Nook Simple Touch
Encyclopedia
The Nook Simple Touch is the second generation of the Nook
e-book
device by Barnes & Noble
. It features an 800x600 E Ink
screen that has a touchscreen using a network of infrared beams slightly above the screen surface. It has wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n, and has a USB port for charging and connecting to a computer.
, iOS (iPad
, iPhone
, iPod Touch
), Mac OS X
, or Windows
.
The device can store an estimated 1,000 books; it has 2 GB of internal memory of which only half is available for content. Of the 1GB of content, 750 MB is reserved for content from Barnes & Noble's e-book store, which leaves approximately 250 MB for other files. As with the original Nook, microSD
and microSDHC memory cards can be inserted to expand the Nook Simple Touch's memory up to 32 GB. Unlike the prior Nook, the rechargeable battery in the Simple Touch is not user-replaceable, and is expected to last, per charge, for 2 months with the wireless turned off, or 3 weeks with the wireless turned on. Unlike prior versions, the Simple Touch lacks audio abilities. Supported file formats include EPUB
(DRM
and non-DRM), PDF
, JPEG
, GIF, PNG, and BMP, although images may only be used as screensaver replacements and cannot be viewed directly. The nook does not support txt
or rtf
.
The Nook also had a "hidden" web browser (accessed by entering a URL into the search feature), but this was offset in the 1.1.0 Nook Software Update.
The Nook can organize books into 'shelves' to make it easier to find things. This organization must be done manually on the device. The file table is inaccessible so users cannot use third party software (such as Calibre
) for external editing, due to DRM concerns.
A limited edition version of the Nook was sold as a Black Friday
special on November 25, 2011. It featured a white plastic bezel along the sides of the device and a $20 discount.
, which grants users root access to the Nook Simple Touch's file system. Doing so voids the device's warranty, though it can often be reverted to (non-rooted) factory defaults for warranty claims.
Barnes & Noble Nook
The Barnes & Noble Nook is a brand of electronic-book reader developed by American book retailer Barnes & Noble, based on the Android platform. The original device was announced in the United States in October 2009, and was released the next month...
e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
device by Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
. It features an 800x600 E Ink
E Ink
E Ink is a specific proprietary type of electronic paper manufactured by E Ink Corporation, founded in 1997 based on research started at the MIT Media Lab...
screen that has a touchscreen using a network of infrared beams slightly above the screen surface. It has wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
802.11 b/g/n, and has a USB port for charging and connecting to a computer.
Features
As with the prior Nook, the Simple Touch provides a LendMe feature allowing users to share some books with other people depending on licensing by the book's publisher. The buyer is permitted to share a book once with one other user for up to two weeks. The other users may view the borrowed book using a Nook, Nook Color, or Barnes & Noble's free reader software on any other device running Android, or BlackBerry OSBlackBerry OS
BlackBerry OS is a proprietary mobile operating system, developed by Research In Motion for its BlackBerry line of smartphone handheld devices...
, iOS (iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
, iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
), Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, or Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
The device can store an estimated 1,000 books; it has 2 GB of internal memory of which only half is available for content. Of the 1GB of content, 750 MB is reserved for content from Barnes & Noble's e-book store, which leaves approximately 250 MB for other files. As with the original Nook, microSD
Secure Digital
Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...
and microSDHC memory cards can be inserted to expand the Nook Simple Touch's memory up to 32 GB. Unlike the prior Nook, the rechargeable battery in the Simple Touch is not user-replaceable, and is expected to last, per charge, for 2 months with the wireless turned off, or 3 weeks with the wireless turned on. Unlike prior versions, the Simple Touch lacks audio abilities. Supported file formats include EPUB
EPUB
EPUB is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum...
(DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
and non-DRM), PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
, JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
, GIF, PNG, and BMP, although images may only be used as screensaver replacements and cannot be viewed directly. The nook does not support txt
Text file
A text file is a kind of computer file that is structured as a sequence of lines of electronic text. A text file exists within a computer file system...
or rtf
Rich Text Format
The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....
.
The Nook also had a "hidden" web browser (accessed by entering a URL into the search feature), but this was offset in the 1.1.0 Nook Software Update.
The Nook can organize books into 'shelves' to make it easier to find things. This organization must be done manually on the device. The file table is inaccessible so users cannot use third party software (such as Calibre
Calibre (software)
calibre is free and open source e-book computer software that organizes, saves and manages e-books, supporting a variety of formats. It also supports e-book syncing with a variety of popular e-book readers and will, within DRM restrictions, convert e-books between differing formats...
) for external editing, due to DRM concerns.
A limited edition version of the Nook was sold as a Black Friday
Black Friday (shopping)
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
special on November 25, 2011. It featured a white plastic bezel along the sides of the device and a $20 discount.
Reception
Since launch, the Nook Simple Touch received generally positive reviews with PC Mag summarizing their review as: "Thanks to plenty of upgrades and a laser-sharp focus on the reading experience, the second-gen Barnes & Noble Nook Touch Reader is our new Editors' Choice for ebook readers." Laptop Magazine said it is "the best E Ink eReader on the market right now."Use of additional Android applications
As an Android device, the Nook Simple Touch can be modified to run Android applications through a process called rootingRooting (Android OS)
Rooting is a process that allows users of mobile phones and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control within Android's Linux subsystem with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and manufacturers put on some devices...
, which grants users root access to the Nook Simple Touch's file system. Doing so voids the device's warranty, though it can often be reverted to (non-rooted) factory defaults for warranty claims.