Glowlight Plus 7.8 - worth a punt?

[Geese1]

I very much enjoy mine. I wanted a larger e-reader with page turn buttons and this one fit the bill. I was able to get it on sale and am happy with it. I think the hardware is great, and while the software is merely serviceable, it gets the job done for what I want, which is simply to read books. I have all my books managed through Calibre, and side-load them onto the device, so I have no experience with the B&N store, but I haven't had any issues using it in this manner.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

To have hyphenation is what's awful.

Taking away hyphenation is what's atrocious. For those who do not want hyphenation, it can be turned off in CSS. For those who do want it, it's gone.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by WarrenUK

Hi all.

I'm wondering if this device is still worth picking up if it's very cheap? The form factor looks great. I'm looking around for a 7-8" device but prices for new ereaders are very steep.

Would this still be worth a shot?

If you get it cheaply, it's not a terrible device. I picked up one as open-box on eBay recently, for testing purposes, $105 shipped. It's a nice screen, the buttons are nice, but you just don't have the same experience that you might expect from other brands in 2026.

Like, no wireless transfer of ebooks to the device. No on-board support for library ebooks. No side-loading of your preferred font, so you'd better like the onboard fonts! Font weight adjustment is extremely basic, i.e. if you want a all bold font, you can do that. No modern CSS support. I think the Nook renderer probably dates back to 2009 still. No landscape orientation. No customization of headings or progress bars.

MTP transfer from PC. That's OK, you plug in, transfer books via cable to the Nook folder, when they are on the device, you just unplug it. But the manual mentions a prompt and ejecting the device ... nope, there's no prompt to connect or option to safely eject.

I've got one of my own home-made epubs on the Glowlight 4 Plus now, and hyphenation is enabled in the code for this epub.

Hyphenation is NOT showing on the Nook, even at rather large font sizes. So, if you like to read justified text at large font sizes, it's not a great experience due to lack of hyphenation. It's not too bad at normal font sizes because of the 7.8" screen.

It's also somewhat slower and laggier than most of my other devices, but not horrid.

The device in general feels well-made. I bought mine for test purposes, but I could happily use it for basic reading.

If basic reading is what you need, I'd say go for it. You'll be hard put to find an 8" screen reader for the prices these can go for. Barnes and Noble recently had them on sale brand new for $140.

[cgsmom]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Taking away hyphenation is what's atrocious. For those who do not want hyphenation, it can be turned off in CSS. For those who do want it, it's gone.

To each his own. I didn't even notice that hyphenation was gone until someone here mentioned it. I had to go look. The Nook is not atrocious. It doesn't have the bells and whistles that Kindle and Kobo have. I have all three brands. I seldom get through an entire book on my Colorsoft or Clara Colour. I start missing the page turn buttons and switch back to my Nook. If hyphenation is that important to you, then you won't like Nook.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by graycyn

No on-board support for library ebooks. No modern CSS support.

The nook runs an old version of RMSDK. So it should support the the DRM used by Overdrive. It does not support LCP. Because RMSDK is old, it's not fit for ePub3 using advanced features. If you want hyphenation, B&N removed it. So get ready for rivers of gaps.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cgsmom

To each his own. I didn't even notice that hyphenation was gone until someone here mentioned it. I had to go look. The Nook is not atrocious. It doesn't have the bells and whistles that Kindle and Kobo have. I have all three brands. I seldom get through an entire book on my Colorsoft or Clara Colour. I start missing the page turn buttons and switch back to my Nook. If hyphenation is that important to you, then you won't like Nook.

What makes the lack of hyphenation so bad is that the nook previously had hyphenation and it was taken away.

[Hasdrubal_Lector]

Originally Posted by issybird

No, it's not "awful". And, you have to look at in the context of what's available. If your top priority is a 7.8" to 8" reader that's affordable, there are no other options and the firmware is good enough.

I personally have concluded that in the absence of anything new on the market, my next reader will have to be a Glowlight Plus for just that reason, even though I'd rather stay with Kobo because I direct download my purchases. You can't buy what's not out there.

Some nuance in your responses that acknowledged the issues would make them more useful.

I just bought one with the cover because they are both on sale. I presume it's to clear inventory for the next Glowlight release. It is a very nice piece of hardware. The screen flush with the bezel takes a little accustomization, for me. The page turn buttons are good, the screen has good contrast, even lighting, and good warm lighting. The text is nice and crisp. The thing lacks the auto wake when the cover opens function. This is my only peeve. It has a 3.5mm jack, which I found amusing. Battery life has been good so far. The cover has a magnetic flap to keep it closed. I don't care for it. I'd prefer magnets embedded in the cover and case. Otherwise it is a decent not too bulky cover. For US $10 I can live with it. For US $140 I can happily live with the Glowlight. If it has the same battery longevity as my NST, 14 years and counting, I will be very pleased indeed.

The firmware is meh. I knew that. There is still the same slide to unlock requirement. It is slow to load books, but once loaded, it is just as responsive as my Kobos. It is functional firmware. To tell the truth, as much as I like my Libra 2, it freezes and restarts more often than I like. My NST never had that problem. I suspect that the Glowlight will be the same. Reliability is a selling point. I know I will have to do a bit of fine tuning directly on epubs every so often, but I'm used to that with the NST.

If you have US $150, Go ahead and get the Glowlight now. It's a good deal at that price. B&N has made some updates to the firmware fairly recently. I suspect they will make a few more when new Nooks release, supposedly later this year. I think the Glowlight will only get better.

[Renate]

I had the 6" B&N before that with the cover.
I never actually read a book on it.
With the cover it was awfully buky.
The closing flap was more designer handbag than practical "just open it".

I know that I'm a broken record, but the Onyx Go6 with the back book cover removed and glued in place and a handful of magnets removed is my optimal version.
It's much less bulky that the equivalent B&N and it starts on opening.