Like the great Pepsi vs Coke, pie vs cake, and Mac vs PC arguments, the debate over which e-book reader is superior never ends. For now though, one review authority is deeming the newest Barnes & Noble Nook as the champion.
Consumer Reports announced that recent testing showed the Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch Reader to be "more than merely a worthy competitor to the Kindle." According to the consumer advocacy publication's records, this marks the first time "since the Kindle launched that Amazon's e-book reader hasn't been the top-scoring model" in tests:
As the full Ratings detail, the Simple Touch (a.k.a. "The All-New Nook," as B&N alternately calls the new device) matches or bests—albeit modestly—its Amazon competitor in almost every aspect of performance. Among the attributes on which [Consumer reports scores] the devices equally is battery life; despite a power struggle between B&N and Amazon over which device runs for longer, [it gives] both equal credit for a claimed battery life of five days or more. At $140, the Simple Touch, which offers Wi-Fi connectivity, costs the same as the Kindle with Wi-Fi.
B&N has caught up with the Kindle in large part by emulating Amazon's focus on reading with minimal fuss and extra features.
The publication notes that future firmware updates could easily give the Kindle an opportunity to regain the top spot in ratings, but for now the pretty little Nook holds the crown in Consumer Report's eyes.
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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. She prefers Pepsi, cake, and Macs.