Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight 4e review: budget e-reader with buttons

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For a long time, the only practical e-reader to use was a Kobo. Barnes & Noble is back in the game with its new e-Readers. The Nook Glow Light 4e is a budget-friendly version of the Nook Glow Light 4. This new entry-level model has a lot of features that make it a good contender.

That is on paper. I tested the e-reader for about a week and am not sure if it is worth it.

The buttons on the GlowLight 4e make them stand out from the crowd. The buttons are located on the right and left side of the display. Many e-reader displays at this price point can be slow to respond, and they make it easy to quickly turn pages without having to use the touch screen.

The buttons at the top turn the page forward while the buttons at the bottom turn it back. Pressing and holding down the button that turns pages forward will double-click the buttons to move forward or backwards. The buttons can be used to scroll up and down the list of books.

There's only one problem. I turned on the Glow Light 4e and the buttons didn't work again. The device had to be re-booted twice to get it working again. I don't know if this issue will come back in a month or if it will be a regular occurrence. Barnes & Noble did not come across a problem like this during its testing, so there is a chance that it is a problem unique to my device. It isn't comforting to have this happen in the relatively short time I've been using the Nook.

The GlowLight 4e is light and easy to carry in a purse. It has a soft touch finish that is comfortable to hold while reading. Barnes & Noble traded off some features for others when it was an entry level model. It isn't waterproof, lacks speakers, and doesn't have a jack for headphones. You won't be able to listen to audiobooks because of this.

You will have to provide your own charging brick if you want to use the GlowLight 4e. Barnes & Noble says a 5- watt charge should top it up in 2.5 hours. It was possible to charge the device from 50 to 100 percent within an hour.

Barnes & Noble says the Glow Light should run for weeks. The battery level dropped by 60 percent after a week of testing when reading for 20 to 30 minutes each day with the screen at 50 percent brightness. I think the battery life will last between two and six hours on a single charge, with the light at half strength, and that it will take about two weeks to fully charge the device. It might last a few more days if the light is turned off occasionally. I was hoping for longer battery life since you can get a Paperwhite that lasts for a few months.

The GlowLight 4e's E Ink display has a higher resolution than Amazon's, but it is not as good as the Kobo Clara HD's 300dpi display. This could be an issue if sharper text is more important to you. I didn't think it was a dealbreaker. I could easily adjust the size of the text to make it easier to see if I need to. Text is much easier to see at night thanks to the Glow Light 4e's adjustability. The light doesn't have color temperature adjustment that makes it easier to read after sundown, which is something both the Clara HD and the Paperwhite offer. Without it, I couldn't read for more than 30 minutes before I went to sleep.

Barnes & Noble promises that the Glow Light 4e will get rid of the glare, but it doesn't because the display doesn't matt. The contrast and sharpness levels were reduced under the sun. It is supposed to be resistant to both scratches and fingerprints. The Glow Light 4e is up to its potential so far.

It takes a lot of patience to use the screen to navigate. The setup process was made more difficult by the slow response of the touchscreen. Once you get away from the main menu, things get better. Since you can rely on the buttons to quickly flip pages, you don't need to use the Touchscreen while reading. You have to pay extra to get rid of the ads on the Glow Light 4e.

The Nook supports the ePub format so you can read books outside of the bookstore. It's easy to sideload ePub files to it. Within 10 seconds, I was able to connect the Nook to my MacBook Air with the help of theusb-c cable. It is possible to do the same thing on a Kindle, but it is a long process with the Calibre app. There are rumors that the "Send to Kindle" function will soon be able to easily convert ePub files into a format which will level the playing field in this area.

The process of borrowing library eBooks could be simpler. It took a few minutes to transfer a book from a library to a computer. You can borrow a book from the library with the help of Amazon. The library is built into the e-reader.

The Nook Glow Light 4e delivers a good core reading experience for an entry level e-reader. My biggest complaint is the price. The Nook GlowLight 4e is Barnes & Noble's attempt to deliver a budget-friendly alternative to the most expensive e-readers. When the distinguishing feature temporarily stops working after a day of use, the company may have cut too many. Some features are too important to be traded for when you pay $119.99. You can read it at night without straining your eyes thanks to the temperature settings on the Clara HD. The battery life that lasts a few weeks is comparable to the Clara HD, but the new Kindle Paperwhite will last you months for less money.

If you don't want to be tied to Amazon and need physical buttons, Kobo's e-readers are the better option. If you don't care who makes your e-reader and don't buy books from Barnes & Noble, it's a good idea to spend the extra $20 on the Kindle Paperwhite. Except for an ad-free experience, you will get most of the perks of the Clara HD, but with water resistance, extra storage, an incredible battery life, and access to Amazon's frequently discounted books. There isn't a physical button. I don't think they're worth it.

Sheena Vasani is a photographer.

The Nook GlowLight 4e requires you to agree to a number of terms and conditions before you can use it. It is not possible for us to read and analyze all of them. We started counting the number of times you have to agree to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people can't negotiate.

To register your Nook with Barnes & Noble, you need to use both your email and billing address and your credit card number. The Privacy Policy and Barnes & Noble's Terms of Service must be agreed to by you.

The terms of service and privacy policy of Barnes and Noble.

There are three mandatory agreements for the Nook Glow Light 4e.