NOOK Simple Touch™ with GlowLight™

Nook Glowlight beat a Kindle Paperwhite

I am an avid reader and I usually read in bed at night. My wife has to be up very early so she's trying to sleep while I'm reading. I was previously using a ...Read complete review

I am an avid reader and I usually read in bed at night. My wife has to be up very early so she's trying to sleep while I'm reading. I was previously using a Nook Simple Touch without the glowlight and an M-Edge reading light. It was a good combination, but even on the lowest setting the reading light would create enough ambient light in the room to disturb my wife's sleep. I thought about getting the glowlight Nook but heard about the Kindle Paperwhite and decided to wait until I could try them both.

I bought a Kindle Paperwhite at the same time as the Nook Glowlight and tested both for about 2 weeks. In the end, I decided on returning the Kindle and keeping the Nook. There are a few major reasons why.

First, the screen on the Nook is better even though you can easily see the light source at the top. It has a more pleasant color tone for reading at night and other than the lighted spots at the top, the rest of the screen is very even. Not so on the Kindle Paperwhite. It has uneven greenish colored blotches all over the screen which completely detract from your reading experience. I've read reviews of others who said they didn't have this problem, but there are many more which say they see the spots. Also, the lack of physical buttons on the Kindle was a big mistake. The touch screen works wonderfully, but sometimes it's nice just being able to hold the Nook in one hand and barely move your thumb to make page turns. Getting books on both devices is very easy with a wifi connection or through USB on your computer. I tend to borrow more books from the library than purchase and you just browse your local library website on the computer, then hook up the Nook to transfer files over USB. The Kindle is slightly easier because you can send most library books wirelessly by pushing a "send to Kindle" button after being redirected from your local library's Overdrive site. Battery life on both devices is excellent and almost to the point where you simply don't have to think about it. Just charge the device every few weeks and you'll never have it die on you. Finally, the Nook has the ability to be rooted. For many people, this is a non issue but for me it clinched the win for the Nook. Underneath the Barnes and Noble operating system lies a competent Android tablet that can be unleashed to be much more than just an eReader. You can browse the web, install games like crossword puzzles, try different eReading apps (including Amazon's Kindle App), and much more.

In the end, these are both excellent devices and I'm excited to see the technology advance to a point where many consumers would be thrilled with either offering. For my hard earned money though, I'd go with the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight.