A better experience than Amazon can muster

NOOK for Windows 8 is an ebook reading app and library for Windows 8 and Windows RT.

Let’s get this out of the way. NOOK for Windows 8 blows Kindle for Windows 8 out of the water. Barnes & Noble has done an excellent job of creating NOOK for Windows 8 and definitely ramps up the competition between it and Amazon.

For reading books, NOOK for Windows 8 and Kindle for Windows 8 are neck and neck. There are tons of options in both apps to change fonts, text size, background colors, and more. Both companies will sync bookmarks, annotations, and reading positions to their servers, making sure you can pick up where you left off on any device.

Where NOOK for Windows 8 wins out is in its fleshed out library of content that can be viewed and purchased within the app. Compare this to being forced into a browser with the Kindle app and you can see why NOOK for Windows 8 has the superior user experience.

Nook users also have access to subscription trials as well as samples for almost all the books, magazines, and newspapers that Barnes & Noble has to offer. With Nook apps on Android and iOS, Barnes & Noble has a great ecosystem for their library.

The interface of NOOK for Windows 8 is easy to navigate if you’re familiar with Windows 8 or Windows RT: you just swipe from right to left to reveal more content. There are user ratings and reviews for specific books to help you make a better decision. There are tons of books available in the library and you can quickly search for them by activating the Windows Charms.

The only thing holding back NOOK for Windows 8 is stability issues. The app would crash when taxed with quick movements and repeated commands. This is quite annoying and hopefully Barnes & Noble can improve stability in an update.

Amazon needs to greatly improve on their Windows 8 app if they want to catch up to Barnes & Noble.

For now, NOOK for Windows 8 offers the best ebook reading experience on Windows 8 and Windows RT.