As I understand it and I’m sure someone will rush to correct me if I’m wrong the cheaper version of the Kindle is so because it supports advertising. As far as wanting to support Barnes and Noble, there’s nothing wrong with that. One thing that I like about my Nook which was a gift, so this wasn’t a factor in choice is the fact that I can walk into a Barnes and Noble and have someone help me with the tech aspects, as I’m a bit of an idiot when it comes to that stuff. Find a tech savvy friend (I have my sister) and you can transfer mountains of free titles to your Nook, through Project Gutenberg, and the like. The products Nook and Kindle are themselves pretty equal, if you want to get a Nook, then by all means get a Nook! After all is said and done it will even out, price wise.