The battle between Nook or Kindle boils down to three main categories.  Each category has its own price range and its own set of features.  I have labeled these three categories as:

• Basic or Economy e-Readers ($79)
• Black and White Touchscreen e-Readers ($99 – $149)
• Tablet Style Color e-Readers ($199 – $249)

Each of these types of e-Reader has it’s own benefits and it’s own shortcomings.  It is not simply as easy as saying that the most expensive and feature heavy e-Reader is best or that you should just grab the cheapest one because it’s good enough (though it may be).  It really comes down to what you are looking for in your new reader and how you plan to use it.  We will take a closer look at each of these categories in the next three posts of this series.  But first we’ll take a quick overview of some of the pros and cons of each of these sub-categories of e-readers.

Basic/Economy e-Reader

The is category of e-Reader really only includes one model currently.  That is Amazon’s entry level Kindle.  With their newest line-up of Kindles, it is clear that Amazon is drastically trying to lower the bar as far as pricing goes while still keeping the features their customers need and want.

This particular Kindle is incredibly affordable at the price of $79.  If you are looking for something that is cheap, lightweight and easy to travel with while still carrying thousands of books around, this very well might be what you have been waiting for.

This e-Reader still sports the high quality e-ink screen you are familiar with from the previous models.  They have even cut back on the amount of screen flickering between pages.  However, at this price, they did not include a keyboard, speakers, or a touch screen – so if any of those are of interest to you, then it might be worth moving up a level to the $99 Kindle Touch.

Black & White Touchscreen Models

This segment of the Nook/Kindle market actually includes three models.  Amazon has a WiFi + 3G version priced at $149 as well as a WiFi only version priced at $99.  The Nook (WiFi only) lands in the middle, priced at $139 through Barnes and Noble.

Choosing one of these will be your best option if you want to mainly read books and newspapers (do not need color pictures) and are not as interested in browsing the internet, playing games, or loading up the latest apps on your e-Reader.

Since neither of the color options utilize e-ink, these mid-range models are also going to work best if you plan to read in direct sunlight or simply don’t like to stare at a back-lit screen for long periods of time while you read.

Tablet Style Color e-Readers

Amazon has just joined Barnes and Noble in this category and it is clear that they mean business.  Priced at $199, the Kindle Fire is set up to compete directly with the Nook Color which weighs in at $249.

These two devices are hard to define as simply e-Readers because they are capable of more than that.  They leave the familiar black and white e-ink behind in favor of high resolution color touch screens.  This not only makes them more suitable for magazines and other media with color pictures but also brings in the possibilities of watching movies, playing games, browsing the internet and more.

Hopefully you have a better idea by now of which models you are interested in and which ones will fit your needs.  If so, feel free to skip to the most relevant page by using the links at the top of this post.  Otherwise, click the link below to continue reading through the series as you decide which e-Reader is best for you.