Yeah, I actually chuckled when I read "this may be the [spec comparison] that will come in the handiest this shopping season."
Consumers don't care about specs in this market. Sure, a few do, but not enough to make or break a product. This market is all about services, convenience, branding and mindshare. In those categories, Amazon, specifically the Kindle, wins hands down. Even with better specs, the B&N Nook will feel like the cheaper "also-ran" to the more mainstream Kindle Fire and iPad. It's a shame for B&N, but that's the facts.
IMO it's going to come down to selection, price, and experience.
Unless either side comes out with a killer feature that the other can't replicate.
What's the selection of titles, movies, and music? What's the pricing look like? What's the buying and consumption experience? Amazon has all 3 down to an art. Does B&N?
But the one thing that will determine whether either of them succeeds or fails, the intangibles, was given only lip service at the end.