Posted on 6/14/11 by Mandy Chatsworth · Comments
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The Skinny on the New Nook Simple Touch Reader
Barnes & Noble recently released a new version of their popular Nook reader. And it's nice, ladies and gentlemen. It's nice. If you're new to the reader market, of if you're thinking about upgrading from an older Amazon Kindle or what have you, read on for some choice tidbits and specs.
With Apple's iPad and iPad 2—along with a slew of new tablet computers—being so multifunctional, Barnes & Noble was smart in getting back to the basics and creating a relatively inexpensive device ($139 versus $499 for the cheapest iPad 2) that focuses on just reading books. No games, no web browsing, just black and white text courtesy of an E-ink Pearl touchscreen. So, this is NOT the reader you want for the children reading colorful (or multimedia) kids books, or books filled with art or images.
However, the Simple Touch Reader allows you to read the grown-up text exceedingly well. It suffers from none of the glare issues of a full multicolor LCD screen (like the iPad or the more expensive Nook Color); you can read it easily in direct sunlight. The Simple Touch screen is also less likely to cause eye fatigue than its fancier cousins. Additionally, the screen won't smudge nearly as easily as an LCD screen, so that's a bonus. This, along with the reader's feather-light weight (7.5 ounces), makes it more portable than even the iPad 2 (1.33 pounds). The Simple Touch is nearly three times lighter than our favorite tablet computer, and a couple inches smaller both length- and width-wise, making it ultra-portable.
Another huge selling point is battery life. In comparison to the iPad 2's 10 hours of battery life, the Simple Touch can last a jaw-dropping two months (!) without needing a recharge, if Wi-Fi is turned off. For frequent travelers or just the absent-minded professor in all of us who forgets to charge, this is really useful.
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Okay, so the reader looks good and lasts forever: how easily can it navigate a book? Here the Simple Touch shines as well. A “Reading Now” section will take you with one tap to your current book (and place in the book). Similarly, you can access the Barnes & Noble library of over 2 million books just as easily. And page turning is intuitive. You can hit the page turn button, physically swipe the screen, or touch the screen margin to proceed. To “flip” through the book, you just need to hold the button.
The larger lesson here is that it doesn't make sense to kill flies (read books) with a sledge hammer (a full tablet PC). Use a fly swatter (the Nook Simple Touch). It'll cost you a lot less, and it's designed to do one thing, and do it very well.
Have you had a chance to try out the new Simple Touch? Please share your impressions in the comments!
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