Mother’s Day present comparision for Hubby: Kindle, Nook or iPad

Dear Husband,

For Mother’s Day:  pick, click, purchase.

‘Nuff Said.

Signed,
The Wife

Option #1 : Amazon’s Kindle – $259 with free shipping

The specs that matter:
-10.2 ounces
-6″ electronic display
-Holds up to 1,500 books
-Read up to 1 week with wireless on
-Read-to-me feature that allows you to turn on audio & have book read to you
-Free book samples
-More than 480,000 books available for purchase

Amazon also has a 30-day free trial option. You can send it back after 30 days at no cost and no restocking fees if you don’t like it.

Everyone I know who owns one says it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Insanely wonderful reviews that make me wonder if the Kindle comes with a secret supply of wine or a bottle of happy pills.

Why do people love it so much?  I saw one women comment that if her house was burning down – the one thing she’d grab and run with was her Kindle.  That’s a pretty powerful statement, huh?

Things that make me go boo-hoo:
Can’t share books.  Why can’t you share books?  That’s just not nice, Amazon.

Also can’t rent from the library.

Option #2: Barnes & Noble Nook – $259 with free shipping

The specs that matter:
-11.2 ounces
-You can lend books to friends.  This would be a huge plus, except you can only lend the books for up to 7 days.  Which isn’t exactly an ideal time frame for a busy Mom who doesn’t have the time to read as someone else may.  Still, it’s a cool feature that should be available on the Kindle that’s not.
-in-house support at your local Barnes & Noble!
-Holds up to 1,500 books
-Over 1,000,000 e-books available for download
-can rent books from your local library if they offer it! (ours does, yay!)

Things that make me go boo-hoo:
-It’s still the first release of the Nook.  I worry about the kinks and upgrades that may need to come with a second generation.  Silly?
-Heard it runs a little slowly at times.  That’s annoying.
-Lower battery life than the Kindle (although 10 days versus 14.  Not sure that bothers me all that much.)

Option #3 – the splurge.  Apple iPad – $499
Technically this is probably not a fair comparision since the iPad is so much more than just an eReader.  So I’m reading mixed reviews but this offers an interesting comparison of the iPad to the Kindle.  Apparently the iPad’s backlit LED is pretty cool when you’re sitting a dark room but a con when you’re trying to sit outside to read. (Too much glare – can’t read outside like you can with the Kindle or Nook.)

I dunno.  It’s probably apples to oranges since Apple’s iPad is much more than just an e-reader.  But I had to at least throw it in here.