Barnes & Noble's latest eReader, the NOOK GlowLight 4e, is an affordable alternative to the NOOK GlowLight 4. As expected, tradeoffs have been made to arrive at the lower price, but is it worth purchasing over its more expensive sibling? Barnes & Noble is one of Amazon's major competitors in the eReader space. Unfortunately, it has been playing catch-up ever since.
While Amazon has offered AudioBooks on its Kindle app for years, Barnes & Noble just integrated audiobooks with its NOOK app in April 2022. Also, in terms of eReaders, Amazon's Kindles are reportedly better and offer more value than the NOOK lineup. Amazon also has a more extensive ebook library than its competitors.
The GlowLight 4e and GlowLight 4 are practically identical. Both eReaders have a polycarbonate body with a soft-touch finish, and Barnes & Noble has carried over the physical page-turn buttons from the GlowLight 4 to the new model. Users can find these buttons flanking the screen on the left and right sides. Despite being cheaper, the GlowLight 4e also has a USB-C port positioned at the bottom. Unfortunately, consumers can only purchase the two eReaders in Black. However, since both devices have the same dimension, those who pick up the GlowLight 4e can pick up any of the colorful cover cases available for the GlowLight 4.
The GlowLight 4e Has Less Storage
Considering the two eReaders have the same dimension, it is not much of a surprise that their display size is the same. Owners will find a 6-inch display on either model, but the GlowLight 4e's screen is not as sharp. It has a 212-dpi which doesn't measure up to the 300-dpi screen of the GlowLight 4. Nevertheless, both displays are glare-free as well as scratch- and fingerprint-resistant. They also feature the brand's signature GlowLight Illumination so owners can read in the dark. Although, only the GlowLight 4 has Night Mode.
Another significant difference between the two devices is the storage. The GlowLight 4e has 8GB of storage, of which only 5GB is available for the Nook digital library and side-loaded content. In contrast, the GlowLight 4 has 32GB of storage (29GB available out of the box). The two devices support 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, and users can also connect them to a computer via the USB-C port. Barnes & Noble isn't specific about the battery capacity of the GlowLight 4e, but it says it "can hold weeks of battery life on a single charge." On the other hand, the GlowLight 4 will last "approximately one month on a single charge."
The NOOK GlowLight 4e is priced at $119.99, undercutting the $149.99 GlowLight 4. The former might appeal to those keen on not crossing a specific budget for an eReader. However, for just $30 more, they can get a sharper display with night mode, almost six times the (available) storage, and longer battery life.