Nook versus Kindle

Nook versus Kindle

We see a lot of articles around this topic and it's been one of great interest to me. Back and forth, these two have stomped out the other eReaders. Each release, one trumps the other in features and functionality. But there is a greater problem lurking beneath the sales figures.

I was torn. At first I was going to get a Nook, because it wasn't locked to a single source of buying books. Then the Kindle came out with revisions that made the Kindle better, at least in hardware and I switched my opinion. However, I started thinking. What if Kindle corners the market?

Amazon wants to set the price for books at $9.99 minimum for eBooks. Publishers will not be allowed to set their own price, if Amazon gets their way and they are flexing their muscle to do just that. This will wipe out the small publishers. My publishers and authors like me will get swept into oblivion and forgotten. I can't compete with Nora Roberts at $9.99, so I must charge less. I also think charging more for an eBook as Amazon wishes to do, is ridiculous.

The greater picture shows that the Amazon Kindle must have a strong competitor or the consequences will be horrible for many authors, publishers and readers. The Nook is the only one with the power to compete. Barnes and Noble must survive this war, or Amazon wins and we all lose. It sounds crazy, but its true. Read up on Amazon's battle with MacMillan distributors and what they want to do for book pricing. I'm not making this up.

So, I have decided, the Nook is what I will get. The Kindle features are only slightly better than the Nook at current. I'm confident the next Nook version will leap frog the Kindle as it has in the past. But most importantly, I hope my decision aids a strong competitor to keep Amazon from creating a monopoly on the industry I love.