Barnes and Noble has started shipping out their new Nooks with frontlit screens a week earlier than expected. They did the same thing with the Nook Tablet so that’s not surprising.
Initially the Nook Glow was slated for a May 1st release, but display units have started arriving in some stores this week and now pre-orders are going out too, so it’s good to see it arriving early.
However, on Barnes and Noble’s website they’ve changed the date the Nook becomes available from May 1st to May 7th for pre-orders. Maybe they’ve got a backlog of orders. You might have better luck finding one in stores before then.
Update: Some folks are getting shipping notices today for new orders. B&N officially announced they are shipping the Nook early and that stores will have demo units but limited stock on hand, and advise “For those who would like to give NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight as a gift for Mother’s Day, we strongly recommend pre-ordering the device now in stores or online as we will have very limited quantities based on the larger-than-expected order volume we’ve received so far.”.
In case you missed it, the Nook Touch with GlowLight is a 6″ E Ink ebook reader that is 90% the same as the original Nook Touch, but it has an LED frontlight built into the screen for reading at night. The light can be turned on and off and the brightness can be adjusted.
I received a shipping notice for the new Nook last night, and it is expected to arrive later this week. I’ll post a video and first impressions review by the weekend. Subscribe to keep updated!
Great news, I hope to see a review soon !
You got a notice, too? Good. Glad for the confirmation.
I just pre-ordered last night and got an email stating a projected ship date of today (24 Apr). Sweet!
Good to hear!
It looks like the colored border is grey, not white like the Black Friday special edition Nooks!
I can’t wait to see the review Nathan.
I am most anxious to see if the “invisible” light layer over the screen is really invisible, and doesn’t effect text contrast during the day.
I just got an email (9:05pm PST Tue 24 Apr) from B&N stating my Nook Glow has been shipped. Woo hoo! Free shipping too (but steep sales tax here in CA).
Don’t know if “Nook Glow” is the best moniker, but it sure is easier to say than “Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight!” 🙂
“NookGL”… sounds very techy 😉
Yeah, I’m having problems trying to decide what to call the darn thing when writing about it. B&N’s idea of a name is more like an awkward sentence. I think I’m going start calling it the Lighted Nook Touch. I don’t know. That sounds kind of lame too. Nook Glow is okay, but it makes one think of that green color of glowing objects and that’s not really accurate because the light isn’t green at all.
Yep, I see your point Nathan. Youu should sponsor a contest on your blog for a new name! How about Nook Bright? Or just for fun, “Nook Simple Touch E-Ink 2GB Expandable SD 32GB with Matte Black Finish and Gray Accent Rim and Glowlight Evenly Distributed Display Lighting Technology?” 🙂
Nook GL sounds cool!
Just got mine in today. For sanity’s sake, I’ll call it the NookGL. The GL is the same ole NST (albeit with firmware 1.1.5… whether this does more than just support the glowlight, I’m not sure). The software, reading, etc. are all the same. Here’s what I noticed.
1) Obviously, the NookGL has seen the light! The glowlight works great. At 20-25 percent, the screen is lit WELL and is very readable. There’s a bit of LED bleeding at the top of the screen, but it doesn’t detract from reading at all. The software and UI have been updated to allow for the light interfacing. The manuals have been updated, too.
2) You wouldn’t know it picking the two models up individually, but when holding the NST and NookGL side by side in either hand, and swapping them, the half-ounce weight difference is noticeable. Not life changing, but definitely there. The NookGL seems to balance in one hand a bit more comfortably, too.
3) The back of the NookGL seems to feel a bit smoother, but more matte than the NST. The texture is a bit different. It feels a bit more “velvety” for lack of a better word. Works out great.
4) The anti-glare screen texture feels a bit different. Not bad, not good… just different.
Other than that, it’s the same ole hat. Worth the $130? Yup! The light just makes for a really complete product. If only this thing supported audio….
Setup took literally less than five minutes.
Haven’t tried to root it. This one’s my wife’s. If I get another, I’ll try to root it out and see if touchnooter is compatible. Might be…
Great first impressions, Cloudman! I can’t wait for mine to show up tomorrow.
My ship date said the 15th 🙁
A little more to add, since I’ve had this for more than a couple of hours, now. The NookGL seems (to me, at least) to charge a bit quicker than the NST. It came out of the box with a 52% charge. I poked around with it a bit, played with the light for a while, and got it down to 30%… took a bit of time, though. It charged to 100% in about an hour and 15 minutes. Not too shabby. Newer battery, perhaps? Better charging/discharging algorithms? Who knows?
Wifi roughly doubles battery usage, as does the light (at full blast). Both on all the time QUADRUPLE the usage. Still, this thing goes a long way. Just turn Wifi off while not using it, ditto for the light, and voila, same ole gas sipping Nook as before.
Also, playing around with it a bit (again, this could be just me), the screen seems a tad more responsive. Tough to explain other than to say things just seem a bit more snappy while navigating, page turning, typing, etc., but just a LITTLE bit. Whether this is a hardware or software update, or just my imagination, I’m not sure. Anyone else experienced this?
I LOVE this thing, but find myself wishing it had audio book support (and therefore sound capability), even if only through a headphone jack. Also, it would have been nice to see one of the LG plastic XGA (1024×768) screens in this thing, not just for the extra 60% increase in resolution, but for the durability of the plastic itself. An update to gingerbread would’ve been a nice extra tidbit for rooters everywhere, too. Oh well, can’t really hope for the moon and expect it.
Don’t get me wrong, this thing ROCKS and is the best eink solution right now, only seconded by the NST. Here’s to more and better future B&N products, and more and better competition to raise the bar further. B&N just threw down the gauntlet.
Oh yeah, I dig the new grey bezel around the front panel. Looks sleek.
That seals the deal, Cloudmann. Your review is so good it’s getting its own post :).