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Barnes & Nobles newest Nook e-reader is amazing in bed, the company said in an April 12 statement, introducing the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, the worlds first and only E Ink Reader that lets users read in the dark. The backlit display, more tablet-like than traditional e-reader, can be activated with the push of a button. (The e-readers only button.)
With a soft, adjustable glow, GlowLight gives bedtime readers just the right amount of light for reading, without disturbing a sleepy spouse, according to a company statement.
The Simple Touch, B&N added, eliminates the No. 1 problem couples have in bed, the issue of one person trying to sleep while the other person reads. Citing a B&N survey of 1,358 adults, people found someone else using a light to read in bed more disruptive than a frisky partners midnight moves.
Lets stick to the facts. The Simple Touch weighs less than 7 ounces, has built-in WiFi and a battery that lasts through a month of reading on a single charge, even given that new light. It also has a 6-inch touch-screenwith a touch, users can turn pages, look up works or change the font size. They can also shop from the Nook and download more than 2.5 million books, magazines and newspapers.
The Nooks GlowLight also makes it as good for outdoor usewhere women are particularly inclined to read, according to its surveyas in low-light conditions.
As of April 12, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, priced at $139, became available for preorder, with B&N promising itll arrive in time for Mothers Day (May 13).
The day before, B&Ns stock price tumbled 6.4 percent, for a total of 17 percent for the month already, The Wall Street Journal reported. The cause was the Department of Justices lawsuit against Apple and five major U.S. book publishers, which the DOJ accused of colluding to keep ebook prices high.
Another way to look at the accusation: They were teaming up keep Amazon from keeping prices overly low. If the DOJ suit enables Amazon to again have greater control of ebook prices, B&N profits may suffer.
If Amazon wants to be aggressive in pricing ebooks and losing money, it will impact Nooks profitability in the near term, a Janney Montgomery Scott analyst told The Journal, which additionally cited analyst expectations that B&N will post a $62 million operating loss during its fiscal year ending April 28.
In launching its suitwhich now only includes Apple and publishers Macmillan and Penguin, following immediate settlements by Simon & Schuster, Hachette and HarperCollinsthe DOJ say it sought to help booksellers like B&N.
If approved by the court, this settlement would resolve the Departments antitrust concerns with [Apple and the publishers] and would require them to grant retailerssuch as Amazon and Barnes & Noblethe freedom to reduce the prices of their ebook titles, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in an April 11 statement, preceding a press conference on the suit.
Apple, Macmillan and Penguin have since defended their actions, with Apple calling the price-fixing accusations simply not true and the publishers defending Apples pricing model as essential to keeping competition alive among booksellers.