When considering making the investment of an eBook reader, it's always good to know what the standard manufacturer's warranty is and if they offer an extended warranty. Both the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble nook offer an extended warranty. Extended warranties are essentially an insurance policy for the device. Both companies offer the same third party coverage plan from Net Solutions, LLC and the terms of service are almost identical (practically word for word) as is the length of the policy, which is 2 years. This '2 year warranty' may confuse buyers since this actually only extends the standard 1 year warranty an extra year but does throw in accidental coverage (in case you drop it) which is not included in the standard 1 year manufacturer's warranty.
So what are the differences between Amazon and B&N eReader extended warranties?
The Price: Amazon Kindle 2 Extended Warranty: $65.00 vs. Barnes and Noble Nook Extended Warranty: $69.95
Time of Purchase: The only way you can purchase the extended warranty for the nook is at the same time you purchase the device. Amazon gives you up to 30 days after buying your Kindle 2 to purchase the extended warranty.
If you are looking for an inexpensive yet stylish leather cover for your Nook eReader, then I highly recommend you check out the Sinclair Leather Cover. The Sinclair cover comes in two colors, Night and Earth (although B&N was sold out of the Earth color when I ordered).
The Sinclair Night leather cover is well made and has a nice clean look to it. The inside features a soft faux-suede lining that is light tan in color. I especially like the way the cover securely holds the Nook. The bottom of the nook slides safely into the molded boot which has a hole in the bottom for easy access to the USB connector, speakers and headphone jack. The top of the nook is secured by two elastic bands at each corner.
I shook the cover with the nook inside to see if there was loose play. There was not. I believe that if you dropped the nook off a table that this cover would do a good job holding it in place and protecting it. Overall, this cover is hard to beat for the price of $29.95.
I know you Kindle owners don't get tired of reading but if you like puzzles then you might want to try some newly release Kindle puzzle books from a company called Puzux. This company makes fully interactive puzzles (Crosswords and Sudoku) that work inside your kindle browser.
I am a big fan of Sudoku puzzles so I purchased their assorted puzzle book. All the game books are available at the Kindle Store. The book itself gives you the instructions on how to setup your Kindle Browser and the links to access the Puzux website to play the games. You will need to create an account on their website but the benefit is you will be able to save your games so you can come back to a puzzle and pick up where you left off.
Overall, I am really impressed on how well they implemented the Sudoku gaming interface. The puzzles are challenging and you can leave yourself notes as you would with a paper version of the puzzle. You can also get hints and you can view the completed puzzle to see how well (or bad) you did. I highly recommend their products!
On the surface, the Kindle 2 and Nook seem to sport the same e-Ink screen. Both eReaders use a E Ink® Vizplex™ electronic paper display. The Nook also has a color LCD navigational screen but for our comparison will only review the E Ink screen on each device.
Click Photo to Enlarge
I uploaded a grayscale photo (see above) on each device and viewed it at full screen. If you enlarge the photo you can clearly see that each eReader renders grayscale shades differently. The photo on the Nook is clearly more pleasing to the eye when it renders the different shades of gray. The Nook display also seems to have higher contrast which makes text look darker and easier to read.
Now look at the different shades of gray on the kindle display (look at the clouds in the sky). The kindle shows a distinct contrast (hard edges) between the grayscale shades. The Kindle also has an option to turn dithering on or off in a photo but I could not see any difference in quality.
I am not exactly sure why the Nook renders photos better, especially since they are using the same type of screen.
My first thought: I have an original Kindle 2 which may use an older production version of the E Ink screen which they might have improved in the newer Nook.
My second thought: the devices use different operating systems and the eReader software renders the photographs slightly different which is the result shown above.
Today's product review is the flexible hands-free reading light known as the HUGlight from MyLight.com. This HUGlight is an innovative design by using flexible arms with two types of LED lights at the end of each arm. You have independent control of the 5-way light source and direction on each flexible arm. The 5-way light controls are:
On | Broad Beam Light | Focus Beam Light | Both Lights | OFF
The HUGlight is designed to "HUG" comfortably around your neck while reading...which it does live up to its name. The HUGlight comes in several colors and the batteries are included. The HUGlight is much more versatile than just a reading light. Watch the following video for my review.
Disclosure: This was not a paid review and the opinions are strictly my own. I did receive the item free of cost for the product review.
Today's product review is the flexible hands-free reading light known as the HUGlight from 
