Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-book reader will steal away some limelight from Amazon Kindle

On October 21, 2009, Barnes & Noble (B&N) unveiled its Nook e-book reader. The event took place at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Priced at $259, the Nook e-book reader will be available in stores all over the U.S including the 700 B&N book stores by the end of November. Definitely, with the launch of the Nook e-book reader, the competition heated up for Amazon, the current number one in the e-book market. In terms of features, the Nook e-book reader has all the features of Kindle and many more. It is just like the Verizon Droid phone which does all the things an iPhone can’t do. It supports the EPUB format which gives it access to more titles than the Kindle including 500,000 free books available through Google Books. The device has a color LCD touchscreen for navigation and shopping. You can customize the device and load your photos to create your personal screensavers and store photos. Users can download free samples of e-books including many bestsellers and latest releases for $10 only. You can also bookmark pages, make notes, highlight passages and in-case if you do not know the meaning of any word, you can look it up in the built-in dictionary.

Dimensions, weight and color:

Height: 7.7 inches

Width: 4.9 inches

Depth: 0.5 inches

Weight: 11.2 ounces

Technical specifications:

• Display: Nook has one big display divided into two parts. The six inch upper screen allows you to read the book while the lower 3.5 inch color touchscreen is used for navigation and other functions. The upper screen supports advanced E-Ink Vizplex electronic paper display with 16-level grey scale.
• Storage: 2GB (approximately 1500 eBooks). It can be expanded to 16 GB via microSD slot that will enable the device to store up to 17,500 books.
• Supported formats: EPUB, PDF, MP3, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP.
• Wireless communication: With AT&T’s high speed 3G Wireless Network and Wi-Fi ( 802.11 b/g), the Nook e-book reader allows the user to browse e-books over B&N’s online store, magazines, and newspapers and download books within seconds. You can also use the product inside B&N stores which would provide free Wi-Fi.
• OS: The Nook e-book reader currently runs on Android 1.5.
• Audio: The Nook also supports MP3 files meaning you can listen to songs while reading. It can support 26 hours of audio. The device comes with a built-in mono-speaker and 3.5 mm headphone jack.
• I/O ports: Micro USB connector, 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack and microSD slot.
• Accessories: Micro-USB 2.0 cable, Quick Start Guide, AC adapter and rechargeable battery(installed).
• Battery and backup: The Nook ebook reader can run up to ten days on one single charge. It can be charged via USB 2.0 port or wall outlet for 3.5 hours.

Here is a video clip of the device:

Here is what others say about the prospect of Nook e-book reader:

Information Week says that the Nook would beat Amazon Kindle in short term. It also says:

"The Nook is a game changer for the current market and one that will force Amazon's hand," Gartner analyst Allen Weiner said in his blog.

Indeed, Amazon's response to the Nook will be watched closely because the online retailer is the company to beat in the e-reader market. Forrester Research pegs Amazon's share of the market today at 60%, with the Sony Reader a distant second. On the fringes are companies like Plastic Logic, Spring Design, and IREX, which have yet to have much of an impact.

CNET.com says:

As previously reported, the Nook, billed as the first Android-powered e-book reader, features not only a 6-inch E-ink screen but a color touch screen that allows you to navigate content and also can turn into a virtual keyboard for searches. At launch, no separate Android apps will run on the device, but Barnes & Noble says that one of the reasons it chose Android to power the Nook is because it's an open platform with a large developer community and that future apps are a possibility.

PC Mag.com says:

Clearly, the company is betting on ePub as the format of the future. "Our customers want any book, anytime, anyplace," said William Lynch, president of Barnes & Noble.com. "And ePub is the most portable format." The Kindle, of course, does not support ePub.

Nook owners will also be able to lend books to other users of the Barnes & Noble Bookstore, whether they own a Nook, iPhone, Blackberry, or are just reading books on their PC. The loans last for up to two weeks. "Friends can do what they have always done, which is lend each other books," Lynch said.

Computer World quoted Allen Weiner, analyst, Gartner Inc. who said that Nook will not only pose a major challenge to Amazon Kindle but also to Apple and Microsoft’s tablets which will come with e-reading capabilities. It also said:

Lynch also said using Android version 1.5 on Nook "opens up exciting opportunities" for third-party Android applications built by the open source community. While that application capability was not the driving reason for picking Android, Lynch said that Barnes & Noble is planning to put out an SDK for Android developers. He said the Android OS was primarily selected for its navigation and user interface capabilities.

…. Weiner added in a blog that besides shopping, the lower screen will be used for running Android applications, although it wasn't clear when support of Android apps will occur.

So far, there has been only one major complain against the Barnes & Noble Nook

e-book reader and that is its price. The $259 price tag is quite expensive for a netbook.