What do "Kindle" and "Nook" mean?

Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet

" Kindle " and " Nook " are the brands of e readers for Amazon and Barnes & Noble, respectively. Both manufacturers are book giants-one is the biggest online store while the other is the largest brick and stone one.


Kindle


By definition given by thefreedictionary, kindle has the following meanings:
- To build or fuel (a fire).
- To set fire to; ignite
- To cause to glow; light up
- To arouse (an emotion, for example).

Pretty good meanings, right?
It is probabily given by the branding agency Cronan according to this article: "How the Kindle Got Its Name".  In the same article, it says: "Kindle means to set alight or start to burn, to arouse or be aroused, to make or become bright."
Nook
However does not sme like having such nice meanings as Kindle: 
- a sheltered and secluded place 
- an interior angle formed by two meeting walls
The nook often refers to a comfortable and secluded place to read or have a conversation with someone inside a room, which might be a good explanation of the e reader brand name "Nook" .What I can think is that Nook sounds like "Look" which is easy to pronounce and memorize. Take a "Nook" (look) at a book. Now Nook is meaningful. 

E Ink

E Ink-The abbreviation of electrophoretic ink. E-Ink tech is widely used in many popular ereaders such as Amazon kindle family and B & N Nook family. Your fist impression when you see a ereader screen with this tech should be "oh, just like real paper". 

    Exactly! E Ink screens look and read just like real paper. Since there is no backlight, you can read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room. Unlike LCD screens, E Ink screens have no glare.

    Several other advantages of e ink are:

• Easy on the eyes
• Less eye fatigue
• Read in any position 
• Sharp, clear text
• Low power consumption

While it is not perfect like everything else in the world, 

• You cannot read in the dark without light
• Currently no color display available ( but it will ...)
• A long time of response. It doesn’t allow to show dynamic content and to use for interactive applications. Running video game? Forget about it. Additionally scaling of documents on the screen is very slow. (hopefully it will also be possible...)
• Screen is very fragile, so be very careful when using it.

Its history dates back to 1997 when E Ink Corporation, was founded based on research started at the MIT Media Lab.  A more detailed history of e ink can be found on e ink official webpage in here. 

The future of e ink:

• Color display 
• Animation allowed

You can find more information from e ink official website.