The Nook Simple Touch (also called the Nook Touch) is the second generation
Nook e-reader
An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals.
Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...
developed by
Barnes & Noble. It features an 600x800
E Ink
E Ink (electronic ink) is a brand of electronic paper (e-paper) display technology commercialized by the E Ink Corporation, which was co-founded in 1997 by MIT undergraduates JD Albert and Barrett Comiskey, MIT Media Lab professor Joseph Jacobson ...
screen with a
touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...
that uses a network of infrared beams slightly above the screen surface. The device also has wireless connectivity via
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...
802.11
IEEE 802.11 is part of the IEEE 802 set of local area network (LAN) technical standards, and specifies the set of media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) protocols for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) computer com ...
b/g/n and a
micro USB
The initial versions of the USB standard specified connectors that were easy to use and that would have acceptable life spans; revisions of the standard added smaller connectors useful for compact portable devices. Higher-speed development of t ...
port for charging and connecting to a computer.
In April 2012, Barnes & Noble introduced a Simple Touch Reader with "GlowLight"
LED technology. On 30 October 2013, Barnes & Noble released the
Nook Glowlight
The Barnes & Noble Nook (styled nook or NOOK) is a brand of e-readers developed by American book retailer Barnes & Noble, based on the Android platform. The original device was announced in the U.S. in October 2009, and was released the next ...
, which replaced the Simple Touch with Glowlight. The Simple Touch was still sold until late February 2014, when it was discontinued.
Reception
Since its release on 25 May 2011, the Nook Simple Touch has received generally positive reviews. The summary of a ''
PC Magazine'' review observed: "Thanks to plenty of upgrades and a laser-sharp focus on the reading experience, the second-gen Barnes & Noble Nook Touch Reader is our new Editors' Choice for ebook readers." ''
Laptop Magazine'' termed it "the best E Ink eReader on the market right now". An MSNBC critic favored the Nook Simple Touch over the Kindle Touch, citing the Nook's superior user interface and an "over two months" battery life versus the Kindle's "up to two months".
Engadget
''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...
initially expressed confusion over the device's name and dubbed the device the "Nook Wi-Fi" in its review.
Use of additional Android applications
As an
Android device, the Nook Simple Touch can be modified to run Android applications (including those obtained via
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...
) through a process called
rooting, which grants users
root access to the Nook Simple Touch's file system. Doing so voids the device's warranty in some jurisdictions, although it can often be restored to (non-rooted) factory defaults for warranty claims.
Other modifications
The Nook Simple Touch is somewhat limited due to the slow processor and the
E ink
E Ink (electronic ink) is a brand of electronic paper (e-paper) display technology commercialized by the E Ink Corporation, which was co-founded in 1997 by MIT undergraduates JD Albert and Barrett Comiskey, MIT Media Lab professor Joseph Jacobson ...
screen. These issues have been overcome via a custom kernel, which overclocks the processor and enables multitouch. The slow refresh rate and flashing screen were overcome by an app called NoRefresh (or Fastmode), which increases refresh rate by reverting to 1-bit depth (black and white, no greyscale).
Another limitation has been the lack of audio. The Nook Simple Touch has no external speakers or headphone ports. This has been overcome with more kernel modifications.
Various custom
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...
s (or ROMs) have also been developed, such as the 1337 ROM.
These ROMs are similar to the stock OS, but have been modified with several of the tweaks listed above.
See also
*
Comparison of e-book readers
*
Comparison of tablet computers
References
External links
*
Barnes and Noble Nook Touch on xda-developers
{{Android other
Barnes & Noble
Android (operating system) devices
Dedicated ebook devices
Products introduced in 2011
Foxconn