Barnes & Noble yesterday introduced a new eReader that can be read in the dark. The new Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is an e-ink tablet with a special lighting technology that illuminates the screen with a soft glowing light for reading in the dark.
Barnes & Noble is pitching the device to spouses who would like to read in bed without disturbing their partner. To identify customer reading habits, Barnes & Noble conducted a survey that polled 1,358 adult readers across the country about their reading habits.
The survey found that 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. Fully 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.
Fully 31 percent said that a partner’s use of a light to read in bed interfered with their sleep or prevented them from falling asleep.
Relief is apparently in sight for those annoyed by a nocturnal reader. The Wi-Fi-only Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight is available now for pre-order for $139. The newest Nook is expected to be in stores starting in early May.