TechTalk: Barnes and Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight - FullReview

A bit of background...

[If you've read my unboxing post, you can probably skip this bit]

Because I've got a new [actually, it's not so new anymore] job in the city*, I've got to take the tube to work. I've decided that I want to get back into reading, and because most of my commutes look a lot

like this - with people violating your human rights on several counts, whilst also kneeing and elbowing you in body parts that you never knew you had - I thought it would be best to get an e-reader. Until now, I made do with reading "real" books [you know... those things with that stuff in them... what's it called again? YES! That's it! Paper!], and my trusty old Asus Transformer TF101 tablet [which is currently about as slow as an old goat, and about as attractive as one, too].

Given that reading with two hands is definitely not an option on the tube [because you don't want to let go of the rail and accidentally touch someone as you fall flat on your face, because you'd then have to verbally apologise to them, and that could cause a whole host of other complications], normal books and my tablet had to go, unfortunately, and have been replaced by this, my new Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight:

I covered most of the specs and start-up process of the device in my unboxing post, so I'll just go straight ahead and dive right into the review.

The review

The Outside

In terms of aesthetics, the nook is quite pleasing. Its rounded corners and rubberised, 'soft-touch' finish make it a pleasure to hold. The device is quite sleek and can be slipped neatly into a bag or backpack, and the four 'clipholes' [for want of a better word] around the device mean that it can be customised with a whole host of covers and accessories. These are accessories that you may wish to invest in - while the unit does feel solid and doesn't feel like it'd need too much protection, the back of it is a finger-print magnet, and requires a lot of wiping down.

The power button on the back of the unit, whilst being quite firm to start with, does loosen up after a while - but sadly, this means that it develops quite a bad rattle, which could potentially be quite annoying if you plan on travelling with the Nook Simple Touch a lot. The multi-functional 'n' button on the front works well [no rattles here], as do the page turn buttons, which function well on both sides, but take a little time to get used to. Other than these buttons, the device is quite minimalist - no funky d-pads or QWERTY keyboards that can be seen on other readers - just 6 buttons, a touch screen, and a micro USB port.

Having travelled with the device to work for around a month, I've sadly come to the conclusion that I must be the only person in the city of London to own any variant of the Nook Simple Touch. Anywhere you go, you realised that you've just backed the underdog in the e-reader world. Every single book-reading Londoner appears to own a variant of the Amazon Kindle. Don't let this put you off, though - throughout my time with the Nook, I've not had a single pang of jealousy for those who are Kindled up to the nines, no siree.

What does it do?

Well, it allows you to read.

That's it?

Yes, that's it. Unlike other e-readers on the market [namely, ironically, the un-named ones from China], this e-reader does not come with the full shebang, the full monty, or all the bells and whistles. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack for you to play music and listen to your books being read back to you. There is no secret button for you to enjoy a game of pac-man. There is no stock web-browser. 

This device is just an e-reader. I, personally, am more than happy with that. I've got an iPod and a Xiaomi Mi2 mobile phone, so I don't need yet another device that does absolutely everything - I'd rather have a device that allows me to read books, magazines, and the occasional PDF file, and be able to read well.

How do I get books onto it?

There are two ways. Firstly, and arguably the easiest, is to just hook up the Nook to your PC with the provided micro-USB cable and drag and drop books [in ePub or PDF format] to the 'books' folder. Simples. 

Secondly, if you sign up for a Nook account [which you'll be asked to do when you first boot up the device], you can browse the Nook bookstore, either on your PC or the Simple Touch itself, and choose any book you'd like to read and have it delivered to your device over your WiFi connection. Pretty snazzy, huh?

ePub books work incredibly well on the device, though the way it handles PDF files leaves a lot to be desired, with pages rendering slower than a narcoleptic snail. If you tend to use PDFs more than ePubs, I would recommend using a tablet or netbook device.

Battery life

Having never owned an e-reader before, I'm not really sure how to feel about the battery life on the device I've used. People have remarked that e-readers have incredibly long battery lives, and given that they only use power when refreshing the screen, using/searching for WiFi, or having the GlowLight on, one charge is meant to last over two months.

Sadly, in my personal experience, I've not seen evidence of this gargantuan battery life. One charge, for me, would last around a week and a half with the WiFi off, the GlowLight only being used for about an hour in total, and reading for about 2 and a half hours each day. 

Thankfully, though, I've found that if you give the Nook an extended period of rest [and by that I'm admitting that I got tired of reading for a while and I didn't touch the device for two whole weeks], it automatically powers down. This is quite pleasant - until you boot it up again and realise that it's deleted all of the bookmarks and saved passages that you had in your books, meaning that you might as well start reading your current novel from the beginning because you can't remember exactly where you were. 

The screen

The 6 inch screen on the Nook Simple Touch is a pleasure to read off. One of the reasons I decided to say goodbye to my tablet as an e-reader was that I couldn't handle the eyestrain of reading books on its backlit LED screen for hours and hours on end. The Nook's e-ink screen is easy on the eyes, and the adjustable GlowLight is fantastic for reading at night.

While text is crisp and clear to start with, this gets tarnished somewhat by 'ghosting' that occurs when you turn the page. The Nook, by default, is set so it only refreshes the entire screen after you turn six pages, meaning that you avoid the black-and-white flash of a full-page refresh occurring every page whilst also saving battery power. This means that in some cases, words from previous pages are left behind on the screen faintly - this doesn't cause much of a distraction, and can always be reduced by adjusting the number of pages between a full-page refresh.

The device has a touch screen [hence the name Simple Touch]. This makes use of a bunch of infrared beams being shot across the surface of the screen to pinpoint where your finger actually is. While the screen is incredibly responsive - typing on the keyboard screens that come up is actually a joy on this device - it can sometimes be a bit too sensitive - brush up against the device with a different part of your body as you hold it and you'll end up being accidentally moved 200 pages further in your book.

As I mentioned briefly in the unboxing post, the screen itself feels a bit like the textured paper in a book, in a weird way. If you decide to move pages on the device by swiping left and right instead of using the buttons, you can almost trick yourself into believing that you're reading a proper book.

The big change that differentiates the Nook Simple Touch from the Nook Simple Touch With GlowLight is the fact that the user can power on a strip of LEDs on the device that will spread light across the screen. While this is a great feature for those who enjoy reading at night or in dark environments, the execution could be improved somewhat - tilt the device away from you, and you can clearly see the strip of LEDs and the green tinge of the circuit board they're attached to. This hasn't been much of an annoyance to me, but if you're one to nit-pick, the Amazon Kindle may be a better device for you as "all the small things" have been executed to a slightly higher standard.

The system

The operating system that the Nook Simple Touch runs is... [wait for it]... Android. Even though, out of the box, it has limited functionality when compared to smartphones and tablets running the same type of OS, it can be rooted and modded to your satisfaction - so if just reading isn't enough for you, you can tinker to your heart's content. [I use the device as an e-reader only and have not done this, though you can find tutorials online. Of course, do this at your own risk!]

The stock system and software on the Simple Touch is responsive and functions surprisingly well for something running on an e-ink screen. Customisation features allow you to change the font, font size, line spacing, and margins within any particular book, which ensures that this device could be perfect for both young 'uns and more mature people in your life. 

By hooking the device up to a PC and dragging a few images over to the ___ folder, you can change the screensaver images that appear whenever you hit the lock button on the device. If you upload more than one image, these will cycle through in order. 

To sum up

All in all, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is a nifty little device. Stylish, light, and compact, it's the perfect device for reading books on the move. However, with prices in the UK starting at around £30, it may be a bit pricey for a device that, essentially, is a bit of a one-trick-pony. That being said, if you're a hardcore reader, I wholeheartedly recommend this device. It's simple to use, portable, and tech-lovers can have fun rooting and modding away.

Pros:

- Customisation options mean that the device can be used by anyone

- The device is small and light, perfect for reading on the move.

- The GlowLight is a handy addition and is great for reading at night without glare or eyestrain.

- The touchscreen is a joy to use and the system is incredibly responsive.

Cons:

- Books lose all bookmarks and reset to the first page when the battery dies or goes to 'sleep' after an extended period of non-use [though this may just be a problem with my particular device!]

- PDFs are about as useful as a chocolate ashtray on the Simple Touch

- Build quality could be improved, but I didn't find this to be too much of an issue. If you are concerned about your device, a whole host of covers and accessories are available.