Nook Glowlight 3 sale 89.99 at B&N website

[HLS]

I am suprisingly in love with my new Nook Glowlight 3. I prefer my large screen of the oasis but other than that I love the feel of the nook. It is very durable to where you really do not need a case for it other than proteting the front screen. Now if they made this with a 7" screen it will be a winner winner

[david_cj]

Hello forum -

Years ago I bought the first Glowlight and really liked it. I lost it, bought one of the later versions (without the mechanical page turning button) which was OK, but now I own a Glowlight 3. With which I am very happy. For these reasons:

1. Mechanical page buttons. Relying on touch, as most other devices do, can lead to pages not turning or turning twice - there is always a possibility of misbehaviour. Mechanical buttons are simply more reliable.

2. Most important - handles .epub files. I borrow library books, and download from Gutenberg.org - they all use .epub as their default format. Being able to read epub books without the need for any conversions is a huge plus. In my view, Kindle really falls down in this area. (Perhaps a part of Amazon's desire to mould the world to its requirements. Hats off to B&N for resisting the temptation!)

Also, I like the readability of the GL3. The text is very clear under any lighting conditions. And, something other folk might question, but I like the heft of the device. The large bezels make handling it easier.

I have installed the beta update. But even before, I had no major issues with the software. "Sideloading" books (to the Nook/Nook folder) was easy. Now, the larger partition means I can hold far more...

My only complaint is with B&N customer support. I called them and was given incorrect information - they were not able to tell me that sideloaded books had to be in the Nook/Nook folder (a fact I only found out by following a forum - the manual for the GL3 is incorrect), and suggested my .epub book was misformatted as the reason for it not appearing in the reader. B&N should make sure their staff know what they are talking about!

In summary - a worthy successor to the Glowlight family, especially at the discounted prices now on offer.

[HLS]

Ya I find the customer service department at B&N lacking especially at my local store. She was selling me an open box without the plastic wrap. I had to insist that she grab another. Turns out the open box was an emply box that the display model was in.

[tiltowait]

I wound up opening the Nook I got on this sale. It's an interesting device. There are some things I like over my KA1, and there are things I don't like. Not sure yet if I'm going to keep it.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by tiltowait

I wound up opening the Nook I got on this sale. It's an interesting device. There are some things I like over my KA1, and there are things I don't like. Not sure yet if I'm going to keep it.

What do you like? What do you not like?

So far, I like the device and book navigation. I dislike the home screen/library navigation.

[tiltowait]

Like:
* Slightly blacker blacks
* Slightly sharper text
* Physical page-turn buttons
* Pixels appear closer to the edge of the screen
* Looks a bit more like a paper page
* The hardware feels nicer

Dislike:
* No easy way of doing custom fonts (I miss my Minion Pro)
* Sunken screen casts an annoying shadow
* The weird, phony "pages" metric it uses. The hardcover copy of the book I'm reading is 464 pages; the Nook says 440, so it's simply wrong. Why can't it just tell me how many screens the book will be?
* It's awkward to figure out how long a chapter is. Quickest way I can figure: double-click to move to the next chapter, check the page number, then double-click back and compare. But since these are fake pages, it's not exact. On the Kobo, it simply tells you how many screens long the current chapter is, as well as your progress (or minutes remaining, if you want that).
* The bezels really are gigantic, which makes it feel old. I think a better design would be to place the buttons on the bottom bezels and slim down the sides. 99% of my reading is while I'm lying down, where holding it from the side isn't as easy as making an L-shaped wedge with your fingers.

What surprises me is that I don't seem to care too much about the size of the screen. The Kobo fits about 70% more, yes, but I think the narrower screen of the Nook actually lends itself better to speed reading.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by tiltowait

No easy way of doing custom fonts (I miss my Minion Pro)

Yeah, I'd miss that most if I switch. Though I do like some of the built in Nook fonts, it's nice having that level of control.

Sunken screen casts an annoying shadow

I believe it's the sunken screen and the removal of the capacitive touch layer that is responsible for many of the good things you like:

* Slightly blacker blacks
* Pixels appear closer to the edge of the screen
* Looks a bit more like a paper page

The weird, phony "pages" metric it uses. The hardcover copy of the book I'm reading is 464 pages; the Nook says 440, so it's simply wrong. Why can't it just tell me how many screens the book will be?
* It's awkward to figure out how long a chapter is. Quickest way I can figure: double-click to move to the next chapter, check the page number, then double-click back and compare. But since these are fake pages, it's not exact. On the Kobo, it simply tells you how many screens long the current chapter is, as well as your progress (or minutes remaining, if you want that).

I don't know for sure, but isn't that just how ePub works? I don't have tons of experience, since I've only actively used an old Nook ST (ePub) and a Kobo Aura (kepub). I'm assuming all ePub readers work the same way because when I experimented with an ePub on my Aura it behaved similarly (I think. this was a while ago now).

When I used to read my Nook on a break, I used to look at the page I was currently on, then pull up the TOC to see which page the next chapter started with. I didn't mind that, because that was what I used to do with paper books. Though I admit, one page doesn't exactly equal one screen.

Also, I seem to remember in an update they removed page numbers from the TOC, though I believe they're back. Are they? (I haven't checked on the one at home.)

The bezels really are gigantic, which makes it feel old. I think a better design would be to place the buttons on the bottom bezels and slim down the sides. 99% of my reading is while I'm lying down, where holding it from the side isn't as easy as making an L-shaped wedge with your fingers.

I like big bezels and page turn buttons on the side, as it suits the way I read. It is of course, a personal thing.

[tiltowait]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I believe it's the sunken screen and the removal of the capacitive touch layer that is responsible for many of the good things you like:

* Slightly blacker blacks
* Pixels appear closer to the edge of the screen
* Looks a bit more like a paper page

Yep, it is. Double-edged sword, I guess. I wonder if the H2O is crisper than the KA1; I've never seen one in person.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't know for sure, but isn't that just how ePub works? I don't have tons of experience, since I've only actively used an old Nook ST (ePub) and a Kobo Aura (kepub). I'm assuming all ePub readers work the same way because when I experimented with an ePub on my Aura it behaved similarly (I think. this was a while ago now).

I think it is, but then again, iBooks counts pages in screens, so I dunno.

I did just make a discovery, though: If I tap the center of the screen, the Nook will tell me how many fake pages are left in the chapter. So that's one complaint mostly gone.

I'll give this thing an honest shot. I think it's a worthy device, and I know comparing a $120 MSRP reader to a $250 one isn't exactly fair.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by tiltowait

* The weird, phony "pages" metric it uses. The hardcover copy of the book I'm reading is 464 pages; the Nook says 440, so it's simply wrong. Why can't it just tell me how many screens the book will be?

Which edition of the hardcover? I have two editions of a reference text (one Canadian, one American) with identical text contents. One edition has 522 pages, the other has 578 pages (difference in the font and margins used plus one using the Roman numeral convention for the first portion and the appendices seem to be the cause). I won't even get into the page numbering differences between hardcover, trade paperback and paperback editions. Nor will I suggest that B&N could update their firmware to allow epub3 fixed-layout documents (or how to make your epub into a PDF without really trying ).

At least, the 440 pages generated by the Adobe synthetic page map algorithm is consistent across devices regardless of screen size, margins, font size, etc. so a reference to page 312 will mean the same to anyone opening the same epub on any device using the Adobe algorithm. Your page number per screen lacks that consistency.

And what exactly do you mean by simply wrong? Asking that the ebook should match the page numbers in a random pbook version? See the Adobe page-map, the epub2 PageList and epub3 page-list.nav for more information on how to do this.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by tiltowait

Yep, it is. Double-edged sword, I guess. I wonder if the H2O is crisper than the KA1; I've never seen one in person.

I wonder how the Voyage screen compares to the Glowlight 3? The Voyage has a flush screen, but the glass they use is better than the plastic on a Paperwhite screen and I could see a difference in those two.

Originally Posted by tiltowait

I think it is, but then again, iBooks counts pages in screens, so I dunno.

I did just make a discovery, though: If I tap the center of the screen, the Nook will tell me how many fake pages are left in the chapter. So that's one complaint mostly gone.

If iBooks does it, it shows it can be done. B&N need to get on the ball.

Thanks for the tip about tapping center screen. That sounds easier than what I did with my old Nook.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Which edition of the hardcover? I have two editions of a reference text (one Canadian, one American) with identical text contents. One edition has 522 pages, the other has 578 pages (difference in the font and margins used plus one using the Roman numeral convention for the first portion and the appendices seem to be the cause). I won't even get into the page numbering differences between hardcover, trade paperback and paperback editions. Nor will I suggest that B&N could update their firmware to allow epub3 fixed-layout documents (or how to make your epub into a PDF without really trying ).

At least, the 440 pages generated by the Adobe synthetic page map algorithm is consistent across devices regardless of screen size, margins, font size, etc. so a reference to page 312 will mean the same to anyone opening the same epub on any device using the Adobe algorithm. Your page number per screen lacks that consistency.

And what exactly do you mean by simply wrong? Asking that the ebook should match the page numbers in a random pbook version? See the Adobe page-map, the epub2 PageList and epub3 page-list.nav for more information on how to do this.

I do agree that comparing any edition of a book against any other edition of a book isn't going to get you anywhere.

I'd prefer each screen counting as a page, the way kepub works.

[tiltowait]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I do agree that comparing any edition of a book against any other edition of a book isn't going to get you anywhere.

I'd prefer each screen counting as a page, the way kepub works.

Pretty much this. I can see the logic that led to the "pages" thing in ePub, but even then, you still have to make sure you're comparing the same version of the eBook! I'm also skeptical that there is a strong need for this functionality. My impression is that eBooks-as-textbooks never really took off, and that the vast majority of eReader use is for personal use.

And even if you did want to make references that are independent of screen/font size, pages are the wrong way to go about it. They're an anachronism, plain and simple. "Locations", as Amazon uses them, are a superior marker. (Locations also allow the Kindle to have more accurate position syncing between devices.)

I just want one screen to equal one page, dammit!

Anyway, after doing some more reading, I've thought of one more like and one more dislike.

Like:
* The light is yellow, not red. This looks far more natural to me, and I like the color a lot more than I like the color of my KA1.

Dislike:
* No book cover + reading progress while the device is sleeping.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by tiltowait

I did just make a discovery, though: If I tap the center of the screen, the Nook will tell me how many fake pages are left in the chapter.

Thanks for that tip! I wasn't aware of that and I grabbed my Nook and tried it, expecting it not to work since I'm reading sideloaded books, but sure enough, there it was. Thank you very much.

So far I really like this thing. I think I still prefer my Kindle but I like this better than my Kobo. Maybe even a lot better. The Kobo is quite a bit more sophisticated but this thing is really nice and the interface is simple and sensible.

I still need that dictionary fixed to show text that isn't grayed out. What if they did that in paper dictionaries; put the definitions in text that you could barely read. They might put an explanation at the start of the book, explaining that definitions are descriptive, not prescriptive.

Every time I think of this I laugh. Compared to this, New Coke was brilliant.

Barry

[barryem]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I wonder how the Voyage screen compares to the Glowlight 3? The Voyage has a flush screen, but the glass they use is better than the plastic on a Paperwhite screen and I could see a difference in those two.

I think the Glowlight 3 has better contrast than my Voyage.

Barry

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by tiltowait

Like:
* The light is yellow, not red. This looks far more natural to me, and I like the color a lot more than I like the color of my KA1.

I didn't know the KA1 was red. That seems ugly. The yellow/orange seems better, though I'm probably prejudiced from growing up around those sodium street lights.

Dislike:
* No book cover + reading progress while the device is sleeping.

Yeah. B&Ns wallpapers are nice. But being able to use the book cover as an option would be welcome.