New Nook Clears the FCC

[azayn]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Has any eInk eReader company really shown a lot of innovation in recent years? I always hear that eReaders aren't very "innovative" but I think hardware quality is as (or more) important. And I also wonder, what kind of innovation are you looking for? What I want is a good screen and the ability to easily navigate through my book. I like the Nook's page turn buttons and their location -- and their screens have been top notch. I can't speak for the GL4, I haven't seen it yet. But both GL+ Nooks and the GL3 all have very good screens.

B&N e-readers have evolved minimally compared to their competitors. The latest Nook is virtually indistinguishable from its predecessors both in terms of appearance and hardware/software. There are so many features that B&N could add to its devices. Dropbox or Overdrive integration like Kobo and Pocketbook. Or revamping the UI like Amazon recently did.

The design of the Nook has changed little since I owned the SimpleTouch. Flush screen, asymmetrical form factor, color display, and writing features are some things they could experiment with. At the very least, it would help them stand out from Amazon.

They could start by upgrading the performance of the Nook which is rather sluggish compared to Onyx or even Kindle. Software optimization or faster CPU could readily address the issue and improve the user experience. I don’t have much faith in B&N doing anything about it though. They seem less committed to their e-reader business than other companies and it shows.

[azayn]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One bit of wild eyed speculation is if B&N is introducing another 6" device so soon after the Nook 4 is that it will have a colour screen (eInk Kaleido Plus or DES Slurry???). In theory, the DES Slurry display could give 600DPI in B&W and 300DPI in colour though the only implementations I'm aware of (Reinkstone R1 and the TopJoy Butterfly) have shown display issues and suffer from software issues (atrocious ghosting and page turns that make an eInk Pearl screen seem speedy are a couple of issues mentioned).

I would be absolutely stoked if B&N brought DES Slurry to the mainstream. I know there are issues with ghosting but the display quality blows away Kaleido. There are software fixes to address the issues which Reinkstone has slowly been rolling out.

But embracing any kind of color tech would make me respect B&N again. It’s about time they stopped resting on their laurels and took some risks.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Hitch

But innovation? No. Last device in the eInk world that I loved was my Voyage, which has gone to that great electronic graveyard in the sky. I did not care at all for the Oasis and quickly replaced it with this newest, latest and greatest Uber-Paperwhite thing, which I do like.

The Voyage seemed like a highly refined version of the Nook ST w Glowlight. A 6" reader with page turn buttons on each side. A very nice reader, but not innovative to me.

On the other hand, the Oasis was an innovation. it did something new.

So looking at it from my perspective, maybe innovation isn't really wanted?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by azayn

The design of the Nook has changed little since I owned the SimpleTouch. Flush screen, asymmetrical form factor, color display, and writing features are some things they could experiment with. At the very least, it would help them stand out from Amazon.

The Glowlight and 2015 Glowlight Plus did move away from the Simple Touch design. The Glowlight Plus is still a very nice reader with a flush 6" 300 dpi Carta screen in a metal chassis. The while bezels have a pebbled texture to counteract the slipperiness of the metal back.

I was happy with the throwback design of the Glowlight 3 and the 4 looks like a nice refinement of the 3. It's the only 6" reader I'm aware of that uses the Carta 1200 screen.

They could start by upgrading the performance of the Nook which is rather sluggish compared to Onyx or even Kindle. Software optimization or faster CPU could readily address the issue and improve the user experience. I don’t have much faith in B&N doing anything about it though. They seem less committed to their e-reader business than other companies and it shows.

The Glowlight 4 has a faster 1.5GHz processor in addition to the nicer screen.

Now software could use a boost, for sure. They ought to work on better library supprt. I don't check out ebooks from the library, but enough people do that it ought to get some attention.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One bit of wild eyed speculation is if... it will have a colour screen (eInk Kaleido Plus or DES Slurry???)... though the only implementations I'm aware of have shown display issues and suffer from software issues...

Well, luckily Nook isn't known for software issues

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

A good screen is good but there's more to be done. A $100 Android tablet is leaps faster than a $100 eReader and is better to use because of it. Heck even a $60 one is. I'd like to see the return of microSD card slots, 8GB is only good if all you are reading is novels. There's probably more that could be done to improve rendering and other handy software features.

If I wanted a tablet I’d buy a tablet. I wanted an ereader so I bought an ereader. A tablet would not be better to use for me as I’ve no use for the bells and whistles it offers when I’ve got a smartphone that does everything I’d use the tablet for anyway.

I’d also avoid Android tablets, especially cheap ones, like the plague. I’ve had too many experiences both my own and family/friends to venture into that minefield again.

Give me one device which does something amazingly well rather than one device which does a lot of things passably well. And to be clear tablets to date have offered passable reading experiences for arguably the majority of reading media. They do PDF better but little else.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

If I wanted a tablet I’d buy a tablet. I wanted an ereader so I bought an ereader. A tablet would not be better to use for me as I’ve no use for the bells and whistles it offers when I’ve got a smartphone that does everything I’d use the tablet for anyway.

I’d also avoid Android tablets, especially cheap ones, like the plague. I’ve had too many experiences both my own and family/friends to venture into that minefield again.

Give me one device which does something amazingly well rather than one device which does a lot of things passably well. And to be clear tablets to date have offered passable reading experiences for arguably the majority of reading media. They do PDF better but little else.

You missed my point entirely. The hardware, the CPU, RAM, storage, etc. is faster in a $100 tablet vs. a $100 eReader. Part of why eReaders struggle so much with PDFs is that slow CPU with that small amount of RAM and cheap its literally an SD card stuck inside storage. I wasn't saying ereader should have apps and what not but for the money they should have better parts. Especially $300 ones like the Kindle Oasis (again a $100 tablet is faster). Besides the eInk screen the internals are usually bottom barrel ancient stuff. My Kobo would struggle to keep up with my typing which I used to think was the eInk screen but after getting a much faster Boox I realized it's was just the slow CPU.

And I meant software features like the ability to autocrop PDFs, get a book/PDF from my phone wirelessly etc.

As a side note my Amazon Fire 8 is pretty decent especially for the sub-$100 I paid.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I’d also avoid Android tablets, especially cheap ones, like the plague. I’ve had too many experiences both my own and family/friends to venture into that minefield again.

I suppose it depends on what you do. I bought a Lenovo A10-70 early January 2016 and that thing has been great for me.

The battery isn't holding a charge so well any longer, so I'll (finally) have to replace it soon. But I have no doubt that the current equivalent, the Lenovo M10 Plus will do equally well.

And to be clear tablets to date have offered passable reading experiences for arguably the majority of reading media. They do PDF better but little else.

Comics are another exception. Android tablets have long been the best way to read digital comics. Though now, a Surface running Windows 11 and Android apps would be better as the Surface's 3:2 aspect ratio more closely matches American comics than the Android's 16:10 or the iPad's 4:3.

[rcentros]

Pure speculation, but I note the Nook Glowlight Plus (7.8") is out of stock (only refurbished units are now available). This is what happened to the Glowlight 3, right before the Glowlight 4 came out (new GL3 units never came back). Is it possible that the new Glowlight is a new 7.8" replacement? In time for Mother's Day?

I also just got a notice on my Android Nook App — something about now playing audio books directly in the app. (I don't have audio but I think that's new.) I wonder if the new Nook will finally use its Bluetooth feature for audio books (as they speculated it would do with the Glowlight Plus (7.8")? Maybe the "-A" stands for "audio?"

As I said, pure speculation.

[bookyboy]

How do we know it’s another 6” device?

[MGlitch]

I’d have thought we’d have heard something more about this by now. A new device could make for a good Mother’s Day release (which is why bad ereader loves citing the day) but obviously that wasn’t in the cards. If BN is thinking to try and capture some of the back to school market I’d hope (based on past experience) that they’d announce and release this device by June to allow for getting units to stores, letting people actually check it out, getting a software update out if needed (though I’m not sure how fast they can roll out any fixes).

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by bookyboy

How do we know it’s another 6” device?

From looking at the images on the FCC site? One image shows the location of the label and gives it's dimensions. Using the width of the image, the stated width of the label and the width of the label in the image, you can calculate the width of the device. This is approximately 105mm. A 6" eInk screen has a screen width of ~91mm and height of ~123mm while a 7" eInk screen has a width of ~107mm and a height of ~142mm. The calculated width is very close to the width of a Clara HD and just slightly less than the width of a Paperwhite 4.

This is depending on the device image actually being close to the real world dimensions but previous ereaders (Kobo and Kindle) FCC submissions have had an image showing the label placement that was close enough.

So not cast in stone but the chances are good that it is a 6" device.

[bookyboy]

@DNSB

Thank you for the detailed explanation

Bummer to me.
I have no interest in any 6” devices anymore (personally)

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by bookyboy

@DNSB

Thank you for the detailed explanation

Bummer to me.
I have no interest in any 6” devices anymore (personally)

There is a chance that the new Nook is a larger screen device but I wouldn't bet my eating money(*) on it.

*: Old horse racing proverb "eat your betting money but don't bet your eating money".

[bookyboy]

So this was the new Nook?

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/noo...ble/1140326109

Save $30 and get...

8GB of storage instead of 32GB
No warm light (just normal white/blue lighting)
Only 212 pixel density

At $120, this seems almost 2x what it should be priced at.