# Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight



## Lilith

I am a big Kindle fan and have no intention of changing to a Nook.  But I must admit, after just receiving the B&N announcement about preordering the Nook with Glowlight, that I had a bit of e-reader envy.  The Glowlight just seems like such a good idea.  

Anyone else thinking how nice it would be to have Glowlight to read by?

Lilith


----------



## dbeman

Lilith said:


> I am a big Kindle fan and have no intention of changing to a Nook. But I must admit, after just receiving the B&N announcement about preordering the Nook with Glowlight, that I had a bit of e-reader envy. The Glowlight just seems like such a good idea.
> 
> Anyone else thinking how nice it would be to have Glowlight to read by?
> 
> Lilith


I chose a nook over a Kindle for a multitude of reasons; but even I will admit that the notion of the "glow light" does not excite me. Still I can see it being useful for those who bring their nook on camping trips or otherwise do a lot of reading in low-light or no-light settings.

I'm not sure its worth the $40 bump in the price tag; and I'm curious what it does for battery life. (although my standard, non-glowing nook ST has consistently exceeded battery life expectations.)


----------



## Ann in Arlington

The rumor mill says Amazon is developing a similar Kindle. . . . . .don't jump ship yet.   Patience, grasshopper.


----------



## melodyyyyy

It looks really nice.I will wait for the kindle version if there is one.  I have too many toys now.


----------



## Cardinal

I'm excited!!!

When I got the Kindle 2 I wished it had a lights in the bezel and quite awhile ago saw the technology was being developed and have been hoping it would be released. 

I think these are going to be really cool!


----------



## Eltanin Publishing

Here's a couple of video reviews:

http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2012/04/barnes-noble-nook-with-glowlight.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57413113-1/barnes-noble-beats-amazon-to-the-punch-with-lighted-e-ink-nook-hands-on/

I'm pondering the justification that it would help for me to be able to see how the books we publish look on the Simple Touch....


----------



## Mel Odious

FWIW, I find my Blackberry w/Kindle app to be the perfect bedtime reader.  I set the screen font to the largest available and just inhale text a space-bar-at-a-time.  Very little eyestrain using this method.


----------



## alaskazimm

dbeman said:


> I'm not sure its worth the $40 bump in the price tag; and I'm curious what it does for battery life. (although my standard, non-glowing nook ST has consistently exceeded battery life expectations.)


From what I've read, using the light full time cuts the battery life in about half. They claim a life of one month with the light on, and two months with the light off (wifi off in both cases). The two months is the same as the current NST.


----------



## Atunah

Its an interesting idea, but what is a turnoff to me is the decrease in clarity because of the added layer. There is a side by side picture on engadget where it looks really faded compared to the Kindle.

And on gizmodo B&N admits this is an issue.

http://gizmodo.com/5901499/hands-on-nook-simple-touch-with-glowlight-never-read-a-book-on-a-tablet-again

B&N calls it a slight loss of contrast, but to me that is the #1 most important item for me. Nothing else matters if I have to give up contrast and clarity. I love how clear my K3 is, I can't go backwards from that.

So I am interested to see how Amazon can get around that one.


----------



## luvmykindle3

It looks interesting, but I don't need another ereader, I need to sell off a couple that I have now that I don't use.
If I need light, I switch to my galaxy tab or iPad and change the settings to dim the light.


----------



## laurie_lu

It looks like there might be many tiny LED lights under the bezel going all the way around the page.  As much as I love my Kindle Touch with its Amazon Leather Lighted Cover, I would consider upgrading if Amazon released something like this.  The lighted cover as thin as it is still adds bulk and weight to the Touch.


----------



## alaskazimm

Atunah said:


> Its an interesting idea, but what is a turnoff to me is the decrease in clarity because of the added layer. There is a side by side picture on engadget where it looks really faded compared to the Kindle.
> 
> And on gizmodo B&N admits this is an issue.
> 
> http://gizmodo.com/5901499/hands-on-nook-simple-touch-with-glowlight-never-read-a-book-on-a-tablet-again
> 
> B&N calls it a slight loss of contrast, but to me that is the #1 most important item for me. Nothing else matters if I have to give up contrast and clarity. I love how clear my K3 is, I can't go backwards from that.
> 
> So I am interested to see how Amazon can get around that one.


Well, to be fair gizmodo said it's true (being physics) but it is not an issue. The reviewer said that it was hardly noticeable unless he was looking specifically for it. He also said the layer serves two purposes: to cut down on the glare from the lights and to help conduct the light evenly.


----------



## KindleGirl

I happened to be walking thru a B&N yesterday so I stopped to quickly check out the new Simple Touch with Glowlight. It seemed thinner and lighter to me than the one without the light, but maybe that was just me. I haven't looked at the specs to see if it was true. The clarity seemed fine, but here again, I didn't have anything with me to directly compare. The light seemed really nice, but in a lighted store it was hard to tell what it looked like at night, but looked like it would be really nice. I liked it enough to check one out if/when Amazon comes out with a new kindle.


----------



## Cardinal

I saw the Nook Glowlight today and compared it to the Nook Simple Touch and my $79 Kindle.  

With the light off the contrast is slightly decreased than the other two.  I think in a dark room the light will be enough to easily read with.

In daylight with the light on, the screen looks fantastic!  With the light on it was the nicest out of the three, and if the battery would allow it I would want to read all the time with the light on -- day or night.  

I hope Amazon releases the light version in the basic Kindle, I would buy it in a heartbeat!


----------



## Silntdrgn7

I'm an owner of both the Kindle and Nook. I received my Nook Simple Touch w/ GlowLight (NSTGL) this past Thursday. Here are my early impressions of it.

The NSTGL looks like the Nook Simple Touch (NST) with the exception that it has a gray outside border, a lighter black inside border, and a touch lighter in weight. All buttons are the same. Start up speed and pages before screen flickering is the same. The NSTGL contrast isn’t as sharp as the NST or the latest Kindles (AK) making the fonts lighter. The slight lower contrast isn't bothersome at all, but it was noticeable when sitting side-by-side to the ST and AK. Once I started using it, I didn't pay attention to it at all. 

Now we come to the reason for buying this. GlowLight. Simply put, it works and I like it. I have used both my Nook Tablet, Kindle Fire and Nook ST with clip on light for night reading, and the NSTGL for me is better. When the GlowLight is turned on, it creates a soft white light the illuminates the screen. The light is brighter at the very top of the screen where the LED's are located, but it isn’t annoying at all. The rest of the screen is lit pretty even. You can change the brightness of the light in the GL menu. When I put it next to the ST with light attachment or my AK with lighted cover, both are darker and the lighting gets darker when you’re further away from the light placement.

I used the NSTGL the last two nights and I loved ready with it. No eyestrain at all. One thing I found myself doing during the day was that I would use the GlowLight at a lower setting during daylight when the light in the room wasn't enough to read comfortably. Sometimes when I was reading with my other e-readers in the same room lighting, I would have to tilt the screen to get better lighting to read. This is one of the reasons I like the feature. Its not just for night reading. 

As far as the $139 price tag, I think its worth it considering that you're getting the e-reader, built-in anti-glare screen protector, and power adapter.  Presently, I have the Kindle 3 w/Keyboard and waiting for the rumored Kindle Touch with built-in light to upgrade.


----------



## luvmykindle3

Can the lights be replaced once the bulbs go out? Just a thought...


----------



## Silntdrgn7

That's been my thought with this as with the batteries in the Nook, Kindle e-readers, and kindle lighted covers. its one of the reasons I buy extended warranties with these products. I've been looking on the internet to see if someone has taken it apart to get a look at it.


----------



## Ann in Arlington

Probably not something to worry about.  My understanding is that LED lights have a life of something like 50,000.  So if you have them on 10 hours a day, that's still well over 13 years.


----------



## Silntdrgn7

Just in time for an upgrade.


----------



## mistyd107

according to the video's the light can be turned off and doesn't have to be used at all times is that the case


----------



## Meemo

mistyd107 said:


> according to the video's the light can be turned off and doesn't have to be used at all times is that the case


Since the GlowLight Control popup has a box that shows whether it's on or off, I'm guess that's the case. Looks like you'd just uncheck the box to turn it off.









http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-simple-touch-with-glowlight-barnes-noble/1108046469?ean=9781400501717#nook-commentary-features-1


----------



## gadgetgirl003

I went to a Barnes and Noble today to see and play with a NST with GLowlight. I like it. You can turn the glowlight on and off just by pressing and holding the "N" for 2 seconds. I like that shortcut to the glowlight rather than having to go to the Glowlight menu.
The sales associate was trying to sell me a Nook Color. SHe has a Nook Color herself, and she said that Barnes and Noble has just reduced the price of the Nook Color to $149 so she thought that it was a better deal than the NST with Glowlight. I was surprised to see her pushing the Nook Color so much. I would have preferred to have a sales associate who could tell me about the device I came to see. (I discovered the Glowlight shortcut myself)


----------



## J_T

I'm going to have to play with one of these. I think the glow light is a really good idea, it seems like it would be a really amazing reading light. I can probably wait until the next Kindle though, which I'm sure will have to copy this idea.


----------



## Ann in Arlington

DiscoDan said:


> I'm going to have to play with one of these. I think the glow light is a really good idea, it seems like it would be a really amazing reading light. I can probably wait until the next Kindle though, which I'm sure will have to copy this idea.


I don't think they'll _copy_ it per se. From all accounts they're developing something similar independently. B&N just got theirs out first.


----------



## Miss Moneypenny

I took a leap and ordered one. Up until now I've been completely Kindle. A couple of months ago I came across a book that was available for Nook but not Kindle. I was forced to break down and install the Nook app on my iPad. When I saw the NSTGL I realized that diversifying my e-reader stable wouldn't be the worst idea i've had. I expect it tomorrow or Monday.


----------



## Cardinal

DiscoDan said:


> I can probably wait until the next Kindle though, which I'm sure will have to copy this idea.


If Amazon adds a glowlight, I don't think it is copying, rather it is implementing a new technology into their next release. I read an article about the glowlight technology in development a year ago, Barnes and Nobles did not invent this, another company did. The rumors before the Nook Glowlight release was that Amazon was going to add the Glowlight technology into their next Kindle line, so it seems that Amazon was aware of this technology and had decided to use it before the new Nook release.

Amazon, B&N and other eReading companies are not developing technologies such as Pearl e-Ink, infared touch sceen and glowlight. Other companies invent these and the eReader makers add them into lines. Many factors go into when a company releases a product refresh. The only difference between the Nook Glowlight and Nook Simple Touch is the light; that is all B&N did was add the new light technology.

I will be very surprise if the new Kindles only add the Glowlight hardware, I suspect there will be software improvements (Amazon didn't just release the infared touch software, at the same time they added X-Ray). If Amazon only wanted to add the Glowlight hardware, I think it would be on the market already.


----------



## Meemo

Not only did Barnes & Noble not invent it - they weren't even the first to produce an eInk reader with a built-in light around the screen.  Sony was first, with the Sony 700 back in 2008.  Unfortunately their technology wasn't quite ready for prime time - the screen overlay necessary to make it work cut down noticeably on the screen contrast, and it ended up being a fail.  I'm already reading that some folks have tried and returned the Glowlight Nook for the same issue - reduced screen contrast.  Others won't mind it - or if they've never had eInk or had an original Nook, they won't see a difference.  

This is a case where it's probably good for Kindle to be a bit later getting their version out - they can learn from whatever the issues are with the Nook (they've already learned from the Sony 700, which is why it's taken almost 4 years for another attempt to be made).


----------



## dbeman

Cardinal said:


> If Amazon adds a glowlight, I don't think it is copying, rather it is implementing a new technology into their next release.


Absolutely. There are legal hurdles to patent and copyright infringement; and I doubt anyone holds the rights to "add a light" to something.


----------



## Meemo

There's also the fact that Amazon bought a company back in 2010 that was developing "light guide technology". From The Digital Reader's article on the coming lighted Kindle:
"The light itself is based on tech developed by a company that Amazon bought a couple years back. The company, Oy Modilis, was founded in 1991 and then quietly snapped up by Amazon in 2o10." http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2012/04/06/next-kindle-to-have-front-lighted-screen/


----------



## mlewis78

I looked at a Nook with glowlight at B&N yesterday and found that when the light is on, the text isn't as clear as it was with the light off.  The screen looks quite different with the light on.


----------



## dbeman

mlewis78 said:


> I looked at a Nook with glowlight at B&N yesterday and found that when the light is on, the text isn't as clear as it was with the light off. The screen looks quite different with the light on.


Haven't test driven the glowlight model yet...but since I don't intend to purchase one I probably won't. Assuming that the Barnes & Noble store was open and the lights where on when you performed your test, I'm wondering if the perceived degradation in text clarity would be less noticeable if the room were actually dark.


----------



## Miss Moneypenny

Got my Nook Glowlight on Tuesday and I have enjoyed reading on it. I like the lighting and haven't noticed any decreased contrast or sharpness. I was reading without the light earlier and when i turned on the glowlight a few minutes ago, two small almost scratch-like areas appear on the screen that appear as if bright white light is bleeding through. I feared for a moment that I had scratched the surface of the screen somehow (adding your own screen protector voids the warranty on this model!) but the marks are identical and perfectly horizontal a couple of inches apart. Very bizarre. I guess I will have to take it in to B&N tonight and see what can be done or if it is a known issue.


----------



## planet_janet

I played around with the Nook Glowlight today at B&N.  While it was difficult to really experience the Glowlight (the display is right near the front door/windows, so lots of glare coming in), I love the concept and can see myself using the glowlight feature every night for bedtime reading.  If Kindle does come out with a glowlight model, I will probably end up buying one.


----------



## metal134

I just nabbed one of these.  I still have my Kindle, but I look at it this way:
1)It's nice to have the option of both
2)They are dirt cheap
3)I can afford it

So, why not?  The majority of books that I get on Kindle are public domain classics, so it's not like I am racking up a Kindle library of full priced DRM books.  If I were, it probably wouldn't be worth it to have both.


----------

