Looking to give a spark to its e-ink devices, Barnes & Noble has developed Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight. With a light embedded in the device, GlowLight makes it easy to read in the dark, including in bed. According to B&N, the most frequent complaint from its Nook users is that their partners complain when they read in bed. The GlowLight, which emits only a soft light, is addressed to meet that concern, and at a demonstration at a New York hotel Thursday morning the GlowLight did deliver a comfortable read in the dark. Since a B&N survey found that two out of three Americans read in bed, B&N believes the GlowLight will expand the market for e-ink devices whose growth has slowed with the rapid gains made by tablets.
GlowLight is Nook’s lightest device to date and if the light is used for 30 minutes a day (or night) the battery will last for about one month, B&N said. Priced at $139, GlowLight is available for pre-order now at nook.com and will ship in early May. Devices will be in B&N stores for demo purposes by the end of April.
