Barnes & Noble - NOOK Simple Touch - 2GB

This E-reader is by far the best I've ever used or owned. I have the Nook 1st Edition and this 2nd Edition is so much better. It did have a few little bugs when I first purchased it but an update has already been installed which has fixed all of these. It is much lighter than the 1st edition and the battery life is outstanding, even with wi-fi constantly on I've had my device for two weeks and with heavy use I still have 82% of battery left. The new interface is so friendly and much easier to use, downloading books is extremely easy and simple, and the Nook friends feature is great. The screen has a much better contrast than my previous nook and now I can choose my line spacing and much more. I definitely recommend this e-reader to anyone that is looking for a simple "reader". The touch screen is also very responsive! I can't say enough good things about this Nook.

I picked this up on a whim because I needed an e-reader to take on my vacation to the beaches of West Michigan (I already have the Nook Color). After a week with this device, I must say I really enjoy it. This device does one thing, and does it well -- it is an e-reader, only an e-reader, and will never be anything but an e-reader (unlike its sibling, the Nook Color). Of course, it has all the benefits of e-ink -- read in sunlight, easy on the eyes, etc. In addition to this, the screen is crisp and clear and does refresh faster than my wife's 3rd gen Kindle. The battery life is wonderful. I haven't even had the device long enough to truly break in the battery, but I've read for about 20 hours this week and the battery says I have 70% left. In my opinion, this device was designed mainly for books. Yes, you can read magazines and newspapers on it, but it isn't as easy to do so, or as intuitive, as it is on the Nook Color or a tablet. They still look good, but it frustrated me a little bit. Given that I mostly read books, this won't bother me, but it is something to take into consideration if you read a lot of digital magazines and newspapers. I also enjoy the touch navigation of the device rather than buttons/keyboards like the Kindle. The software is very responsive, and the menus are easy to understand. If you have the Nook Color, you'll feel right at home on this device immediately. If this is your first Nook, you'll figure out the menus in about 30 seconds. Seriously, it's that easy -- the menus aren't filled with layer after layer and they're pretty intuitive. The form factor and design of the device is, overall, pretty good. Obviously, this thing is light -- about 7.5 ounces. You can hold it with one hand comfortably for a long, long time. It's thin, too, which is nice, and the rubberized texture of the bezel and back of the device give it a nice grip and feel in the hand without being "tacky." However, it is a bit wide to be able to stick in it a pocket, which may be a drawback for some. Doesn't really bug me though. Also, for you Kindle owners, this device is easy to root (it is Android 2.1 after all) and you can then install the Kindle Android app on the device and have access to both the B&N and Amazon bookstores. Is the device perfect? Of course not, but its pretty close. Why are there buttons to advance/go back within books? Not needed, and they can be hard to press correctly. Also, the power button on the top of the device is a little awkward to press correctly. Not deal breakers, but certainly a little odd for a device that nailed just about everything else. To respond to a couple of the other reviews, one person is unhappy with the price of e-books. Well, that isn't this devices fault, or even B&N's fault. You can thank the publishers for that. Don't knock this device, which is excellent and does what it is designed to do and does it well. As to the content, yes, there is 1 GB of storage, of which 750 MB is reserved for content purchased from B&N. I think that's reasonable, but that's just me. It is their device, after all. This leaves about 250 MB (263 on my device, if you want to be accurate) for sideloaded content. Given that the average ePub file is about 3 MB, you can place about 85 sideloaded books on this device without a microsd card. Also, I have an 8 GB microsd card in mine, and I have had no trouble with the device recognizing the microsd card. I just had to format it in the device first, and now it works like a charm. The annoying thing about it is that you can't transfer files between the internal and external storage without hooking the device to a computer (at least, if there is, I haven't figured out how to do it yet). Overall, a great device. I'm glad I picked it up.

My experience is the opposite of the last review. I compared this device to the Nook color (with which I immediately experienced eye strain), and to the Kindle 3. The Kindle 3 is a good reader, but has too many drawbacks. Navigating around the screen is a pain using the keyboard, and the keyboard itself is difficult to type on. The keys are tiny and too hard to press for any kind of quick input. The letters on the keys are incredibly hard to see. The Kindle is bigger because of the keyboard, but the actual reading screen is the same size as the Nook's. The Nook has been wonderfully easy to use. I was able to hook it up to WI-FI without any problems, and books download within a few seconds. The touch screen is very responsive. The previous reviewer said that his touch screen often didn't read the input, but that just hasn't been the case at all with mine. (His is probably defective). There are three ways to turn a page--either touching the side of the screen, swiping from side to side, or clicking a section on the frame. I prefer to touch the side of the screen. One thing I love is that the text notes or end notes can be immediately accessed by just touching the super-scripted number or letter of the note. In my current book, that takes me to a page at the very end of the book where I can read the note, and then just hit the word "Back" at the top of the screen. This takes me back to the page I was on. VERY quick. Also, from what I understand, the dictionary functions much better with the Nook than with the Kindle. All you do is touch and hold on the word you want to look up, and you get a menu, wherein you touch "Look up," and this gives you the definition of the word. You don't have to leave your book to do this. "X" out of that window, and you're back to reading again. Huge advantage and I use this all the time. Also, you are not obligated to only purchase books from B&N as you are obligated by Amazon with the Kindle. You can also borrow e-books from your local library, a function not yet available on the Kindle (though I hear it is coming soon). You can expand the memory with a micro-SD card, another advantage over the Kindle. I haven't found anything I don't like about this e-reader, and plan to get one for my daughter too. What I don't like has nothing to do with the Nook. I am pretty unhappy that the B&N membership, which cost $25, does not give you a discount on Nook accessories, such as covers and lights. You get $10 off the initial purchase of this Nook, 10% off on hard copies of books, but nothing off of Nook accessories. They did not make this clear when I bought the membership. By definition, when you buy an e-reader, chances are you won't be buying too many hard copy books after that. I was counting on making up the rest of the membership fee in accessories. But as far as the Nook goes, it's awesome. My sister has one too and takes it everywhere she goes. By the way, it's significantly smaller and about an ounce lighter than the Kindle. This is the best purchase I've made in awhile.

I purchased the Nook for my wife and she loves it! My wife traditionally loves reading a good book, but never liked reading on the iPad 2. So she wanted something closer to the feeling she gets reading a real book and that's exactly what the Nook delivers. Don't hesitate buying this device. It's so easy to use and if you have a collection of snooks or PDF's you can just load them with simple drag and drop!

This e-reader is just soooo cool and easy to use. I had the original nook and this second generation is a vast improvement over it. The device is so light weight that holding it is doesn't hurt my arms or strain them at all. I love that it doesn't have a dedicated key pad like the kindle and the touch key pad that you can make pop up is very reliable. The touch technology seems very user friendly. It does what I want and doesn't turn pages when it isn't suppossed to. I just lightly touch the screen and away it goes. I also love the features. I can change the fonts, the text, the ... everything. The e-ink screen is crisp and clear and reading on it is so relaxing. Downloading books onto the nook is simple and easy. I wouldn't really recommend trying to surf the internet with it, but I didn't buy it to do that....just to read books, so this isn't a negative in my book. My only complaint with the nook touch is that you cannot delete books from the device itself. You can only delete them the same way you load new books onto the device, either from the bn site itself, or with software like Adobe digital. Not much of an issue now that I know and am not reading through the manual or playing with the device driving myself mad trying to delete bn's stupid sample books. Also, I purchased the device over two weeks ago and the device has only been charged that first day...even though I read hours every night! Great device. I highly recommend.

This is my second reader I just upgraded from a Generation 1 Nook. I have also borrowed a Nook color for 2 weeks. This is a much improved unit over Gen 1. I was very happy with the older unit with the exception of the split reading screen and touch screen. With all the touch devices out there I kept finding myself touching the upper screen to do something. That said this new unit is "Excellent". It flows very well, the touch screen is logical and intuitive and this device is really small. Much smaller then Gen 1 and the Kindle, but the reading screen is the same as both! No loud click page buttons and the on off button in backs is very slick too. It can be turned off even while inside a protective cover by design. Just give it a little squeeze and click iton or off. Very well thought out user design. Keyboard and touch screen are surprisingly responsive. I was expecting something a little less responsive and am very impressed. The screen does give a slight flash during page jumps as noted by other reveiwers but this is with all e-ink readers and should be expected. This reader is much better than the nook color in my opinion which is more like a tablet. Good for short reads magazines etc. but can cause just before bed eye strain and takes some getting used too. Bottom line: This is the BEST reader out there for book reading, hands down over Gen 1 Nook, Kindle and Nook Color. Cool tricks: Here are some of may favorite reading tricks. -Load my sheet music in as PDF's no need to carry music anymore -Save a informative web page as a PDF on the device for later reading -Save some technical manuals on the device from work for homework reading -And of course books...

Ereaders make it very easy to carry your library around and read whenever you have the chance which encourages you to read more. The touch screen is great, responds to your touch without being too sensitive. The screen is crisp and clear and with multiple fonts and font sizes you shouldn't have any problems being able to read your favorites. Page turning is a breeze with multiple options; tap the side of the screen, swipe the screen, or push one of the buttons on the side bars. The battery life has been great. I tested the battery life leaving the WiFi on all the time and I got around two weeks of life while reading a few hours a day. Normal use I leave the WiFi off unless I need it and I get over a month of life before having to recharge. (The specs say 2 months but that is w/ WiFi off and reading a 1/2 hour a day, I read at least 2-3hrs/day). You are also not locked into getting your ebooks from just the manufacturer. You can get them from anyone that has the epub format. I don't want to get in trouble for mentioning other sites so check out the manufacturer's forums to get an idea of your options. Getting ebooks from the library is a great option as well. Having the microSD slot really lets you carry around a library's worth of books. One thing that needs improvement is organization. If you want to set-up shelves it is all done on the nook itself, there is no option to do it online. This a frequent request on the manufacturer's forums and will hopefully be something we see in the future. Overall this is a great ereader and I have really enjoyed it over the past 5-6 months.

If you are shopping for an eReader, consider the Nook Simple Touch I own at least 5 eReaders or tablets, have tested several others, and for reading, this one is hands-down the best. The WiFi Connection means you can buy books and magazines without connecting a cable to your computer. I am able to read books purchased from B&N, the Sony Book Store, Adobe Digital Editions, plus PDFs, and eBooks from my library, which covers everything I need at this point. The screen responds quickly, meaning page changes happen very quickly. The e-ink display is clear in bright or dim light. I have had the unit for a month or so, including 30-40 hours of reading, and charged the battery once. The best thing about the unit, however, is how light and comfortable it feels in my hand. I can read for hours. It's not too big, nor too small.