| 2012.11.23 |
I'm having my mother out for the holidays this year, and am considering the purchase
of an e-Reader for her for Christmas. The idea presents certain... considerations.
It has to be easy for her to operate. More than page navigation, she simply
is not well-equipped for fiddling with WiFi connectivity and management. The Amazon
Kindle Paperwhite has a 3G connection that should allow her to buy and download
content seamlessly. Interestingly, the new basic Kindle and the Kindle Fire tablets
are WiFi only. Nook's Simple Touch are also WiFi only. At least the Nook may also
be loaded via connection to PC; I assume the Kindle product may as well. Finally,
Barnes & Noble touts the inclusion of a charger with their reader (and claims the
Kindle does not) — Amazon includes a USB cable with the Kindle Paperwhite (which
supports the idea the Paperwhite may be loaded via PC).
It has to be legible. I think the lit background on the Kindle Paperwhite
or the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight ought to fit the bill here nicely. Plus she
can adjust the font sizes at will — this is likely a universal feature regardless
of manufacturer. Plus the light intensity on both of these models are adjustable.
I do find it somewhat weird that the Kindle Paperwhite 3G is actually more expensive
than the basic Kindle Fire (which has a color screen, but is WiFi only).
It has to be convenient and compelling. It's got to be something she's
going to want to use. My mother might be a tactile enough reader that an e-Reader
simply won't be something she'd enjoy.
It has to be well supported. By somebody other than me. Sure,
it sounds bad. But I can't spend two hours out of my work week doing tech support
for mom. So I need to be sure that she can go to somebody if she's having trouble
using the device. Best Buy sells the Kindle product, and of course, the Nook is offered
by Barnes & Noble. Though I'm sure there's telephone support available through
both companies, Mom doesn't have a B&N in town.
She should be financially insulated. Put more plainly, I don't
want her to feel compelled to enter her credit card number anywhere. In talking
with Barnes and Noble, I learned that something like a Visa gift card could be
used as long as it has a balance of at least $50. I think a reloadable gift card
is a great way to go here.
It should be easy for me to acquire and configure in advance. My
only worry with the Kindle unit here is that it won't be available until December 21st.
For me, I think the winner here is the Kindle Paperwhite 3G, despite the
availability concerns. The 3G connectivity is just too valuable, even though I
think the Nook Simple Touch unit is pretty compelling, especially at a lower
price. I think having a B&N in her town would have been a factor, but not quite
enough to change the endgame — particularly since she doesn't have a wireless
Internet capability in her home.
Links:
Kindle Paperwhite 3G, Amazon.com
Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight, Barnes & Noble
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