Over the past few years, the market for eReaders has grown exponentially. Competition between eReader products like Kindle from Amazon and Barnes & Noble's Nook is only increasing by the day. Both products have their positives as well as limitations. It will be interesting to see what new improvements have been incorporated by these companies in their respective products. Taking into account the improvements made to these products, it is quite a tough job to compare them. While Kindle has the trust of the majority of eReader buyers, Nook is kind of a rebel, challenging the established order. Let us take a look at their specifications and features, which will help us understand more about these products. Amazon and Barnes & Noble have released their updated versions of eReaders from time-to-time, in order to stay ahead in today's competitive market. The use of LEDs, which allow reading even in the dark, is one of the notable improvements made in these new versions. The race to add the newest and reader-friendly features has led to tough competition between these brands. Here is more on these products. The Kindle Fire HD 7" is the second generation of Fire series. The product was launched in 7" and 8.9" versions on 6th September, 2012 and 20th November, 2012 respectively. This tablet computer has a user profile sharing feature among family members, and the FreeTime option allows one to set usage limits of individual features. One can connect the tablet to any wireless devices via Bluetooth. The storage space has increased to 16GB, as opposed to 8GB in Kindle Fire.

• Anti-glare technology enhances color and contrast from any viewing angle.
• Any special offers and sponsored screensavers are displayed on lock screen or at the lower left-hand corner of the screen, so that use of device is not disrupted.
• Integrated support for Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!. Hotmail, and Gmail.
• Unlimited cloud storage.

Specifications

• Display: 7 inches, 216 ppi
• Resolution: 800×1280
• Supported Formats: Kindle (AZW), KF8, TXT, PDF
• Weight: 395 grams
• Size: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.41 inches
• Wi-Fi: Available
• Storage: 16GB (with unlimited cloud storage)
• Touchscreen: IPS LCD capacitive
• Color: Black
• Wireless Standard: Dual band 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Operating System: Android OS, v4.0 (customized)
• Price: $199

The best thing about Kindle Paperwhite is its screen which gives a feel of paper to your eyes. With a Kindle Paperwhite, it is possible to read in dimly-lit areas. The LED lighting system which simulates the ambient lighting for better viewing is one of the special features of Kindle Paperwhite. This e-reader is thinner than Kindle Touch. However, audio playback options available with Kindle Touch haven't been included in the Paperwhite. Also, the storage capacity is 2GB as opposed to 4GB of Kindle Touch.

• Pages can be turned by swiping (left and right) or by simply touching them.
• At the top of the screen of Kindle Paperwhite is a menu bar which allows you to adjust the brightness of the screen. The menu bar provides options for searching a particular text string and adding bookmarks.
• The 'Instant Translations' feature allows you to translate text from different languages.
• You can read descriptions of books by selecting 'Menu' followed by 'Book Description' (located on the menu bar).
• Amazon claims that Kindle Paperwhite's lasts for a whole month.

Specifications

• Display: 6 inches, 212 ppi, E Ink
• Resolution: 758 × 1024
• Supported Formats: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT and PDF
• Weight: 213 grams
• Size: 6.7 x 4.6 x 0.36 inches
• Wi-Fi: Available with 3G (optional)
• Storage: 2GB (with unlimited cloud storage)
• Touchscreen: Available (Capacitive)
• Color: Black
• Wireless Standard: 802.11b/g/n
• Operating System: Linux
• Price: $129.00

The Nook HD+ is an improved version of the previously launched Nook HD. With a 9" full HD display, this tablet is tough competition to Kindle Fire HD. The device is very well designed keeping user comfort in mind. The small hole that is provided on the bottom left-hand corner of the tablet provides a good thumb grip, while using the device.

• Nook offers 700,000 Android apps including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, ESPN, etc.
• One can expand the tablet's memory by adding a microSD, microSDHC card in the slot provided at the bottom edge of the device.
• Multiple account access on the lock screen.
• All the recently used apps and multimedia content available on the home screen, just like Amazon Silk UI.

Specifications

• Display: 9 inches, 256 ppi
• Resolution: 1920 x 1280
• Supported Formats: EPUB, XLSX, XLS, PDF, DOC, CBZ, RTF, TXT, DOCX, PNG, GIF, JPEG, BMP
• Weight: 515 grams
• Size: 9.46 x 6.41 x 0.45 inches
• Wi-Fi: Available
• Storage: 16GB (with 32GB microSD card storage and cloud storage)
• Touchscreen: Available (TFT active matrix )
• Color: Slate
• Wireless Standard: 802.11b/g/n
• Operating System: Android 4.0.3
• Price: $149

This 7-inch tablet from Barnes and Noble was launched in November 2012. The device is available in two internal memory sizes, i.e., 8GB and 16GB. This version of the tablet from the company is slightly heavier than its rival, the 7.9-inch iPad mini. Addition of bezel covering has increased the robustness of this device, apart from increasing its aesthetic quotient.

• Up to six individual profiles can be created.
• Fully laminated screen that reduces glare and gives better viewing angels.
• Bluetooth connectivity for connecting with wireless devices.

Specifications

• Display: 7 inches, 243 ppi
• Resolution: 1440 x 900
• Supported Formats: PDF, ePUB, DRP, ePIB, FOLIO, OFIP, CBZ, TXT, RTF, XLS, DOC, PPT, PPS, PPSX, DOCX, etc.
• Weight: 315 grams
• Size: 7.7 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Wi-Fi: Available (without 3G)
• Storage: 8GB (with microSD card storage)
• Touchscreen: Available (TFT active matrix )
• Color: Snow and Smoke
• Wireless Standard: 802.11b/g/n
• Operating System: Android 4.0.3
• Price: $119

The Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight is seen as a worthy challenger to the Kindle Paperwhite. If you compare the former to last year's version of the Nook, the Glowlight feature can be seen as a notable improvement; fiber-optic technology is used to disperse light (emitted by LEDs) across the screen. This Nook eReader is the lightest of all the earlier versions. The 'Best-Text Technology' used in this device generates clear and crisp text.

• A button is provided to 'wake' the Nook eReader from sleep mode. The same button is used for turning on the Glowlight.
• With a memory of 2GB, you can store up to 1,000 books in this eReader.
• This Nook eReader has a battery life over 1 month.

Specifications

• Display: 6 inches, 167 ppi, E Ink Pearl
• Resolution: 800 x 600
• Supported Formats: ePub (B&N DRM, Adobe DRM, and non-DRM files), PDF, TXT and CBZ
• Weight: 197 grams
• Size: 6.5 x 5 x 0.47 inches
• Wi-Fi: Available (without 3G)
• Storage: 2GB (with microSD card storage)
• Touchscreen: Available (Anti-glare)
• Color: Black
• Wireless Standard: 802.11b/g/n
• Operating System: Android
• Price: $99

Some of the notable features which make the Kindle vs. Nook comparison easier are listed below. The Kindle vs. Nook comparison presented above should help in determining which is the best eBook reader to buy. Both the Paperwhite and Simple Touch with Glowlight pose stiff competition to each other, given the array of features and quality offered by them. Although most buyers tend to go with Kindle products, the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight is also a good choice.