Nook Simple Touch GlowLight review

The Nook Simple Touch GlowLight joins the pack of backlit e-readers launching at the same time, and takes on Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhiteand the Kobo Glo.

Produced by US book store Barnes & Noble, Nooks have only crossed over to the UK for the first time this year, and haven’t yet made it to Australia, so our discussions of the Nook Simple Touch GlowLight with less tech-savvy friends were often met with blank expressions.

Priced at £109 in the UK (around AU$169) or $139 in the US, it is slightly more expensive than the Kobo Glo, but the same price as the Kindle Paperwhite, which of course has a more established reputation on its side.

It is released alongside the cheaper Nook Simple Touch, which doesn’t have a backlight but is similarly specified otherwise.

The six-inch touchscreen e-ink device is slim and remarkably light, weighing just 197g (6.95oz) and measuring just 12mm (0.47 inches) deep. The touchscreen has a 600 x 800 resolution, but best of all is the fact that you can read it out in the desert or down a cave.

That’s because the Nook Simple Touch GlowLight, as the name suggests, comes with its own bespoke backlight, which produces a customisable glow that enables you to read in low light or complete darkness.

Similarly, the e-reader boasts a built-in anti-glare screen protector that really works, so that you can read in bright light without any smudges distracting you.

Wi-Fi connectivity also appears on the Nook Simple Touch GlowLight, enabling you to share poignant quotes and books with your Facebook, Twitter and Google Mail contacts, lend publications to other Nook-owning friends and discover which new e-books, magazines and newspapers Barnes & Noble recommends for you, based on your past purchases.

And of course, the easiest way to buy new e-books is through the Nook itself, in the Shop section of the device. This also requires Wi-Fi to do, so perhaps you should load up on titles before you go to live down that cave.