Kindle vs. Nook vs. Pad Which e book reader should you buy Sarah TewCNET. Editors note This story was first published in July 2. December 1. 7, 2. Shopping for an e book reader or a small tablet At first glance, the task seems daunting there are more choices than ever before. The good news is that the list of worthwhile choices is actually fairly short. The even better newsGiven that the Kindle Fire has a relatively low amount of onboard memory about 6GB, you might be tempted to think that it isnt a great music device. Prices and features are better than ever. When we say e book readers, were now really referring to four classes of products black and white e ink readers 6. LCD media tablets 1. LCD tablets ranging from 7. Pad mostly 4. 00 and above. BoardImages/900x900/9a514685a8dd96febb1c53804b0eb9ed.jpg?metadata=%7B%22image_type%22%3A+%22regular%22%2C+%22width%22%3A+1024%2C+%22signature%22%3A+%22270a048f28a9c8f1f4df3e9b8be790ba0a5436c4%22%2C+%22metadata_version%22%3A+1%2C+%22height%22%3A+768%7D' alt='How Do You Buy Ebooks For Kindle Fire' title='How Do You Buy Ebooks For Kindle Fire' />If you have a Kindle or use the Kindle app for another device, such as your PC, youll love the fact that Kindle app syncs your reading across devices. The market for those products has consolidated around a handful of major players Amazon, Apple, Barnes Noble, and Google are the leaders, with companies like Kobo, Samsung, and Sony and a host of other Android tablet manufacturers bringing up the rear. Choosing among those those categories of tablets and readers is the dilemma facing any shopper today, with key variables such as size, weight, screen type, and app ecosystem leading the shopping considerations. But dont worry CNETs here to help. Current recommendations As of December 2. CNET has several reader and tablet products we enthusiastically recommend. But these are very closely matched products that vary according to individual needs, so please read through the rest of the article to see which one is best for you. While the January 2. International CES will no doubt bring a wave of new tablets, nearly all of the major manufacturers have updated their product lines for the Christmas season, so the buyers remorse meter is quite low now is a good time to buy. Best overall e ink readers Kindle Paperwhite. In addition to its built in light and touch screen, the 2. Kindle Paperwhite starts at 1. Amazons best in class e book store, helping it win the e ink race by a nose. The best e ink alternative is the Nook Simple Touch with Glow. Light, another excellent self illuminated e reader just note that Barnes Nobles selection of e books isnt quite as vast nor often as cheap as Amazons. That said, the Nook is ad free, a privilege that will cost you 2. Paperwhite. International readers should also consider the Kobo Glo, another worthwhile self illuminated e reader, though its somewhat hampered by Kobos content selection, which pales in comparison to Amazon and B N. However, both the Nook and Kobo readers work with third party EPUB e book purchases, while the Kindle does not. Minecraft Cracked V1.3.2. Best bargain e ink readers While you lose the built in light found on the models above, the Barnes Noble Nook Simple Touch and Amazon Kindle are the two best e readers you can get for under 8. The Nook has a touch screen and is ad free. The Kindle has Amazons superior e book selection, but lacks the touch screen found on the Nook and step up Kindle Paperwhite. Best sub 2. 00 color tablet Google Nexus 7. There are at least three great 7 inch, 2. Nexus 7, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, and the Barnes Noble Nook HD. All are worthy of consideration, but the Nexus 7 comes out ahead in overall bang for the buck. And its the most versatile unlike the curated app stores found on Kindle and Nook, the Nexus 7 offers the full Google Play app store, which is second only to Apples. That said, we suggest installing the Kindle or Nook apps for reading, since both offer better selections than Googles in house offering. The Nexus 7, i. Pad Mini, Nook HD, and Kindle Fire HD. Josh MillerCNET. Best midsize tablets Want to go bigger, but still stay at 3. The 8. 9 inch Kindle Fire HD 2. Nook HD just 2. Straddling the line is the 7. Pad Mini 3. 29 the most expensive option, but also the most polished, and with the best app store. Best tablets for kids The Amazon Kindle Fire HD, and the Barnes Noble Nook HD have support for multiple users, including parental controls. Amazon has further upped the ante with the Freetime Unlimited service, which serves up kids books, games, apps, movies and TV shows to Prime members for an additional 2. In fact, you could also opt to give a kid the 1. HD Kindle Fire as well, since he or she probably wont miss the extra features. Best full size reading tablet Apple i. Pad fourth gen starts at 4. If you want a full size, full featured tablet that can double as an e book reader, the i. Pad platform remains the best, no compromise choice. It offers free Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Google Play reading apps, with full access to the content in those e book stores. Additionally, the i. Pad offers Apples own i. Books application, though those e books cant be accessed on any non i. OS device. And the i. Pads Good Reader app remains the best way to read, edit, and annotate PDF files that weve seen to date. To be fair, Android tablets also double as good e book readers, with those same three major e book apps available and, as we mentioned above, the smaller Android tablets including Amazon and B N are better deals at lower price points. But if youre spending 3. Pad. The 3. 99 i. Pad 2 remains a great tablet that beats much of the Android competition, and its a few ounces lighter than the third gen i. Pad. But for 1. 00 more, the 2. Pad offers that gorgeous Retina Display that will especially appeal to readers. If you do prefer Android in a large screen size, the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, Google Nexus 1. Samsung Galaxy Note 1. Android tablets. So, thats the cheat sheet. But if youre ready to do a deep dive, its time to compare color versus black and white screen, backlight versus readability in the sun, touch screen versus not, cheap versus expensive, 4. G versus Wi Fi, lightweight versus heavy, reading only versus full featured tablet. For the purposes of this article, were steering clear of PC style tablets running Windows 8 and Windows RT. For those, check of CNETs laptop buying guide and tablet buying guide. The Electronic Mail Sending And Receiving Programs Are Disabled. Likewise, were also not focusing on smartphones, though some of the big screen 5 inches and up phablet models such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 are certainly worthy of considering for those seeking a tablet alternative. Read on to consult this quick guide, which boils the purchase decision down to six questions 1. Apps vs. hardware Which reading and app ecosystem offers the most flexibility One of the advantages of having your reading collection in the cloud is that you can access your books on multiple devices, though some e book vendors offer better cross platform support than others. This is where terminology can get a bit confusing the e book stores can be available on different devices, including in the case of Apple those of rival e book publishers the e book equivalent of buying a can of Pepsi from a Coke vending machine. The i. Pad offers access to all major e book stores via their respective apps. Screenshot by John P. FalconeCNET. This multidevice support is accomplished through apps. On tablets i. Pad, Android, and others, smartphones i. Phone, Android, Black. Berry, and others, and PCs Mac and Windows, users can download free apps that let them read e books from a variety of vendors. So, you can read a Kindle book on your i. Pad, a Nook book on your Android phone, or a Kobo book on your Black. Berry and thats just for starters. As of December 2. Kindle Besides Kindle hardware readers, Kindle books can be accessed on i. Pads, i. Phones, i.