Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch Reader (Wi-Fi)

Pros: Clean interface, very responsive touch ui, comfortable form factor, excellent page turn speeds, expandable memory, price, battery life (allegedly two months ... we'll see)

Cons: None that I can think of at this time

Summary: I've owned the nook since it's first incarnation and still love and use the first generation device on a daily basis. When I saw this announced and tested I had to pick one up for myself and I have to say I couldn't be happier with its performance.

The nook touch does away with the extraneous features of the previous two nook devices. There is no audio file support, no app support (although one could argue app support for any of the nooks is largely absent), no color touch screen, and no 3g radio included. For me these changes are all pros as this version of the nook finally does away with all of the bells and whistles that I rarely, if ever used.

B&N have paired down the ereading experience to its bare essentials. What do I really want in an ereader? I want to be able to store every book that I may ever want to read. I want to be able to read the nook in any lighting conditions. I want the interface to be intuitive and smooth. I want a small form factor, shaped more like a traditional paperback, something that fits comfortably in my hand(s). I want the book buying experience to be quick and easy, and I want the actual reading experience to be seamless. I think that the nook touch delivers on all fronts, and I can't really heap enough praise on this device.

At the end of the day I'm sold on the nook touch because reading with it is such a pleasure. Whether sitting, standing, reclining, or lying down, resting the nook on a surface, holding it in your left or right hand, or holding it in both hands, this device is very comfortable to use. It's actually my favorite, hands down, of the three nook devices on the market today ... and my favorite ereader bar none.

So the bottom line:

The nook touch is an amazing monotasking device. One would be hard pressed to find another dedicated ereader that comes close to its performance. If you're more interested in a multitasking device, considering buying a tablet, or feel that the lack of 3g connectivity is something you can't live without ... then by all means pass on this. If you want an ereader for reading books, and reading books only, then this is definitely the device for you.

Updated on Sep 20, 2011

Some thoughts after using the nook touch for a few months.

1: I have a library of 404 books currently stored on my nook and at this time the nook's internal memory is already full. You should get a decent sized memory card if you don't already have a spare one sitting around. I'm using a 4gb card (3.67 usable) and it still has 3.37 gb available ... keep in mind that most of the 311 MB of used space is being taken up by my own personal sideloaded content.

2: Sifting through my library is a bit of hassle. The problem is that in text view mode, the nook only displays five titles at once. In cover view mode that number is upped to six, this seems backwards. I'd like to view ten or more items per page.

3. You cannot create bookshelves on this device, you have to use your pc or another nook device to set these up. Seems like an oversight.

Aside from the memory issue, these are just nitpicks. Reading on this device is as great as ever, and the battery life is amazing.