After having a Sony Reader for two years, I finally purchased a Nook Color. I was concerned to change to the Nook because of three reported issues; eye strain, reading in sunlight and battery life. These were the issues that came up over and over in the new release reviews of Nook Color. I have to say that these reviews concerned me but I couldnt find any actual user reviews by anyone that had owned another reader.
Now that I have read three books with my Nook Color, I feel qualified to give you a hands-on comparison between the back-lit Nook Color and the competitors. Here is how it stacked up for me:
1. Battery life; Advantage Sony Reader. This reader lasted weeks between charges even when I read for a couple of hours per day! I charged this thing about every two weeks and never ran the charge all the way down. The Nook Color needs to be charged about every three or four days. If you leave your WiFi on all of the time, the NC needs to be charged daily. However, there is no need to keep the WiFi on. I turn this feature on only when I am ready to purchase or download new titles or check my Facebook.
2. Eye Strain: I am one of those people who are very sensitive to eye strain. Therefore, I am a great one to judge on this problem! I am happy to report that I had no issues with eye strain whatsoever. I read in the dark, bright sunlight, in moving vehicles- just everywhere! This is a non-issue with the Nook Color. In fact, I had more issues with eyestrain with the Sony since good lighting was essential for comfortable reading. In low light or dark conditions, I simply turn the brightness down a bit and it is perfect for reading.
3. Bright Sunlight: I will give the nod to the Sony for non-glare! However, if you get the non-glare screen protector for the Nook Color, the issue goes away. Neither device is difficult to read in bright sunlight.
4. Ease of Use: I know that I will eventually figure out how to do everything on the Nook Color, but the Sony Reader is easier to operate. I found looking up words and page turning to be much simpler. On the NC, I sometimes think I am turning a page and end up going backward, bookmarking or defining a word. The Sony is easier "out of the box".
I like my Nook Color much better than my Sony Reader for a few reasons. I like being able to wirelessly download books to my NC (I did not have the Sony that made this available). I like the fact that any photographs in the book are in color. Because I read biographies a great deal, this is a factor for me. The price difference is significant and, for many, the benefits of NC will not be enough to pay the extra cost. I rarely use it to connect to the internet or check social media because my phone does both with ease! One perk that I love about the Nook Color, is that I was able to transfer all of the books I purchased on the Sony Reader to my Nook. It was wonderful not to lose the books when I changed readers!
I hope this review helps to make your decision. Both devices are wonderful ways to read the latest novel! I would recommend getting either the Nook or the Sony at this point in time because of the ability to download loaner books from the library.
