Reddit reviews Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch eBook Reader (Wi-Fi Only)

I'm not savvy on all the e-reader technologies, nor am I made of money. I like my nookbook because it was the cheapest at about $70. I like it better than the kindle because it reads .epub and .pdf. I do not like how kindle uses its own file type.

However, some downsides to my model include:

1. laggy response time when touching the screen
   
2. hard to push flip page buttons on the side
   
   That said, I would not trade my nook for a "better" model because you get used to those downsides. Although if I would change anything, I would want a slightly larger screen. I do really like how the idle screen shows pictures of different authors. :D
   
   If/when you get an e-reader, download Calibre as a computer ebook organizer application, as well as a file converter. That way, after you download your book you can look at the inside and make sure it looks right before your put it on your nook.

It's an ereader. I have this one.

Forget fancy! This is my old trusty reader: https://www.amazon.com/Barnes-Noble-Simple-Touch-Reader/dp/140053271X

Two points:

• Almost all of the things that you've described are features that work on a laptop, but can also be done on a tablet. Sure, I'm not saying that there aren't areas where a tablet can't be used almost as well or as well as a laptop. It's just that there are areas where they are much weaker.
  
  
• You make a good point -- there are some tablets that use e-Ink. While I don't know of any reason that they couldn't do so, I don't know of any laptops that have an e-Ink display. e-Ink displays can't do a lot of things that LCDs can, but they're really good at one thing that LCDs aren't -- displaying static grayscale images that look good even in sunlight and use low battery power. I've usually heard these devices referred to as "e-book readers" or the like, and for them, I certainly agree that there are tasks that they are much preferable to laptops (and LCD-based tablets) for. If I want to go read something outdoors, an e-book reader with an e-Ink display is a no-brainer.
  
  
• The price is a good point. I just purchased a $280 laptop (eee PC 1215P). Your e-ink reader, based on Amazon runs ~$149.
  
  I should really amend my statement above. I can understand e-book readers -- those are indeed specialized devices that can beat out laptops in specific roles, on price, reflective display, and battery life (if showing mostly-static images). What I don't understand is the device class that includes things like the iPad ($499+, based on store.apple.com) or the color (LCD) "version" of your reader (Nook Color, $249).
  
  

Ahem. I'm sure there's a more rugged model available for outdoor usage though.

Incase you're not super familiar with battery terminology - AA batteries have between 2000 and 3000 mAH's. Depends on what type of battery and what application it's used in. Your typical Alkaline or Lithium batteries run about 3 am hours (1000 milliamps = 1 amp), however Alkalines have a high internal resistance so if you try to use any high power uses, like a digital camera, the resistance converts a lot of the potential energy into heat, effectively wasting it. Using alkalines in a digital camera you can expect to get maybe 200 mah's out of it, if you're lucky.

Rechargeable nicad's will run about 2 amp hours. So 4, AA's will net you about 8000 mah's. My smart phone will last a good 12 hours of e-reading on a single charge and it's battery holds about 1.5 amp hours.

If I were to use that charger, I would want a USB AA charger to go with it to power my headlamp too and/or any other devices I might want.

The charger I linked has an internal battery pack that holds 7.2 amp hours, so that alone would run my smart phone for about 60 straight hours on a single charge.

The current generation of rechargeable batteries (eneloops), can be reused around 2000 times as well, with a low self discharge. Guaranteed to hold 70% of their charge after a year, 50-60% after 3 years iirc.

A dedicated e-reader will be a lot more efficient at battery usage though. This one can last up to 2 months on a single charge. It's just a simple black and white reader though.