With the plethora of really good budget tablets, it’s a wonder how e-readers still manage to survive. However, not only are they alive, but they also seem to be kicking hard.
Case in point: Barnes & noble just released their new e-ink-based e-book reader, the Nook GlowLight. At USD 119, it’s set to go toe-to-toe with Amazon’s Kindle PaperWhite and Kobo’s Pricier Aura. Here are the specs of the e-reader:
Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight Specs
- 6″ e-ink display with 758 x 1024 pixels resolution
- Dimensions: 6.5 x 5 x 0.42 in
- Weight: 6.9oz
- 4GB ROM, non-expandable
- WiFi
Related: Amazon refreshes Kindle Fire HD, launches Kindle Fire HDX tablets
Unlike its predecessor, the Nook Simple Touch which only came in black, this new e-reader only comes in white. Other standard features include compatibility with ePub and PDF formats, photo viewer that supports BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, infrared-based touchscreen, and a built-in front light for illumination. It does suck that it’s no longer expandable via microSD despite having double the internal storage compared to its predecessor. That’s more than enough for e-books, however, especially when they’re in ePub format. PDFs may be another matter, though that’s still plenty (I have PDFs that go upward to a little under 500MB). Still, it would have been nice to have the expandable storage. Also, unlike its predecessor, the only physical button is the power button located at the left side. Gone are the page-turn buttons. You’ll need to rely on the touchscreen for that.
The advantage of e-ink is the insane battery life that you get out of e-readers. While the battery isn’t specified, Barnes & noble states that this e-reader can go up to two months of use. This has just been outed yesterday, so no word on whether we’ll see this in our shores.