NOOK Simple Touch Updated: Faster, Longer, Cheaper

Barnes & Noble hasn't just got a new NOOK Tablet for us: the bookseller also has an updated version of the NOOK Simple Touch, now priced at just $99. A faster E Ink display takes pride of place, something B&N reckons takes just 450ms for each page-turn versus the Kindle's 600ms. You'll be reading for longer periods, too, thanks to battery improvements.

Interestingly, Barnes & Noble says that the NOOK Simple Touch's faster screen refresh is a software rather than a hardware improvement, thanks to the new Best-Text software. In fact, existing owners will be able to upgrade and get the speedier performance, thanks to firmware update available for manual installation today or pushed out over WiFi in the coming weeks.

Battery life has been extended to two months, based on an hour of reading per day, and adverts have been stripped out too. B&N took the opportunity to snipe at Amazon's marketing-supported Kindles with the comment that there are "no annoying ads" on its range.