Looks like Barnes & Noble has a winner on their hands.
From Harry Mccracken’s Technologizer:
If you’re not already married to one electronic bookseller, GlowLight is the first new killer feature to come along since the early days of E Ink. The Kindle Touch remains a fine product, and the $99 “Special Offers” variant is a good option if your budget is tight. But if you want an e-reader you can read in dim-to-nonexistent lighting without babysitting your battery, you want the new Nook. It’s the most usable, well-rounded, pleasing E Ink e-reader so far.
From Laptop:
At $139, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is $40 more expensive than the Amazon Kindle Touch and the Nook Simple Touch, and prices itself out of the impulse-buy category. However, its additional features — an industry-first front-lit screen, anti-glare layer, and faster page-turn times — will make this version of the Nook Simple Touch appealing for heavy readers.
From David Pogue at the NY Times:
The bottom line: There’s no better E Ink model than this new glowing Nook. For the first time in e-reader history, you can have spectacular, crisp pages to read in any light, from beach sunshine to sleeping-spouse darkness. To make matters even sweeter, the glowy Nook weighs even less than its $100 predecessor (the nonilluminated Nook SimpleTouch) — just under 7 ounces. And it’s precisely the same size: 6.5 by 5 by .47 inches.Of course, you pay a price for these advantages. The glowing screen adds $40 to the price, compared to the nonglowing Nook and Kindle models.
Most reviews I’ve seen are dinging it for reduced contrast due to the screen overlay being used. Will have to wait and see in person.
Oh, drat.
I like B&N, but if the reviewers love it that means it will probably flop.