Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch eBook Reader (Wi-Fi Only)

My first e-reader so there's nothing for me to compare it to....nevertheless: Pros: - Small and light in weight - 4 buttons to turn the pages forwards/backwards (2 buttons on each side, paired above and below each other on the same side for southpaws/traditional) - Decent battery life (I charge it about once a month. Keep in mind, I don't let the battery drain to 0% before I charge, either) - eInk display is really clear and legible. The text looks like it's really printed on paper - Ability to change font/font sizes/margin sizes Cons: - Slight delay on actions. Granted the processor on these e-readers aren't the strongest but there's a second or two of delay at times (i.e. opening your library, turning pages using the side-buttons, opening the quick-menu, etc.) - Ghosting. Sometimes when you turn to the next page, you may see a faint imprint of the page you just turned from. It's nothing that really takes anything away from the reading experience though, in my opinion. For it's low price (relative to some of the other e-readers out there), this one does exactly what it's meant for. A simple e-reader with no extra bells and whistles. Overall: 9/10 Note: If using a Nook Simple Touch (or any e-reader, I suppose): I'd highly recommend using a free program called "Calibre - eBook Management" to keep your Nook's library looking nice and organized. It allows you to edit the epub info (author's name, book title, # in the series, etc.) along with adding/removing book covers. Happy reading!

I purchased this device new through Amazon Marketplace from JJ's RealBuy. It's perfect. Exactly what I wanted, an e-reader only, simple to use, sharp paper style screen, reasonably priced and with an expandable memory. If this is what you're looking for as well, go for it. You can manage the Nook using the free library management program Calibre, adding and deleting books from the Nook without having to log on to Barnes & Noble with the device. You can also get a ton of legally free books from Project Gutenberg, organize them in Calibre, and transfer them over to your Nook. The built in memory space on the Nook is only 250 MB for books not purchased through Barnes & Noble. The rest of the built in memory is reserved for the OS and your B&N purchases. But who cares, since this Nook has a Micro SD card slot for up to 32 GB of additional space! I just went ahead and bought a 32 GB card at the same time I ordered the Nook. I now have space for thousands of books! This does not have the built in reading light, but I didn't need that, and the newer Glo Light models don't have the expandable memory. I've also read that the battery drains faster on the Glo Light. If you like to listen to audible books, you can't do that on this Nook. Personally, I don't listen to audible books, so it's not a drawback for me. But if at some point in the future I did want to do that, I would just use my phone.

With two or three major reservations, I think that this is a superb little machine. I have just received it here in Canada, as a belated Christmas gift, and in terms of readability, all its features match the advertising. This Nook model is not available for sale outside the US, for good reason, though. The WiFi is locked into Barnes & Noble, only. There is no "period", or "dot", in the numerical keyboard, so it is not possible to enter another url, either to make a purchase from another bookseller, or, more importantly from my point of view, to log on to the local library (this would appear to apply to local US libraries as well; what a waste of WiFi!). You have to download everything onto your PC and transfer via the cable included. Also, you cannot make a purchase with B&N from outside the US, on this machine. I don't mind the latter, as I rarely purchase books, anway, but I am disappointed that all these details are not made more clear in the advertising. It took hours and hours for the battery to make its initial charge from my PC. You can see from the package that there was once a space in it for a wall outlet adapter (the holes for the prongs have been taped over). Making this a separate accessory is obviously a cost-savings measure for B&N, a poor comparison with other companies which automatically include an adapter with their e-readers. Finally, the support phone number provided for outside the US won't go through to a live body. Just as you reach that stage, the call is terminated with a statement that the transfer cannot be completed and you get the dialling tone. I hope people calling from within the US have better luck.

I found tablets and phones lack the battery life and quiet simplicity of this type of specialised product. Forget checking email, listening to audio or constant distractions. This ereader is purely a reading machine. The text is clearer than a laser printed page and the capacity of 32GB micro SD card means accessibility to 10,000's of books. As with my Samsung table I found PDF viewings unsatisfactory and even maps in epubs were a disappointment. Another issue is that, without a US credit card billing address, B&N will not let you use your account so I have had to store by own epubs in the machine and find them elsewhere. The unit is easy to operate and had a claimed battery life of up to two months. It is easily charged from a micro USB connection and files can easily be copied from a PC. The crystal clear text and easy touch or button navigation make reading a pleasure. There is only a minuscule delay when turning pages. All in all I am delighted by the unit which is good value for something that holds practically my entire library.