Topic: Hardware

Barnes & Noble expected to debut new e-book reader soon

Summary: Following a major upgrade for the Nook Color, Barnes & Noble is already expected to debut a brand new e-book reader before the end of May.

By Rachel King for Between the Lines | May 5, 2011 -- 10:35 GMT (03:35 PDT)

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Following a major upgrade for the Nook Color, Barnes & Noble is already expected to debut a brand new e-book reader before the end of the month.

According to The Wall Street Journal, official details are scarce besides the fact that B&N has already filed for the mystery device with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

The filing said simply that the company, in the meeting, "indicated it expects to make an announcement on May 24, 2011, regarding the launch of a new eReader device."

There are a few possibilities here. The WSJ poses the idea of a Honeycomb-based tablet, which would seem plausible in order to compete with Amazon's Samsung-made tablet that is rumored to be launching this summer.

Another way in which B&N could be competing with Amazon is a cheaper, ad-based tablet that would be targeted towards students and anyone else who doesn't want to shell out more than $100 or so for an e-book reader.

However, given how far B&N has gotten with the Nook Color in terms of technology and even sales success, it might be a step backwards to continue working on electronic ink e-readers. As far as those go, a price drop would be more welcome than a new model.

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11 comments

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RE: Barnes & Noble expected to debut new e-book reader soon

I can ask a lot of speculative questions, as well, with no answers or facts. Does that make me a blogger? (See, there's a question.)

mistercatworks@...
5 May, 2011 11:32

Reply Vote
- RE: Barnes & Noble expected to debut new e-book reader soon
  
  @mistercatworks@... If you publish those questions, especially in a series, yes, it does. However, there is no guarantee, even with superior writing skills, of your ability to attract followers or get paid for doing so.
  
  Kiernla
  5 May, 2011 14:55
  
  Reply Vote
  - Haha
    
    @Kiernla Good one!
    
    matricellc
    6 May, 2011 12:08
    
    Reply Vote
RE: Barnes & Noble expected to debut new e-book reader soon

It'll be a eInk linked with a Color screen like the Adem that way people stop complaining about the 8 hour read time just switch to eInk mode and bam 20 hour read time..... They will call it The Nook Book Dual.

nickitnite
5 May, 2011 11:52

Reply Vote
a question

Does any body know why the Nook Color is so much cheaper than other roughly comparable tablets? Is B & N subsidizing it? Does it have more volume so components are cheaper? Or is there some other explanation.

Eduardo_z
5 May, 2011 14:50

Reply Vote
- RE: Barnes & Noble expected to debut new e-book reader soon
  
  @Eduardo_z
  It is a few things that make it cheaper instead of sacrificing build quality they sacrificed components. It is like many Tablets first it has a good CPU that can be overclocked to 1.1Ghz then it has 512meg ram close to that of others and the screen is a crisp and clean 1024 by 600. Now what is it missing?
  No Camera
  No GPS
  No Cumpas
  Smaller Flash
  So if you take out the bells and wistals your get a Tablet that cost's $200 to make and B&N sells it for $250 a good $50 profit but this is not what B&N is banking on to make it worth it they hope to sell you a Few dozen Books to make the real profit plus a lot of the book for thee nook are published by B&N that is why they have recently had this push to make it harder to root the Nook because they feel it is cutting into there profits. If rooted I this this makes the best low budget Tablet on the market but that is just me.
  
  nickitnite
  5 May, 2011 18:24
  
  Reply Vote
  - RE: Barnes & Noble expected to debut new e-book reader soon
    
    @nickitnite
    I agree. Also, without rooting and applying available ROMs it will not allow access to any App markets other than B&N and some lesser ones.
    BobK
    
    arlkay@...
    6 May, 2011 09:07
    
    Reply Vote
Re: New Nook

What I've heard from the B&N staff who support the Nooks in-house (for customer assistance) is that they're putting out their own full-blown Market, for their own app set - games, etc. Like the cell phone companies, they're marginally subsidized, and make it back over time with use - probably a two year plan also....

We've rooted a Color Nook for Android testing, and it's an Android device - and works just as well as any other android device for Nook. ;)

briank@...
6 May, 2011 10:54

Reply Vote
- RE: Barnes & Noble expected to debut new e-book reader soon
  
  @briank@... Was the root'g after the recent upgrade to V 1.2.0 ?
  
  TangoVisuris
  6 May, 2011 12:36
  
  Reply Vote
RE: Barnes & Noble expected to debut new e-book reader soon

I've been trying to decide between a Nook Color or an Ipad for the last 2-3 months. The latest stats I've seen say the Ipads have sold about 18 million. In second place of all tablets sold is Nook Color at about 3 million. Nook Color is $250. Ipad 2 is $500. I tried to get an Ipad 1 when Verizon was selling them for $300 but I was a week too late. Ipad 1 would have been worth the extra $50 over Nook Color. However, to me, 7" is the perfect size tablet. 10" is nice around the house but 7" is small enough to use at work on the down-low & not stick out too much. If B&N wanted to double or triple their sales upward towards 6-10 million, here is the answer: Bring out a $250 Nook Color which does Netflix! It would be the first & only Android tablet to run Netflix - at half the price of an Ipad - millions of people are awaiting such a device. Nook Color's display rivals Ipad's. Their processor is decent enough, especially if overclocked out of the box. Size is great. Runs Flash player. Android needs Netflix. That would push Nook Color to new heights. For an Android device to sell even half of the number of Ipad sales would be remarkable! Nook Color could do it if Netflix would cooperate.

yechi7@...
6 May, 2011 12:01

Reply Vote
eInk a step backwards?

"However, given how far B&N has gotten with the Nook Color in terms of technology and even sales success, it might be a step backwards to continue working on electronic ink e-readers."

As the owner of a variety of devices I think you forget one important aspect of eInk that makes it superior. It's readability, especially in direct sunlight. I have yet to find a tablet that I can take to the beach and enjoy the way I would a paperback. The tablets overheat, you can't read the screens (even on max brightness) and they run out of power.

eReaders, on the other hand, are about as close as one can get to a book reading experience. Their battery life is phenomenal (2+ weeks on my 5-year old Sony Reader), they are easy to read in direct sunlight, they weigh only about as much as a paperback book (and are about the same size), and I have never had mine overheat... even on a Hawaiian beach and in direct sun for multiple hours.

Don't get me wrong, the nook color is an interesting device, but it drives me nuts when you supposedly well-informed "journalists" say incredibly stupid things like implying that eInk is a step backwards.

eak2000
10 May, 2011 14:05

Reply Vote