Barnes & Noble Unveils 'Nook' E-Reader

Seems to be a sign that company is struggling against Kindle

(NEWSER) - Trouble in Nook-ville? Barnes & Noble shares lost about a quarter of their value this morning on the surprising news that the company might spin off its Nook e-reader. B&N has poured a ton of money into the e-reader business, but the news suggests it's losing the arms race to Amazon, with its deeper pockets and mighty Kindle, reports Reuters . Overall Nook sales were up 70% in the last nine weeks of the year, but sales of the basic model—the $99 Nook Simple Touch—fell short over the holidays. B&N lowered the yearly sales forecast for Nooks from $1.8 billion to $1.5 billion. More»

1M!

(NEWSER) - Looks like there are going to be plenty of Kindles under the Christmas tree. Amazon says it has sold more than 1 million Kindle devices each week for the past three weeks. It's the first time the company has given specific sales numbers for the e-reader, notes the Christian Science Monitor . The $199 Kindle Fire has been leading the pack for the last 11 weeks, revealed a company VP, and has sold "millions of units." More»

Publishers set own prices, and set them high

(NEWSER) - If you're hoping Santa drops a Kindle or Nook under your tree, be forewarned: e-book bestsellers don't cost $9.99 anymore. These days, electronic tomes can cost as much or more than their print counterparts, the Wall Street Journal reports, thanks to a move from the six top publishers to set their own e-book prices. A digital copy of Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, for example, will cost you $18.99, while a paperback copy from Amazon is just $16.50. More»

Barnes & Noble device has more memory, better display than Kindle

(NEWSER) - The Nook Tablet is here, and while it won’t cost you nearly as much as an iPad, at $249 it still comes in a bit more expensive than Amazon’s Kindle Fire . Barnes & Noble unveiled the tablet in New York City today, just in time for the holiday shopping season, the Wall Street Journal notes. That extra 50 bucks will snag you better memory capacity, a superior display, a larger selection of content, and in-store service, TechCrunch adds. More»

Flash lovers, rejoice!

(NEWSER) - Surely you’ve heard by know that Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet isn’t an iPad killer . But it does have a few desirable traits that the iPad doesn’t. The Huffington Post lists six of them:

• It supports Flash: Many iPad and iPhone users wish that Apple would take a page from Amazon’s playbook when it comes to this.
• It’s cheaper: A Kindle Fire (which does not offer 3G) will run you $199. For the cheapest iPad 2 model, which also does not offer 3G, you’ll shell out $499.