????假如我們?nèi)朜ook或Kindle的買家，他們最喜歡自己的電子書哪一點，他們可能迅速列出如下幾點：價格實惠，重量輕，而且易于在室內(nèi)外閱讀電子圖書。而巴諾（Barnes & Noble）認為用戶不喜歡的是，在光線暗淡的情況下閱讀電子書。如今已經(jīng)是觸摸屏和無線網(wǎng)絡普及的時代，可夾式手電筒實在算不上什么先進技術。

????為此，巴諾正推出其NOOK Simple Touch的升級版。這款新產(chǎn)品將于下月初推出，售價為139美元，帶有名為“GlowLight”、直接嵌入顯示器內(nèi)的新型照明。巴諾公司稱，這是首款采用電子墨水屏幕且設備中內(nèi)置光源的電子閱讀器。GlowLight通過LED燈以及覆蓋在整個屏幕上的一層薄膜發(fā)揮作用。LED發(fā)出光，薄膜則充當導管，將光線均勻分布到屏幕上，這樣讀者就不會經(jīng)歷巴諾公司產(chǎn)品副總裁史蒂芬?梅斯所說的刺眼“聚光燈體驗”。

????根據(jù)梅斯的說法，Nook的小燈配件一直是最受歡迎的配件之一，還有和它配套的防眩光保護膜。所以當研發(fā)團隊開始設計新款Nook時，他們將這兩大功能都考慮在內(nèi)了。梅斯說：“最大的挑戰(zhàn)在于，如果設計不對路，電子書會變得過于笨重，這樣一來，紙質(zhì)書的感覺將蕩然無存。我們希望用戶看到的是最出色的電子墨水?！毙驴頝ook增加了新功能，但重量卻減輕了15克。

????我們同時還要保證續(xù)航時間。在開啟GlowLight的情況下，新款Nook的續(xù)航時間有望達到一月之久；如果關閉背光和WiFi，續(xù)航時間則有望達到兩個月。在最差的情況下，新款Nook的續(xù)航時間能和亞馬遜的79美元Kindle打成平手；在最好情況下，則能和上代Nook電子書以及Kindle Touch打成平手，后者是由位于美國西雅圖的亞馬遜在去年末推出的新產(chǎn)品。

????梅斯在比較新款Nook和亞馬遜的對應產(chǎn)品時并未口下留情。在售價方面，無廣告版的新款Nook將與Kindle Touch的價格相當，但梅斯表示，如果算上額外附件——例如亞馬遜推出的售價60美元的原版帶小燈皮套，那么Kindle Touch的價格會更高。此外，新款Nook對控制觸摸界面的軟件進行了修改，現(xiàn)在反應更加靈敏了，不過其主要功能仍與上代基本一致。

????分析人士將密切關注新款Nook的表現(xiàn)。雖然巴諾的Nook電子書業(yè)務在今年有望實現(xiàn)15億美元營收，但梅斯承認去年春天推出的Simple Touch的銷量并未達到公司預期，盡管該產(chǎn)品獲得了技術評論家的一致好評。《財富》雜志（Fortune）去年曾經(jīng)撰文指出：“Nook（是）一款無可指摘的電子閱讀器，它沒有什么別的功能……但在分內(nèi)的工作方面表現(xiàn)上佳，甚至比與其差距最小的競爭產(chǎn)品Kindle更出色?！?/p>

????Ask a Nook or Kindle owner what they love about their readers, and they may rattle off several points: they're affordable, lightweight, and easy to read e-books indoors or outside. What Barnes & Noble believes users don't love is trying to read such devices in low light. In an era of such whiz-bang technology as touch screens and pervasive wireless networks, clip-on flashlights aren't exactly state-of-the-art.

????To that end, Barnes & Noble (BKS) is introducing an updated version of its NOOK Simple Touch. Launching early next month, the new $139 Nook includes a new kind of lighting called "GlowLight," embedded directly into the display itself. That, the company says, makes it the first e-reader with an e-ink screen to integrate a light directly into the device. GlowLight works through a combination of LED lights and a thin film that sits atop the entire screen. The LEDs pipe out light, and the film acts as a conduit, evenly distributing that light across the screen so readers don't experience what Stephane Maes, Barnes and Noble's Vice President of Product, calls a harsh "spotlight experience."

????According to Maes, the Nook light add-on remains one of the top accessories owners purchase, along with an anti-glare film. So when the team set out to design the next Nook, they included both features. "One of the greatest challenges, if you're not doing right, is it makes the devices heavier, it takes away form that paper-like feel," says Maes. We wanted to maintain the great e-ink experience." The new Nook adds features, but also sheds 15 grams of weight.

????It also won't skimp on battery life. With GlowLight on, readers should expect to go one month in between charges, and with the light off, expect two months of battery life with WiFi off. At worst, that puts it in the same league of battery life as Amazon's (AMZN) $79 Kindle; at best, it's the same as the last generation Nook e-reader and on par with Amazon's Kindle Touch, which the Seattle-based e-commerce giant rolled out late last year.

????Maes doesn't pull any punches when he compares the new Nook to Amazon's counterpart. An ad-free version of the Kindle Touch sells for the same price as the ad-free Nook will, and when you factor in extra accessories like Amazon's own $60 leather-bound case with a light, he argues they push the price even higher. Otherwise, the Nook will feature a more responsive touch interface thanks to tweaks made to the software, but remain largely the same as its predecessor.

????How the newest Nook performs will be something analysts watch closely. Although the overall Nook business is expected to generate $1.5 billion in sales for the company this year, Maes admits the Simple Touch, which launched last spring, has not sold as well as the company had hoped despite universally favorable reviews from tech critics. "The Nook [is] an unapologetic, laser-beam focused e-reader that does little else ... but what it does do, it does exceptionally well, better than its nearest rival, the Kindle," Fortune wrote last year.