Nate Hoffeider at the Digital Reader says so long to the Nook Simple Touch:

Don’t look now, but Barnes & Noble has retired the Nook Touch. This ebook reader, which initially launched in 2011, is no longer mentioned on the B&N website, and according to my sources all mentions of it are being removed from B&N stores today.

This was Barnes & Noble's entry-level e-reader, which cost around $60 or $70, depending on the time of year. (Barnes & Noble does still sell a Nook GlowLight for $119.) The reason why it mattered was that, unlike Amazon's Kindle, it was fairly easy to upload e-books to the Nook that you didn't buy at Barnes & Noble. It was less of an introduction to Barnes & Noble's e-book ecosystem and more of an introduction to the world of e-books in general. Now, if you're looking to get an e-reader that doesn't lock you in to a single e-book retailer, you're pretty much left with the Kobo line of e-readers, which are available for sale from most independent booksellers.

What this news doesn't tell me is whether Barnes & Noble is getting out of the basic e-reader business strictly because Amazon is dominating the e-book market, or if it's because consumers aren't interested in buying single-purpose e-ink readers anymore. You certainly don't hear as much about e-ink these days, now that tablet displays have improved to the point where text looks like it's published directly onto the glass of a tablet screen. I'm sure there will be e-ink diehards for a good long while, but it does seem as though the promise of a basic e-reader isn't converting new consumers anymore.