Barnes & Noble has decided to expand its Nook line by offering a new device that is... less capable than its previous offerings? The company announced the simplified Nook during a media event in New York on Tuesday, arguing that e-book fans are still looking for a "simple, pure reading experience." That's why the company decided to launch the $139 Nook Simple Touch Reader—a Kindle-like device that has an E-ink screen, no apps, no fancy colors, and (almost) no buttons.

Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch said the pared-down Nook was for people who are "turned off by buttons, keyboards, and complexity," such as teens and moms who have apparently found time to relax on the beach. Indeed, while the new Nook is quite Kindle-like in appearance and functionality, the company went to great lengths to tell the audience how inferior Amazon's e-reader is to the Nook. "Kindle 3 has 38 buttons. That's 37 more than the all-new Nook," Lynch said, adding that so many buttons "assault the user."

Instead of buttons, the new Nook makes use of a black and white E-ink infrared touchscreen (not unlike the new Kobo e-reader announced yesterday), allowing users to simulate turning pages by touching the screen with their fingers. There's an on-screen keyboard for searching and making notes, but Lynch said not to worry about the typical lag that comes with slow E-ink screens—the Nook apparently shows 80 percent less screen "flashing" when turning pages or typing on the screen.

Physically, the Nook Simple Touch is almost a square at 5" by 6.5" and 7.5 ounces—more than a full ounce less than the Kindle 3, and 35 percent lighter than the original Nook. It comes with a non-user-replaceable battery that Barnes & Noble claims can last up to two months on a single charge (while reading one hour per day, that is)—the "longest battery life of any e-reader," according to Lynch. The device comes with 2GB of storage built-in with a microSDHC slot that can handle another 32GB.

Barnes & Noble also added social media and sharing capabilities to the Nook in the form of "Nook Friends." With this new social network—which the company still says is in beta—users will be able to create groups of friends in order to lend books to each other, swap observations, and see what their friends are reading. Users will also be able to share what they're reading via Twitter and Facebook.

There are some downsides to the Nook Simple Touch, though. For one, it's WiFi-only—no 3G. This came as a disappointment to Nook lovers who have been crying foul over the Nook Color being WiFi-only when the original nook came in both 3G and WiFi versions. The company faced questions from the press about the decision, but avoided answering directly; it certainly looks as if Barnes & Noble is moving to WiFi-only territory with its entire e-reader line. The Kobo also lacks 3G connectivity, leaving the Kindle as one of the only well-known dedicated e-readers to offer such a feature.

Speaking of original Nooks, Barnes & Noble also announced that it was giving the devices a one-time price drop to $119 for the WiFi-only version and $169 for the 3G version. This is only while supplies last, though, and the company will retire the device once the company runs out of stock.