The Nook with Glowlight

[tubemonkey]

One thing I took away from some of these reviews is that they didn't notice the difference in text sharpness and contrast until they did a side-by-side.

It's like the Galaxy Players. My 5" SGP (800x480) looks great until I hold it next to my 4" SGP (800x480). Then it looks not so great.

The moral: don't do side-by-sides and you'll be happy

[toronado]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The moral: don't do side-by-sides and you'll be happy

Those aren't my morals.

If a tree falls in the forest... never mind.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by toronado

Those aren't my morals.

They're monkey morals

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

Amazon has a better ecosystem, however, and I really really hate the idea of using a credit card number to validate books. What happens if I have to change the credit card number? do I have to remember which credit card I used to purchase which book?

The only time when you have to know a credit card number is when you are accessing B&N encrypted ebooks that are not associated with your account. The credit card is not stored anywhere in the ebook or the ereader. The credit card holder's name and credit card number get processed with a one-way hash which is then used to decrypt the book. On the original Nook, they saved each one-way hash, I'm not sure whether they do that for the Nook apps or the later Nook devices.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by soondai

I say that with one caveat though: it certainly appeared to me that if you left the glowlight on a low setting in the lit room the contrast was better than a typical pearl screen.

This is very interesting.

I'm not really interested in a glowlight function to read at night; I have appropriate lamps and am (inordinantly) bothered by uneven illumination. I didn't like the Kindle lighted cover for that reason.

However, e-ink readers don't have the same contrast as paper, meaning that you need a brighter light to get the same contrast. In my case, this meant switching light bulbs - I found that replacing the 75 W bulb in my reading lights with a 100 W bulb was necessary to give me the same contrast I was used to with paper. IOW, pearl e-ink screens have 25 watts less contrast than paper.

That solution works fine at home, but when I'm out (in a cafe, waiting to get my oil changed, etc.), the ambient lighting tends to not be particularly bright for reading purposes. I *can* read, of course, but I'm conscious of it being kind of dim. It's for those cases that a built in light would make the most sense for me, so it's interesting to see that it appears to help.

[Sydney's Mom]

I would be interested in battery time if the light is on. I use the Kindle Fire to read in bed, white letters on a black background. But the battery isn't great. While I don't think anything is as readable as white letters on a black background, it would be nice to have around. I assume it can read DRM free epub, so that would be another advantage, although with Calibre, not terribly important.

[toronado]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

In my case, this meant switching light bulbs - I found that replacing the 75 W bulb in my reading lights with a 100 W bulb was necessary to give me the same contrast I was used to with paper.

Are you talking real incandescent wattage here, or equivalent using CFLs?

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I would be interested in battery time if the light is on. I use the Kindle Fire to read in bed, white letters on a black background. But the battery isn't great. While I don't think anything is as readable as white letters on a black background, it would be nice to have around. I assume it can read DRM free epub, so that would be another advantage, although with Calibre, not terribly important.

My Nook STR can read any standard ePub file (i.e., no enhanced books: it can't render video). I have DRMed books from everyone from Sony to Google Play as well as non-DRMed books from MobileRead to DelphiClassics. I keep the "complete works" from Delphi on the SD card because the files are large. For example, Charles Dickens' complete works is about 120 MB. I have 10 or 11 sets of Delphi complete works worth almost 0.4GB. The Nook recognizes them on the SD card and puts them in my Library. If you put them in a collection they will be gone the next time you sync the Nook. The Delphi nested TOCs work fine and everything else just works.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by toronado

Are you talking real incandescent wattage here, or equivalent using CFLs?

Real incandescents.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Real incandescents.

Real as opposed to?

[MovieBird]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

One thing I took away from some of these reviews is that they didn't notice the difference in text sharpness and contrast until they did a side-by-side.

Aye, I finally was able to check one out in person. My local BN closed about a month ago, but I found a new one only 30 miles away! Good thing I do the e thing...

Anyways, I compared the GlowNook to the normal ST, and my 650. I could not tell any difference in contrast unless I physically put a nonGlow on top of the Glow screen. Then, the only place I noticed a slight loss was in the fat black bar at the top. The font looked the same to me; probably because of how thin it was.

I also was very impressed with the light. It appeared even to me, more so than the pictures would have you believe. Because I was looking for it, I noticed the gradient at the top, but it's so slight as to be a non-issue for me.

Both were issues I had reservations about, but after seeing a GlowNook in person, I'm ordering one and passing off the 650. Thus far I've resisted any corporate ecosystem, but I guess I'll just bite the bullet and stick with BN now.

[toronado]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Real incandescents.

Have you tried CFLs? I prefer them because they generate much less heat.

Incandescent bulbs are basically heaters that happen to give off light as a side effect. As such they are relatively inefficient light sources.

[JxK]

Originally Posted by MovieBird

Aye, I finally was able to check one out in person. My local BN closed about a month ago, but I found a new one only 30 miles away! Good thing I do the e thing...

Anyways, I compared the GlowNook to the normal ST, and my 650. I could not tell any difference in contrast unless I physically put a nonGlow on top of the Glow screen. Then, the only place I noticed a slight loss was in the fat black bar at the top. The font looked the same to me; probably because of how thin it was.

I also was very impressed with the light. It appeared even to me, more so than the pictures would have you believe. Because I was looking for it, I noticed the gradient at the top, but it's so slight as to be a non-issue for me.

Both were issues I had reservations about, but after seeing a GlowNook in person, I'm ordering one and passing off the 650. Thus far I've resisted any corporate ecosystem, but I guess I'll just bite the bullet and stick with BN now.

Just remove any DRM upon purchase. That way you can keep the advantages of easy online purchasing without being locked into a particular ecosystem. Plus, at least in my opinion, it is the only logical method to properly backup your library.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by toronado

Have you tried CFLs? I prefer them because they generate much less heat.

Incandescent bulbs are basically heaters that happen to give off light as a side effect. As such they are relatively inefficient light sources.

I hate the color. But I have some halogens I'm going to try when it becomes necessary.

[toronado]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

I hate the color. But I have some halogens I'm going to try when it becomes necessary.

Have you tried CFLs lately? Because the color is much better now than it used to be. The lower the K rating, the warmer the light.

Halogens are even worse than incandescents. Way too much heat. Another option is LED but they are more costly I believe.