NOOK Simple Touch To Feature E Ink Screen With First-Of-Its-Kind 'GlowLight'

E Ink readers like the Kindle and the NOOK are great for reading in the sunshine, but when it gets dark out, you face a problem: You either have to attach a flashlight to the device or turn on a light in your home.

With its newest NOOK Simple Touch, which comes with an embedded technology called GlowLight, Barnes & Noble thinks it has eliminated that problem forever.

Announced on Thursday afternoon, the new device becomes the first E Ink reader whose screen is also backlit. Barnes & Noble representatives say that the new screen illumination technology, which can be toggled on and off, makes its new NOOK Simple Touch the only device with a screen that is really readable both in direct sunlight as well as in the dark.

After trying the new NOOK Simple Touch in both the darkness and the light, and comparing its readability to a new iPad and an E Ink Kindle Touch under similar conditions, I've gotta say: Barnes & Noble might have something game-changing for the e-reader market.

The new reader has the same size and shape of the old NOOK, and is actually a bit lighter than the older model NOOK Simple Touch (which was already pretty light to begin with). What really separates the new NOOK Simple Touch from the current pack of tablets and e-readers, however, is its GlowLight, which illuminates the NOOK's screen from the edges. When you're outside, you can turn the GlowLight off to get the pure E Ink experience; when you're in the dark, the amount of light emanating from the screen can be adjusted with a slider. It's exactly the way you would adjust the brightness on an iPad or Kindle Fire, except the display isn't LCD; it's E Ink. That means you can actually see the screen if you're reading at the beach or by the poolside.

If the NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight works like it did in my demo -- and there's no reason to think it wouldn't -- it becomes the only e-reader that you can truly use anywhere and anytime. It's also perhaps the only e-reader worth buying if you've got the cash and are in the market for a reading-only device. The new device will cost $139, which is $40 more than the NOOK Simple Touch without GlowLight and $60 more than the cheapest Kindle, an ad-supported Wi-Fi version. You are essentially paying for an e-reader whose screen can also light up by itself -- no lamps, no reading lights.

Now, at a price point of $139, you're rubbing up against full-fledged tablet territory, and the NOOK Simple Touch is but a single-function e-reader without any apps or real web access. Devices with both of those things aren't much more expensive than the $139 Simple Touch: Amazon's Kindle Fire, for example, is $199, and Barnes & Noble's NOOK Color is $179. That slim price difference makes it clear that the NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight is for hardcore readers (people who are hardcore about reading, not people who read hardcore material) who want to be able to use a single device both indoors and out.

(Funny side note: Barnes & Noble is actually pitching the Simple Touch as the perfect device for couples, and its testing area for journalists was just a queen-sized bed in a dark room. The pitch goes something like this: if your partner likes to read in bed, and the light from the iPad or the bedside lamp bothers you while you're trying to sleep, you should buy him or her a NOOK Simple Touch. The light emitted from it is indeed gentler than that of an iPad, though it's unclear whether it's a big enough difference to convince buyers.)

What is clear is that E Ink screens like those on the Kindle and NOOK have long outperformed LCD screens like those on the iPad -- whose colors tend to "wash out" in the sun in daylight reading tests. And Barnes & Noble representatives said their backlight doesn't strain the eyes like iPad LCD screens.

This is Barnes & Noble's answer to the charge that E Ink readers are useless at night, and it's a definitive, convincing response. Pre-orders for the $139 NOOK Simple Touch begin immediately on the Barnes & Noble website, and the device will be released in May, in time for Mother's Day, according to a Barnes & Noble spokesperson.

Below, check out a bunch of in-person photos of the new NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, including photos of the bed that Barnes & Noble had me try out the device on. Also see side-to-side shots with the old NOOK Simple Touch, which will remain on sale, by the way, for $99, for those who don't mind their bedside lamps.

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Comments

[elicourey]

09:06 AM on 04/15/2012

It looks awesome, can't wait to try it.

[portabello]

03:39 AM on 04/14/2012

Um, excuse me, but who reads in the sunshine?

I sit on my porch and can SEE the sunshine, but it's still indoors. I never read in direct sunlight, it's bad for your eyes. It will eventually give you cataracts from the UV.

Yes, it's great the Kindle finally figured out that people who buy hi-tech reading devices don't want to attach a $5.95 battery powered book light to their kindle just to be able to use it in low light situations, but seriously, the other side of the argument consists entirely of ONE POINT.

Oh my, what if I want to read in direct sunlight?

Well my answer is, I don't want to read in direct sunlight and I think you're kind of strange and inviting a case of melanoma into your life if you're reading in the sun.

Anyway, if your only need for a mobile device is to read, then this inexpensive device is the ticket. They should probably give them away for free with the price of ebooks.

If you need your portable device to do a lot more than read books then you'll need a tablet. I can't really see getting a tablet AND an ereader even if you don't like reading on a tablet.

[Demon38]

12:54 AM on 04/17/2012

What are you, crazy?!?! One of my great joys in life is sitting on the beach, in the summer, in direct sunshine, reading a good book. And, judging by the number of people I see doing the exact same thing, quite a lot of people do this. If you 've never done this, you're missing out..... And my 53 year old, reading in sunshine eyes are just fine.

[coolfireone]

06:32 PM on 04/13/2012

The kindle, at least, is great for reading outside or anywhere where there is light, just like a regular book. Inside, I don't understand the problem with turning on a light to read by, just as one has to do with any book. Or, for that matter, do the reading on a PC with the fee kindle PC application, as i do, which does not require further light. In other words, as for the kindle, with which I'm familiar, the glow light is unnecessary. And, yes, I read it's coming to the Kindle also.

But to say that this refinement is a "killer feature" as stated in the Huff headline is simply stupid.

[ArtCarnage]

12:07 PM on 04/13/2012

I got my international 3G no-ads Kindle for $80 on Woot! Another $20 for a clip-on Kandle light, and I'm still up $40. The times I've wanted to read in darkness, when there's no light to turn on, I can count on one hand.

[Deborita]

11:54 AM on 04/13/2012

I bought a Sony PRS-700 e-ink reader several years ago when the readers where fairly new to the market. I bought it at Borders. It has built in sidelights which enable you to read at night. It has worked beautifully for years. The next generation of sony e-readers came out and did not have the light anymore. Now it's back and being called new ?? Don't know what happened, but I am glad it's back. I was worried about my old reader breaking and not being able to replace it.

[CMB1969]

10:59 AM on 04/13/2012

Cool feature, but I've already got a library loaded on my (old generation) Kindle. Personally, I think that Amazon has pretty much won the struggle for E-Reader dominance--my trip to Los Angeles in February confirmed. When "kindle" has become the generic term used in airline announcements vis-a-vis putting away E-Readers, that shows that the brand has reached iconic status.

[cmacattack]

11:31 AM on 04/13/2012

They were first to dominate but Nook is giving them a run for the money and have surpassed Kindle in some respects, not all but some. Personally i enjoy having top competitors like this. It gives us consumers more choices and keeps Amazon and B&N in check.

[themoosespeaks]

12:34 PM on 04/13/2012

I think the the Nook and Kindle are good competitors. Each has just a little something the other doesn't. I just wish that each was more open so not to have to bind the buyer to an eBook source. Ideally I'd like to buy the device that best suits me, and books from where I get the best deal.

[RunNewtRun]

01:54 PM on 04/13/2012

This is exactly my dilemma. I have tons of books on my Kindle. I want to try out new and different devices, but I'd have to create separate libraries in the process.

[Ampoliros]

01:32 PM on 04/17/2012

Google Calibre, its a program for converting the Amazon format to epub.

You'll have to do some sideloading, but once they are in epub format you can use any e-reader you choose---except the kindle.

[GraceNotes]

10:51 AM on 04/13/2012

This reminds me of my favorite Groucho Marx quote: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

[MCouture]

10:27 AM on 04/13/2012

E Ink readers like the Kindle and the NOOK are great for reading in the sunshine, but when it gets dark out, you face a problem: You either have to attach a flashlight to the device or turn on a light in your home.
Does this person really know what hes talking about? My wife's Kindle has a built in light. Just pull it up and it comes on. So, you don't need to "attach a flashlight or turn on the light in your home".

[themoosespeaks]

02:54 PM on 04/13/2012

It's not a built in light. The light is built into the case (a separate purchase), though it's still powered by the Kindle.

[CrimsonIdol]

08:46 AM on 04/13/2012

That's it folks...iPad is doomed, pack it in, was a good ride while it lasted tho.

[Jason M Cross]

04:26 PM on 04/13/2012

The Nook Simple Touch isn't in competition with the iPad. Perhaps if you would read the previous comments, you would know that.

[Mike Milton]

08:19 AM on 04/13/2012

"The First" - wait a minute - The Apple Newton was viewable in direct sun and backlit

[BryanG]

08:46 AM on 04/13/2012

Hello, 1993 called, they want their toy back :P

[themoosespeaks]

12:49 PM on 04/13/2012

Apples and oranges, pardon the pun. Completely different screen technology. The Newton, as I recall, used an, even at the time, ordinary sidelit reflective LCD screen, not a backlit screen. (Sidelit reflective LCDs were staggeringly common on digital watches, for instance, not an Apple innovation.)

This uses similar lighting, nothing new, but applied to an e-ink screen instead of an LCD screen.

As far as eInk readers go, this is a first. As far as general technology, zip it back up: nobody wins unless you want to count the likes of Seiko or Casio.

[beyond left and right]

08:12 AM on 04/13/2012

I'll just stick to real books, thanks. I prefer the feel of the book, the smell of the book, book covers, flipping through pages, and not being distracted by a device that can instantly access the Internet any time I want. E-readers are an entirely new medium, which is fine, but books will always be superior in my view.

[CrimsonIdol]

08:45 AM on 04/13/2012

Automobiles...just a fad, can't never take the place of a real horse nor the smell.

[beyond left and right]

10:37 AM on 04/13/2012

Not even comparable. The automobile was thousands of times more convenient than the horse. I frankly don't see how the E-reader is any more convenient than the book. Sure, it stores your entire library onto a single device - so what? I never read more than a book or two at a time - I don't need my entire library with me every where I go. There's no utilitarian advantage of the E-reader over the book, in that respect. MP3 players on the hand - yes - they are far more convenient than the compact disc because I like to listen to multiple songs from multiple albums in any given day.

[beyond left and right]

10:40 AM on 04/13/2012

I think people are more enthralled by the newness - or coolness - factor of the E-reader than they are by any utilitarian or convenient factors. New technology does not always imply superiority - a common assumption that technophiles like to make. New technology often is superior to the old, but not in every case. This is one of those cases, in my view. So yes I'll stick to the book - and I won't be the only one... because the E-reader is not really any more convenient than the book, a large segment of the population will continue to be book readers well into this century (unlike the automobile versus horse analogy you used).

[forestlady]

09:14 AM on 04/13/2012

I felt the same way, too...until I got a Kindle. I do alot of book reviews for publishers, so it allows them to simply send me an e-reader version of the book; doesn't cost them anything and I get a free book. I love that I can have all the books I'm currently reading in one spot; great for travel too, don't have to lug books around. And there are LOTS of free books you can get as well. Also, many Kindle books are alot cheaper than actual books. I still keep my favorite books around and some things are still far better in book form, such as recipe books, instruction manuals, etc.

[beyond left and right]

10:10 AM on 04/13/2012

Here's my point though. For instance, I absolutely love my mp3 player. Why? Because before I had to lug around a CD case everywhere because I usually enjoy listening to multiple songs from multiple albums in any given day. The mp3 player added an extraordinary level of convenience over the CD.

Books, on the other hand, most people don't read books like they listen to music (maybe excluding you since you do reviews). I'm an avid reader - far more than most - but I usually only read ONE book at a time, or if I do go back and forth between books, it's at the most two or three. I simply don't need my entire library with me at all times. Sure it's "neat" or "cool" that the Kindle can store thousands of books. But really, so what? It's unnecessary, unlike the mp3 player.

[CraigR]

07:28 AM on 04/13/2012

Yeah, that turning on of a light in the house when it's dark so I can see is a real pain every night.

[Samuel Bun]

07:51 AM on 04/13/2012

I read when my wife tries to sleep. This is great, try and think it through before commenting. The sky is falling thing is getting old.

[beyond left and right]

08:07 AM on 04/13/2012

Technophilia is getting old

[CraigR]

12:04 PM on 04/13/2012

I did think it through, Sammy. I don't need it or want it.

[forestlady]

09:14 AM on 04/13/2012

I like to read in bed at night and my husband doesn't so this is a real problem-solver. Guess you live alone?

[CraigR]

12:05 PM on 04/13/2012

Nope. I don't read in bed. I sit in a chair.

[bullthull]

07:21 AM on 04/13/2012

Uhm, the Kindle Fire is back lit and color

[OldNedder]

07:51 AM on 04/13/2012

Uhm, that's an LCD display, not E Ink.

[bullthull]

10:00 AM on 04/13/2012

Might need to get one these !

[Samuel Bun]

07:52 AM on 04/13/2012

But not E Ink, big difference.

[dmbranagan]

07:04 AM on 04/13/2012

After having to dispose of almost 200 hardcovered books that were taking up so much space and way to heavy for me to move to my new place..my daughters gave me a NOOK for Christmas last year and changed my reading experience dramatically. This is the best gift a senior citizen can receive, just go to B&N online site and buy as many books as you like ,whenever you like, anytime you like from the comforts of home. Right now I have almost every Dicken's book on my NOOK and so many others and I do not have to clutter my home with stacks and stacks of heavy books. I am 65 and love to read, this is the best invention since the light bulb.

[RattleCat]

06:58 AM on 04/13/2012

Great idea!  Looking forward to seeing it on the Kindle for those of us who already have sunk media costs for that platform.