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Barnes & Noble reveals a cheaper version of its Nook GlowLight 4 e-reader
The Nook GlowLight 4e has less storage and a lower-resolution screen, but you'll save $30.
Barnes & Noble releases its first Nook GlowLight e-reader in four years
Barnes & Noble has introduced the Nook GlowLight 4, its first new e-reader in that series since 2017 — but it also faces stiff competition from Amazon and Kobo.
Barnes & Noble confirms hack exposed customer details
Barnes and Noble says payment information was not compromised, but your purchase history could have been.
Barnes & Noble isn't ready to give up on the E-Ink Nook
Just in time for beach reading, Barnes & Noble is releasing a new Nook with a 7.8-inch screen and waterproof design. The new GlowLight Plus has the company's largest E-Ink screen to date, and as with past models users can choose between a cool white light or warmer, orange-toned glow. It has the same "soft touch finish," page-turning buttons on the left and right and 8 GB of storage.
Barnes & Noble's Nook store closing outside of the US and UK
It's no secret that Barnes & Noble has struggled to profit from its Nook reading platform. Still, there are people who continue to use and invest in the ecosystem, despite the rise of others including Amazon's Kindle. Now, after ending its "strategic partnership" with Microsoft last year, the retailer appears to be preparing to close the Nook store outside of the US and UK -- something that relied on Windows support across Europe. According to an email obtained by The Digital Reader, Barnes & Noble has informed international customers that, on August 7th, it will remove their content from Windows machines and start providing refunds.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook review: good for reading, but hardly the best budget tablet
There was a time when Barnes & Noble was so big, so dominating, that even Tom Hanks managed to look like a jerk when he played a book-chain executive. But times have changed, and as people began to order their books online -- or even download them -- B&N found itself struggling to keep up. After losing a lot of money last year, the company decided it was time for a change: It vowed to stop making its own tablets, and instead team up with some third-party company to better take on Amazon and its Kindle Fire line. Turns out, that third party was none other than Samsung, and the fruits of their partnership, the $179 Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, is basically a repackaged version of the existing Galaxy Tab 4 7.0. Well, almost, anyway. The 7-inch slate comes pre-loaded with $200 worth of free content, and the core Nook app has been redesigned to the point that it actually offers a better reading experience than the regular Nook Android app. But is that a good enough reason to buy this instead of a Kindle Fire? Or any other Android tablet, for that matter?
Hands-on with the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook
The Nook tablets were seriously underappreciated. And while Samsung certainly makes some nice devices, there's something a little sad about seeing the Nook name slapped on a rather generic-looking slate from the Korean manufacturer. But it was inevitable, I suppose. After years of hemorrhaging cash as the market for physical books dried up, Barnes & Noble had to find ways to save money, and outsourcing the manufacturing of its slow-selling slates to a third party made perfect sense. The first device to result from this new approach is the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. And, while it might sound a little glib, it's basically just the Galaxy Tab you already know with a few software extras baked in. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Barnes & Noble launches the $179 Galaxy Tab 4 Nook
Barnes & Noble has officially kicked off a new era -- one in which it doesn't manufacture its own tablets. The struggling book outlet announced last summer that it would work with other manufacturers going forward and Samsung is first in line. The Galaxy Tab 4 Nook is the fruit of this partnership. It's a tablet built for reading first, as opposed to gaming or web browsing. While the device is undeniably Samsung, the software still retains some of that Barnes & Noble flair. Anyone who's used the previous Nook tablets will immediately recognize some of the features baked in here. The default homescreen has a widget showing recommended and recently read titles. Naturally, too, Barnes & Noble's Nook store is the primary content source, rather than the Play Store or Samsung Hub. But it's obvious that Sammy is in the driver's seat. Key features like multi-window mode are even included for some multi-tasking (say, if you want to tweet a quote from your favorite novel). B&N is pitching it as "the first full-featured Android tablet designed for reading." Then again, the company has said the same about every other Nook tablet.
Barnes & Noble teases its Samsung-made tablet
In order to save cash, Barnes & Noble decided to kill off its homegrown line of Nook tablets, and just asked Samsung to rebrand a Galaxy Tab instead. We've already seen images of the elegantly-named 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, but in a new video, discovered by The Digital Reader, the bookseller asks Nook-owning customers to give the device a spin. The company even recruited Grumpy Cat to glare disapprovingly at the hardware, albeit with the caption "I don't hate it." Given that it's less than a week before the company's glitzy New York launch, it won't be long before we can get the slate into our testing labs and work out if it's as good as those passionate Nook fans -- who were paid with a new Nook for their time -- say it is.
Barnes & Noble teams up with Samsung for its newest Nook tablet
It's no secret that Barnes & Noble has been trying to save money by offloading its tablet development to someone else, but more than a few people expected that "someone" to be Microsoft. Mmm, not quite. The bookseller revealed today that its (first) tablet partner is none other than Samsung, and that the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 Nook they've been working on will launch in August.
Daily Roundup: Nexus 5 and Nook GlowLight reviews, Peripheral Vision with John Krohn and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight review: much improved, but the competition is still winning
There's a lot to be said for being first. Barnes & Noble beat the competition to the punch with the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight -- an e-reader with built-in front lighting. And though we busted the company's chops with regards to its claims of keeping marriages together, the feature really did feel like the next big step forward for e-readers. Naturally, then, Amazon and Kobo released similar offerings soon after, with front lighting that frankly blew the Nook out of the water. As those companies further iterated their lines, Barnes & Noble maintained radio silence, something many chalked up to troubles with its hardware division. A year and a half after the release of its last reader, the GlowLight has finally returned with an abbreviated name and an improved feature set. The new Nook GlowLight ($119) features a revised design, weighs noticeably less than its predecessor and, most notably, brings an improved front light. But while it ushers in some welcome tweaks, the loss of the Simple Touch name also marks the abandonment of some beloved features that helped set the line apart in the first place.
Barnes & Noble's Nook GlowLight is lighter, brighter, whiter, with less Simple Touch for $119
As a ketchup bottle once famously said: Good things take time (we're paraphrasing here, of course). Roughly a year and a half ago, Barnes & Noble made its top-notch Nook Simple Touch even better with the addition of GlowLight. Before the end of the year, however, the company had been outdone by both Kobo and Amazon in that department; the two e-reader competitors launched devices with more uniform and brighter front-lighting technologies. Since then, those companies have both offered up refreshes, Amazon with a new Paperwhite and Kobo with the slick Aura, leaving us wondering why Barnes & Noble had been quiet for so long. Surely issues with its hardware division couldn't be helping matters. Today, however, things are looking, um, brighter for the company. The latest Nook is available now through Barnes & Noble's site, bringing with it a slew of upgrades and a shortened name. Say "goodbye" to Simple Touch. This time out, it's just Nook GlowLight, a new name for a new look. Gone is the matte black color scheme of its predecessor (not to mention most of the rest of the industry). That's been traded in for a white design that evokes the Nook HD tablet. It's also easier on the eyes, according to the company, with less of a contrast between the bezel and display. It's still a sizable bezel, of course. B&N didn't shave things down like Kobo. There's also a rubber bumper running around the perimeter. The company won't actually call it "rugged," but we suspect that'll help it take a tumble a bit more gracefully.
Barnes & Noble warns iOS 7 users of potential Nook incompatibilities
Barnes & Noble has sent an email to users of the Nook iOS app warning them that they could experience incompatibility issues between the current app and iOS 7, reports AppAdvice. The company cites two issues to watch out for: If you rotate the screen while reading, it may cause the page to render incorrectly or may cause the app to crash. To prevent this, we suggest locking the rotation while reading. If you sign out of your app and then sign in again, the app may crash or you may have trouble accessing your Library. The company says that not all users will experience these issues, and that it's working to release a fix as soon as possible. If you're a Nook fan, this is pretty depressing news as the company has had months to work out any bugs with its iOS app and iOS 7. Meanwhile, its main competitor Amazon has already released a fully iOS 7-ready Kindle app.
Barnes & Noble slashes Nook tablet prices in the UK
Bargain hunting? Good, because Barnes & Noble has just hacked down the price of its Nook HD range in the UK. The 7-inch Nook HD will now set you back just £79 for the 8GB edition and £99 for the 16GB version, while the 9-inch HD+ is now available for £129 (16GB) or £149 (32GB). We're not sure if this is a Touchpad-style fire sale or if the bookseller is prepping for its traditional autumn refresh (albeit with a third-party tablet this time 'round) -- but either way, the Nook is a great piece of hardware for under a ton.
Daily Update for August 19, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Barnes & Noble releases Nook Video app for iOS
While book retailer Barnes & Noble has all but given up on the Nook tablet line to focus on its e-readers, that doesn't mean it is giving up on all tablets. Today the company announced the free Nook Video app for iOS, making "a growing and diverse catalog of favorite HD movies and TV shows" available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Users of the app can also view their previously purchased UltraViolet enabled movies and TV shows, as well as other Nook content. The universal app -- which also comes in Android and Roku flavors -- lets Nook customers start a movie or TV show on one device, then pick up where they left off on another device on the same account. [via 9to5Mac]
Switched On: Nook tablet, an epilogue
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The recent announcement by Barnes & Noble that it would discontinue its Nook tablets marked the exit of what once promised to be a strong rival to Amazon, at least among bibliophiles. Barnes & Noble's entry into the tablet market took place amidst an annual game of leapfrog with its internet-based rival. Surviving for three iterations, the color Nook devices were products that had a particular focus on media consumption -- especially reading -- and eschewed open access to apps.
Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch steps down; Michael Huseby appointed CEO of Nook Media
Following reports earlier this year that Barnes & Noble may be sliding away from producing its own Nook hardware, the outfit's CEO has just stepped away from his corner office. Announced in a series of shuffles, William Lynch has resigned as chief executive officer and director of the company effective immediately, while Michael P. Huseby has been appointed CEO of the Nook Media division (as well as president of B&N as a whole). The firm also announced that vice president Allen Lindstrom was being subsequently promoted to CFO, reporting to Huseby. Moreover, Kanuj Malhotra -- VP of corporate development, has been promoted to CFO of Nook Media. Chairman Leonard Riggio thanked Lynch for his leadership during an era where B&N emerged as a real rival to Amazon in the reader / tablet market, while the man himself said that he "appreciated the opportunity to serve as CEO over the last three years." As for his immediate plans? Kicking back on the shores of Ocracoke and reading a book... on a Nook, of course.
Barnes and Noble axes Nook PC, Mac apps, directs you to Nook for Web instead
Barnes and Noble has been quietly erasing all mentions of its Nook for PC and Mac, but now we have the first official confirmation that both are no more. An official statement, reported by The Digital Reader, says that the company is no longer supporting software for Windows 2000/XP/Vista or Mac OS X, and is directing users to switch to Nook for Web in its place. That, or you could always help prop up the company's brick-and-mortar operations by purchasing some of these.
