GL box 150x150

Here’s a snippet.  Full review is here. I just received a review unit from B&N and hope to have a review up sometime next week.

The Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight™ (hereinafter the Nook GL) is the first e-ink reader with a built-in light since the Sony 700. The Sony was a great idea, poorly executed. Since then those of us who read in bed or in other places with low light have had to make do with clip-on lights, lights with built-in covers, or bright lamps that annoy the people around us. I’ve tried all of the above, in many variations. I read after The Husband has gone to sleep on a regular basis. I’ve always been a night-time reader, for as far back as I can remember (flashlight under the cover? check). Not having found a satisfactory e-ink solution, I usually read on my phone, but I don’t love it. So when the Nook GL was announced, I decided I had to have one. This decision was made easier by the fact that I left my beloved Sony PRS-T1 on an airplane, so I was without a 6″ e-ink reader for the first time in years. And despite having a 5″ phone screen and a tablet, I really missed the e-ink screen and the light weight of the Reader.

I have owned three generations of Sony readers starting with the 505 (and I still have a Daily Reader), a Kindle 2, and a Kindle DX. The one-click link to Amazon you get with the Kindle is wonderful and addictive, but I vastly preferred the Sony hardware. It had to be that good, to make up for the horribleness that is the Sony Reader bookstore. I’ve never owned a Nook, and until now, I never thought I would. After trying unsuccessfully to purchase a Nook GL in a store (I tried across three states!), I ordered one from the B&N website and received it in 3 business days, as advertised.

I bought this device entirely for the front-lit screen, but I’m surprised at how much I like it in other ways. The rubberized coating is very comfortable to hold, and I’ve grown used to the square form factor. The bezel is a nice size for my hands and the page turning clicky things are comfortably located. The screen is quite responsive to touch, and the device is light. Overall, I like it almost as much as the Sony I lost.

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