電子書籍端末 Nook にフロントライト搭載モデル、寝室で読めます（動画）
なんとまあ。ライバルに先んじて Barnes & Noble がフロントライト搭載の電子書籍リーダー Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight を発表しました。名前どおり、同社のベーシックモデルである Nook Simple Touch（発売当時はただ Nook と呼ばれていたやつ）にフロントライトが付いたもの。6インチの E-Ink Pearl スクリーン、2GB ストレージ、microSD カードスロットなど、基本仕様は去年の Nook Simple Touch から変わっていません。
というわけで、ポイントはやはり GlowLight。「特許出願中」というフロントライトは、省電力でありながら寝室で読めるほど十分に明るく、目に負担をかけないとされています。これにより、プレスリリースに言わせれば「パートナーが読書のために電気をつけるという、カップルのベッドにおける一番の問題を解消」します。
GlowLight はボディ下部の n ボタン長押しでオンオフを切り替え、光加減も調整できます。実機に触れた Engadget 本家によれば、真っ暗な部屋でも半分くらいの明るさで十分、それでいてしばらく利用していると光っているのを忘れるくらい自然に読めたとのこと。
バッテリーのもちはライトを使わなければ2か月で変わらず。常時利用した場合は1か月。重さは多少軽くなって「7オンス以下」をアピールする6.95オンス = 197g。Nook Simple Touch に比べて唯一負けているのは、40ドル高くなって139ドルとなった点でしょうか。発売は5月1日です。
Barnes & Noble Introduces NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight: World's First and Only E Ink Reader That Lets You Read in the Dark
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today introduced NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, the world's first E Ink device with patent-pending lighting technology that eliminates the number-one problem couples have in bed - having their sleep interrupted, or being prevented from falling asleep, when their partner reads with the light on. With a soft, adjustable glow, GlowLight gives bedtime readers just the right amount of light for reading, without disturbing a sleepy spouse.
Like having two Readers in one, the first and only Reader designed to let E Ink customers read in the dark is equally amazing at the beach, with a paper- like reading experience, even in the bright sun. This revolutionary device is the first to combine the most advanced and fastest E Ink display with a precise infrared touchscreen, built-in anti- glare screen for reading in any lit environment, and an evenly distributed and adjustable light for reading in the dark. NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight is also the lightest NOOK ever, with a long-lasting battery for over one month of reading on a single charge, with the light on. Customers can pre-order the newest addition to the award-winning NOOK portfolio immediately for just $139 at www.nook.com and in Barnes & Noble stores. NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight will be in stores and homes starting in early May, a perfect gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day and graduations.
For people who love to read, E Ink's paper-like readability, no-glare screen and long battery life have made it a favorite and nearly perfect device choice, with one exception: reading in bed or other low-light environments. And according to a recent Barnes & Noble national survey of adult readers, reading in bed is what 64 percent do on a regular basis, so it's not surprising that the number-one request from E Ink customers is the ability to read in the dark to avoid bothering a significant other.
The Brightest Innovation in Reading
Barnes & Noble created breakthrough GlowLight technology, an innovative lighting solution optimized for low-light conditions, never before seen on an E Ink display and not available on any Kindle. NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight delivers uniform light across an E Ink display, creating a better nighttime reading experience than LCD. GlowLight turns on instantly and adjusts easily with a touch, so customers can control the amount of light, whether in a dimly lit or pitch dark room. NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight is the perfect peacekeeper for the half of survey respondents who would read more in bed if it didn't interfere with their partners' sleep.
"To date, readers have had to compromise: either buying black-and-white E Ink reading devices to optimize their outdoor reading or color LCD devices to be able to read at night in bed with the light off. NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight is like two Readers in one," said William J. Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. "With our new GlowLight technology and the most advanced E Ink display available, we've created the most versatile, high-utility Reader ever; as exceptional for reading in the darkest bedroom as on the brightest beach. At only $139, NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight provides customers an amazing value and is the only device of its kind in the world."
Resolving the Bedtime Reading Debate
For as long as there have been beds, and books, there's been a common clash between couples at bedtime: Lights on, to read? Or off, to sleep? "The Barnes & Noble NOOK Bedtime Reading Debate," a survey conducted March 1-5, 2012, polled 1,358 adult readers across the country about their reading habits, and shed new light on this age-old challenge.
? Bed Heads: Approximately two-thirds (64 percent) of people polled read in bed, and nearly a quarter read in bed between five and seven days a week.
o People who own Readers are among the most likely to read in bed (72 percent) and are more likely to read in bed on a weekly basis than tablet owners
(61 percent vs. 54 percent).
? The Gender Divide: While reading in bed is a top pick for both genders, there's a distinct divide when it comes to second place: women are likelier than men to read outdoors (40 percent vs. 25 percent), and men more frequently read in the bathroom (41 percent vs. 26 percent for women).
? The Light/Dark Debate: 77 percent of survey respondents say they or their partner requires light for their bedtime reading, although nearly 90 percent say their ideal sleep environment is completely dark.
o Men are far more likely than women to report their significant other disrupts their sleep by using a light to read in bed.
? Keeping Peace: 50 percent of respondents say either they or their partner would read more in bed if it didn't affect the other person's sleep.
? Sleepus Interruptus: A partner using a light to read in bed was deemed most disruptive by respondents - even more than a frisky partner's "midnight moves."
o 31 percent of respondents noted that a partner's use of a light to read in bed interfered with their sleep or prevented them from falling asleep, while 20 percent noted that romantic overtures did the same.
? Perturbed Partners: Nearly half (42 percent) of survey respondents have gone to sleep annoyed because their significant other was reading with a light on.
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