Quote:
Originally Posted by Barty
I think it's a solid product by B&N but it is not for me.
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I went to Barnes & Noble and saw one earlier tonight (last night I guess) and pretty much agree with everything you say. Comparing this to my old Nook Simple Touch ... I like the shape and feel of the NST better. I was surprised that I found the metal cold and slippery also. (I actually kind of liked the feel of the old Sonys but they seemed more "porous" and "grippy" or "brushed" -- if that makes sense.) I like the page turn buttons on the NST better. Of course the screen clarity is much better on the Glowlight Plus. What did bother me about the screen (and it may have been the light in the store) was that the it seemed just about right in brightness -- and I was surprised to see that it was turned all the way up. I also noticed the metal along the edge of the face -- and that really does seem "sloppy." The odd-textured bezel that some folks mentioned, didn't bother me at all (I actually kind of liked it). And I didn't like the non-mechanical "Nook" button on the bottom. It seemed unresponsive to me.
All that said ... I could get used to the hardware and would probably use a case anyhow. What did bother me is that, in my opinion, they went backwards with software features. I don't like the book title on every page -- and, as Barty wrote -- there doesn't seem to any way to turn it off. Actually the Settings Menu in the Glowlight Plus seems much more sparse than in the NST. Barty is also right about the way font size works now ... it's slow and silly not to have the sizes just laid out in a row. I also didn't like the way that the font settings have now moved to the top -- and menu items (in general) seem to open haphazardly wherever the device wants -- instead of opening at the bottom as they do with the NST. I personally miss the Caecilia font (the font I normally use on the NST because it's dark).
Does all this mean I would never buy a Glowlight Glow. Probably not. I've tried and occasionally use a Kobo Glo -- though I think it also suffers from haphazard menus. But combine this with changes B&N made with downloading books and I probably won't buy one of these -- even for a general ePub reader. I'm still happy B&N came out with a new eInk reader. I do wish they had more closely retained the features and layout of the NST.
For what it's worth.
I should add something positive ... The Georgia font, to me, looked sharp, clear and dark. You could adjust the margins right to the edge (I preferred the middle margin setting -- at least for the particular book I was testing). The backlight was uniform and -- and far as I could tell -- completely unblemished. (Granted, I only gave it about a five minute test.) The screen, itself, was responsive (unlike the "Nook" button). Despite some design choices I didn't particularly like, this eReader is not junk.