I noticed in a video with a B&N rep who is demonstrating Nook, he mentions page turning through the side buttons along with a swipe motion on the touchscreen. He doesn't actually demonstrate the swipe feature, but it seems logical to have that feature given the touchscreen on the bottom. I hope it's configurable so it can be disabled to prevent unintentional page turns.
I think it's a great feature since it gives us an option to turn the page either through buttons of through a gesture. More options are always better. I can also see how many, including me, would prefer to simply swipe to get to the next page.
It makes me wonder what other functionality could be added through gestures.
Here is the video: Clicky here (it's the second video on the page)
The video is also the only video I've found with an actual real Nook being recored during use (not some fake marketing ad). Notice the the refresh time between pages. Also, notice the "n" logo between screens. I like it.
