
Nook Simple Touch announced - apievangelist
http://www.marco.org/2011/05/24/nook-simple-touch
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joebadmo
The Kindle's screen, at the cost of some functionality and elegance, is not
only relaxing to the eyes, but also completely kills the low-grade but
omnipresent anxiety of a touch screen. Which means you don’t have to worry
about triggering a destructive action by accidentally brushing the screen
somewhere and grip-placement is a lot less restrictive, i.e. if it's most
comfortable to hold by a corner of the actual screen, you can. The physical
buttons mean that I know for sure when I've made an input.

Not only that, but part of what made the iPhone's touch screen so much better
than all the touch screen interfaces that came before it was it's insistence
on a 1:1 direct manipulation paradigm, which simply isn't possible with
current e-ink technology. This is more like a touch screen gesture based
interface, which simply isn't that much better or more satisfying and is in
some ways worse than physical buttons.

I find that the non-touch screen makes for a remarkably relaxed experience,
but I'm afraid it's probably not enough of a concern for device makers to
resist the whizz-banginess of the touch screen.

