B&N's Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight inbound!

[Bateluer]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/nook-simple-touch-with-glowlight-hands-on/

The centerpiece of the Nook SimpleTouch with GlowLight is, naturally, that illuminated screen. The reader uses a patent-pending technology Barnes & Noble built in-house, which shines a light from over the top of the screen. The illumination is triggered by holding the "n" button down for two seconds. You can adjust the brightness by clicking the button again and sliding the dial on a Quick Settings screen. Half brightness should be enough to keep you reading in a dark room. You can also turn the light off here or just hold down the "n" button again.

I liked the Nook Simple Touch, but it wasn't enough of a reason for me to upgrade from my Nook First Edition. Might look into this though.

 

[gorcorps]

holy shit holy shit holy shit I've been wanting this more than I'm proud of

I have a Nook Color and Nook touch already and will STILL be first in line for this.

Better sell my other one while it still has value

*off to craigslist*

 

[Slick5150]

These do look pretty awesome

 

[Bateluer]

FYI, they are available for pre order at the B&N site. Ship date is 1 May.

 

[gorcorps]

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/noo...ght-barnes-noble/1108046469?ean=9781400501717

link for the lazy

 

[Bateluer]

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/noo...ght-barnes-noble/1108046469?ean=9781400501717

link for the lazy

I'm just going to walk into my local B&N on May 1st and buy one.

 

[gorcorps]

I'm just going to walk into my local B&N on May 1st and buy one.

Yeah I'll probably do the same. I was on the pre-order list but I was hoping they'd ship it soon enough to deliver on release date but that doesn't seem to be the case. Since it's taxed either way might as well just swing by the store.

 

[Synomenon]

Time to retire my old Kindle. Any way to transfer the ebooks on my Kindle to the new Nook?

 

[bearxor]

I want a ereader but have always thought not having a built-in light made them pointless for me. I'll hold out for a Kindle...

 

[Deeko]

Looks pretty nice, although personally I never read in dark rooms. It will be interesting to see how this stacks up to the rumored front lit kindle. they'll have the release date advantage anyway.

 

[gorcorps]

I want a ereader but have always thought to having a built-in light made them pointless for me. I'll hold out for a Kindle...

What do you mean "always thought"? This is the first one with a built in light... and you can toggle it off and on at will so if you have no need for it it's just like a normal e-ink reader. Not sure why you'd wait for a kindle either, because all signs point to the next kindle being lit just like this. I may be reading your post wrong though.

People's aversion to an included backlight simply baffles me. It's still the same e-ink display, and if you read in the dark you need a light source anyway, so why not have an option to include it on the reader itself?

 

[bearxor]

What do you mean "always thought"? This is the first one with a built in light... and you can toggle it off and on at will so if you have no need for it it's just like a normal e-ink reader. Not sure why you'd wait for a kindle either, because all signs point to the next kindle being lit just like this. I may be reading your post wrong though.

People's aversion to an included backlight simply baffles me. It's still the same e-ink display, and if you read in the dark you need a light source anyway, so why not have an option to include it on the reader itself?

Hmmm. That was supposed to say 'not having a built-in light'.

I fixed it.

 

[gorcorps]

Hmmm. That was supposed to say 'not having a built-in light'.

I fixed it.

ah, that makes more sense

 

[Super56K]

I personally don't read in the dark but there have been quite a few times where I would have liked having some soft illumination on my Kindle. Say, sitting in a chair far away from a lamp in the room. I will wait to see what Amazon's version looks like. Mainly because I'm still really happy with my Kindle 3 keyboard, but I imagine I'll upgrade by the end of this year.

 

[JustMe21]

Do they allow for page turning without having to touch the screen?

 

[Bateluer]

Do they allow for page turning without having to touch the screen?

Every e-ink nook model has buttons on each side for page turning.

 

[MrX8503]

I've never used an e-ink ereader in the dark before, does it not work? I guess I kind of assumed it did, but this glowlight thing seems like a cool way to fix that problem. If its backlit though, does it still have the benefit of e-ink?

 

[Super56K]

I've never used an e-ink ereader in the dark before, does it not work? I guess I kind of assumed it did, but this glowlight thing seems like a cool way to fix that problem. If its backlit though, does it still have the benefit of e-ink?

E-ink screens don't have back lighting so they've historically been just like a normal book as far us usage goes. The B&N device here doesn't appear to be backlit either, more like edge lit with some kind of surface coating that evenly spreads the light. Either way it's a step in the right direction and will come in handy in all kinds of lower/less than optimal light situations without compromising what already made e-ink readers so awesome.

 

[bearxor]

It like a GBA Afterburner for a Nook!

 

[mcveigh]

Time to retire my old Kindle. Any way to transfer the ebooks on my Kindle to the new Nook?

Well there are ways... you'd have to break the amazon DRM. then convert to epub format.

not going to help you with the former but for organizing ebook s and audiobooks and converting them check out calibre

 

[gorcorps]

I've never used an e-ink ereader in the dark before, does it not work? I guess I kind of assumed it did, but this glowlight thing seems like a cool way to fix that problem. If its backlit though, does it still have the benefit of e-ink?

E-ink screens are praised on their similarities to real paper... crisp, easy to read text with no real "pixels" to disctract you. Easy to read in daylight because it's not a glass screen shooting sunlight back into your face. Unfortunately it has similar downsides too... you still need a light to read it. For a lot of people they don't have an issue with that, but people like me who don't have a light next to the bed would benefit greatly.

 

[Bateluer]

E-ink screens are praised on their similarities to real paper... crisp, easy to read text with no real "pixels" to disctract you. Easy to read in daylight because it's not a glass screen shooting sunlight back into your face. Unfortunately it has similar downsides too... you still need a light to read it. For a lot of people they don't have an issue with that, but people like me who don't have a light next to the bed would benefit greatly.

Yep. An e-ink screen is almost exactly like a book page. If there's no light, you're not reading.

 

[Bateluer]

Bumped to 7 May now according to the B&N site.

 

[Red Storm]

You know, how come it's taken this long for e-readers to get this feature? Seems like something that should have been included from the start, no?

 

[gorcorps]

Today's the day. Looks like it's live on the website, but all the stores are still marked as OOS. Stores might not be getting it until later possibly?