[http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/11/nook-simple-touch-upgrade.jpg](http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/nook-simple-touch-upgrade-hands-on-video/)
The [Tablet](http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/barnes-and-nobles-nook-tablet-gets-real-we-go-hands-on-video/) may have gotten most of the glory at today's Nook event, but there was plenty of love to go around across the line. The Color got some solid [multimedia upgrades](http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/nook-color-goes-multimedia-with-hulu-plus-pandora-rhapsody-mo/), courtesy of Hulu Plus, Pandora, Rhapsody and the like, and the Nook Touch -- now known as the Nook Simple Touch -- received a few bumps of its own, beyond that [price drop](http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/barnes-and-noble-makes-199-nook-color-99-nook-simple-touch-offi/) to $99. The Nook Simple Touch 1.1 software upgrade brings among other things, longer battery life -- which, for obvious reasons, we can't actually test effectively at the moment. According to B&N, you should get two months of battery life reading an hour per day post-upgrade, versus *up to* two months reading half an hour each day pre-upgrade. The upgrade also promises a crisper display, and holding a pre- and post-upgrade Nook next to each other, the difference is certainly detectable. It's not a huge difference, but the slightly darker text does improve the reading experience, over all.
Also on the list of improvements is a faster turn rate. Indeed, there is a slight difference, with the updated reader scrolling through a bit faster (though the two readers did go back and forth as we had them scroll through a book) -- the upgrade, according to B&N, will save you a fraction of a second per page, so don't expect to be wowed on that front. Both readers have roughly the same refresh rate, doing a full page refresh every six pages or so. All in all, some welcome changes to a nicely discounted reader, making the Nook Simple Touch a solid contender for this holiday. Video of the page turns after the break.
Continue reading Nook Simple Touch upgrade hands-on (video)
Nook Simple Touch upgrade hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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