and the Nook app better to me.  

Kindle app was better on the Fire because I really liked the sepia color.  The nook app sideloaded was terrible and slow (and did not have that wonderful version of night that I mentioned. Ultimately I chose the Nook Tablet because the Kindle app on the tablet is tolerable while the nook app on the kindle is not.  I hope that makes sense!

So for now I decided to keep the Nook Tablet.


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## Bob327 (Nov 17, 2011)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Bob, I've been meaning to tell you I love the 'Vette in your avatar. Is it yours?
> 
> Betsy


You bet it is mine...(along with 5 other Corvettes that are in my garages)

The Avatar is a picture of my Saddle Tan '64 ..365 Hp, solid lifters, short ratio 4 speed trans and off road exhaust (then dd not have side pipes until 1965 BUT seriously I've burned my leg too many times to ever own another car with side pipes .

I'm 68 years old and it took me all those years to "collect my Fleet" as my wife refers to my cars .. My Daily driver however is a Truck...lol

Bob G


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy. . Frederick is only 50 miles away. . .we could go visit them.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Bob327 said:


> You bet it is mine...(along with 5 other Corvettes that are in my garages)
> 
> The Avatar is a picture of my Saddle Tan '64 ..365 Hp, solid lifters, short ratio 4 speed trans and off road exhaust (then dd not have side pipes until 1965 BUT seriously I've burned my leg too many times to ever own another car with side pipes .
> 
> ...


I understand the concept of "fleet." We have five cars (down from high water mark of six). Three of them are collectible, another one is impractical (Miata), and even our "daily driver" is a 2002 MINI Cooper S that we've driven cross country twice.

I have a friend who's big in the AACA in the Frederick area--Stan Poole--he seems to know all the car guys, maybe you know him? (My husband says Stan is President of the Sugarloaf Mountain Chapter of the AACA.) He's done some work on our cars.



Ann in Arlington said:


> Betsy. . Frederick is only 50 miles away. . .we could go visit them.


Sounds like a field trip to me! Maybe we need to have a KindleBoards meetup in Frederick.... 

Betsy


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## KVWitten (Apr 11, 2011)

Hoosiermama said:


> Had I not already been "tied" to amazon, I may have found the Nook more interesting. I wanted a tablet, but wouldn't pay the huge price of an Ipad ...I can't justify that price for fun. I already purchased all my music at amazon, so I have several gigs of music already on the cloud. Books are also purchased here.


I was in same boat ('tied' to Amazon) but I bought the nook color (not the tablet) and am very pleased with it. I 'rooted' it and now read all my kindle books on it. *And* I have lots of memory (16 gb).

I know 'rooting' scares some people. It shouldn't - it's easy and B&N even sells a (physical) book (in the Nook section) explaining exactly how to do it. It also shows how to force the nook back to the original factory settings if that's ever necessary. It's a great book with lots of hints and tricks to how to do all sorts of things with your nook.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Rooting doesn't "scare" me so much as seem unecessary...(I've been messing with my computers since 1985.) And my ties to Amazon are all by choice, based on their book offerings, their prices, and their exemplary customer service. I've been able to get everything I want there....

Though I can read books from other vendors on my iPad (and now on my Fire without rooting, but by sideloading the B&N app if I choose). I do read primarily on my Kindle, which is better as an eReader, in my opinion, than any tablet. My plan is to use my Fire primarily for media consumption--videos and games. The Nook may have 16GB of RAM, but that's for B&N media as I understand it? From what I've read, it's much less for things like video, though I understand that those items can be on the SD card.

Bottom line--it's a great time to be a gadget girl or guy--everyone can look for the device that suits them and their needs. 

Betsy

EDIT:

As I know we have many members who have a Nook and a Kindle, here's a book on rooting and using your Nook Color that you can read on your Kindle


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

Same with me, Betsy. I had used Amazon for music long before getting a Kindle, so getting the Fire was an easy choice. For me, being tied to Amazon is a bonus--it didn't limit my choice.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


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## kabloink (Sep 13, 2011)

I thought about the Nook, but the price difference convinced me to get the Fire.  With the Nook I would have to pay $49 more plus sales tax. So, I was looking at a $71 increase in cost if I got the Nook over the Fire.  Too much for my limited budget for what I consider a luxury item.


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

My Nook Tablet (Nook is a dumb name IMO lol) fits in my Kindle 2 Oberon!!!  Yay!


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## NightReader (Apr 25, 2010)

I got a Nook Color last Christmas.  This weekend, I unrooted it, updated it, and rerooted it using the dual-boot method (so it is still a Nook if I take the boot card out of it).  

Given that it is a year old, I think it's kind of surprising that it still holds up in comparison to the Kindle Fire.  A year is usually long enough to make anything computer-y obsolete, but the Nook Color is still holding its own.

I like the feel of it when I hold it better, but I like the screen on the Fire better.  I think this is particular to my unit, though.  I think my Nook screen has yellowed.  (One of the reasons I unrooted it is so I can take it to a B&N and compare it to a new one to see.)

If I had to choose one toy over the other, I'm not sure, but I think I would choose the Nook. Then again, the B&N app store is a real disappointment.  Amazon is the clear winner for content. 

I'm glad I don't have to choose.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

It is indeed nice to have choices...and I think both have strengths and weaknesses. For new folk, we do have a subforum for owners of Nooks and other readers to discuss their devices with others:
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/board,54.0.html

(I'm not saying you can't mention Nooks outside there, just letting you know in case you need troubleshooting or want to share with like minded individuals instead of the rabid Kindle fans out here in the rest of the forum.)  We have many members who have mixed marriages in their ereader collection. Heck, I think Pidgeon92 has all of them!

Betsy


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

Hoosiermama said:


> A friend has the first gen Nook color and loves it. I tried to talk her into a Kindle, but she wanted the Nook and the Fire hadn't come out yet. She's a former librarian and won't buy books. The Nook was a better choice for her, but she won't read on it. It's too hard on her eyes.


Ok, now that's crazy. Why get an ereader and not read on it? You can always make the print bigger...


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

> Ok, now that's crazy. Why get an ereader and not read on it? You can always make the print bigger...


Oh, trust me, I agree. She wanted something she could check email on, she said. Don't ask me...I just said "huh....okay."


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Tara Maya said:


> Ok, now that's crazy. Why get an ereader and not read on it? You can always make the print bigger...


A lot of people get the Nook Color just to root it and use it as a tablet because of the price - and have little or no plan to read on it. Until the Fire, it was about the cheapest way to get a 7" tablet with a good capacitive screen, etc. In fact I looked at a lot of 7" tablets before I got the Nook Color and compared, and it was the best deal going (especially the $150 refurbished price). Add a $35 or so N2A card (or make your own if you're better at it than I was!) and it's an Android tablet AND a Nook Color.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Bob327 said:


> You bet it is mine...(along with 5 other Corvettes that are in my garages)
> 
> The Avatar is a picture of my Saddle Tan '64 ..365 Hp, solid lifters, short ratio 4 speed trans and off road exhaust (then dd not have side pipes until 1965 BUT seriously I've burned my leg too many times to ever own another car with side pipes .
> 
> ...


GORGEOUS!! My son is restoring an old Pontiac Trans Am. Sold a 66 GTO w/ 428 4bolt main; dual quad manifold; complete w his/hers shift kit. Sorry we sold it. Oh well...

OK...BACK to FIRE...before I get in trouble.


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