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Half a year after launching the $150 NOOK GlowLight 4 eBook reader, Barnes & Noble has unveiled a cheaper option. The NOOK GlowLight 4e is up for pre-order for $120 and it should be available starting June 7, 2022.
Like its pricier sibling the new model has a 6 inch E Ink display with a front light, a touchscreen display, and physical page turn buttons. But there are a few reasons that the NOOK GlowLight 4e costs $30 less.
First, it has a lower resolution display. The NOOK GlowLight 4 has a 300 dpi display, while the GlowLight 4e has a 212 dpi screen.
Second, while both models have LED lights that illuminate the display, the GlowLight 4 has a Night Mode that allows you to adjust the color temperature and remove blue light. The GlowLight 4e does not.
And third, The GlowLight 4e has less built-in storage space, with just 8GB (only 5GB of which is available for eBooks and other content), compared with 32GB for the NOOK GlowLight 4.
For the most part, the NOOK GlowLight 4e is to the NOOK GlowLight 4 what Amazon’s Kindle is to the Kindle Paperwhite: a model that trades a few features for a lower price tag.
But it’s also a little pricier than the entry-level Kindle, which sells for $90 and up. The starting price for Amazon’s eReader is subsidized by ads shown on the lock screen though. If you want an ad-free Kindle, you’ll have to pay $110, which will get you a 6 inch eReader with a 167 dpi display, 8GB of storage, a front light (that’s not color adjustable), and no physical page turn buttons.
Here’s how the NOOK GlowLight 4e stacks up against the GlowLight 4 and Amazon’s Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite eReaders:
| NOOK GlowLight 4e | NOOK GLowLight 4e | Kindle | Kindle Paperwhite | |
| Display | 6 inches E Ink (16 shades of grey) 212 DPI | 6 inches E Ink (16 shades of grey) 300 DPI | 6 inches E Ink (16 shades of grey) 167 DPI | 6.8 inches E Ink (16 shades of grey) 300 ppi |
| Front Light | GlowLight (adjustable LED lights) | GlowLight (adjustable LED lights) Night Mode (adjustable color temperature) | Front light (adjustable LED) 4 LEDs | Front light (adjustable LED) Adjustable color temperature 17 LEDs |
| Input | Touchscreen display Page turn buttons | Touchscreen display Page turn buttons | Touchscreen display | Touchscreen display |
| Storage | 8GB (5GB user accessible) | 32GB (29.1GB user accessible) | 8GB | 8GB |
| Wireless | WiFi 4 | WIFi 4 | WiFi 4 | WiFi 5 |
| Ports | USB Type-C | USB Type-C | micro USB | USB-C |
| File formats | EPUB and PDF Adobe DRM supported | EPUB and PDF Adobe DRM supported | AZW3, AZW, TXT, PDF, MOBI, HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, AAX | AZW3, AZW, TXT, PDF, MOBI, HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, AAX |
| Waterproof? | No | No | No | IPX8 |
| Dimensions | 155.2 x 120 x 8.2mm 6.11″ x 4.72″ x .32″ | 155.2 x 120 x 8.2mm 6.11″ x 4.72″ x .32″ | 113 x 160 x 8.7mm 4.5″ x 6.3″ x 0.34″ | 124.6 x 174.2 x 8.1mm 4.9″ x 6.9″ x .32″ |
| Weight | 170 grams 6 ounces | 170 grams 6 ounces | 174 grams 6.1 ounces | 205 grams 7.23 ounces |
| Price | $120 | $150 | $90 (with ads) $110 (ad-free) | $140 (with ads) $160 (ad-free) |