Barnes & Noble hosting event on October 20: ebook a lock?

This rumor sure is shaping up nicely. We started with the FCC berth, then the Wall Street Journal weighed in with a meatier rumor, and now Barnes & Noble itself has sent out an invite to select media to a little get together touted as "a major event in our company's history." It's happening in NY on October 20, and at this point the larger surprise would probably be if there wasn't an ebook reader on display.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 13th 2009 4:30PM]

Never heard of them before.

[Jom Tones Posted Oct 13th 2009 4:38PM]

eBook? Pffft. Clearly it's an BNphone, the next iPhone KILLER. Seriously I keep reading that no one reads books anymore, yet everyone is beating each other up to be THE eBook reader like eBooks were the next MP3s. Don't get me wrong, I like eReaders and welcome the competition, but until manufactures kick some sense in publishers on price and adopte a (less restrictive) universal DRM a mass eBookphoria ain't gonna happen. No how, no way.

[Frankenstein Black Posted Oct 13th 2009 4:40PM]

A color ebook too boot ;^/...

[Marmite Turkey Posted Oct 13th 2009 5:07PM]

Nope - Plastic Logic debunked that myth today. The 'Spokesman' was a very low-level peon with the wrong idea, apparently.

[Marmite Turkey Posted Oct 13th 2009 5:20PM]

Duh, sorry, I don't speak fluent emoticon. Sorry for missing the sarcasm first time around.

[TheGM Posted Oct 13th 2009 4:44PM]

Why is "event" green? Maybe that Android rumor is true; I doubt it though.

[Spiraling Shape Posted Oct 13th 2009 5:28PM]

Um, you mean the color of the text? The Barnes and Noble logo is green, so I wouldn't take that to imply anything about Android.

[Avaviel Posted Oct 13th 2009 4:50PM]

so... was Engadget part of this invited media?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 13th 2009 4:51PM]

A major event in the companies history? Maybe they're finally amending that no taking books into the bathroom policy!!

[lkw15 Posted Oct 13th 2009 7:41PM]

It's been red flagged!

[ivallt Posted Oct 13th 2009 4:53PM]

Maybe a Color Google eBook reader made of Green recycled 7-Up bottles!

I agree with Tones Jom - until i OWN the copy i download from amazon or Barnes and Noble etc. I will not be satisfied with their ability to retract my purchase months or years later just because they have a tiff with a publisher.

[Banksta3 Posted Oct 13th 2009 5:33PM]

It's gonna be a huge Book burning.

[Martin C Posted Oct 14th 2009 1:48PM]

That came so far out of left field that I seriously laughed out loud.

[Mango Chutney Posted Oct 13th 2009 5:43PM]

I think we can safely assume another prohibitively priced ebook reader. How much longer before affordability?

[Foojibar Posted Oct 13th 2009 6:02PM]

Poor timing. Can't make it. Same date as the Microsoft party for Win7.

[onlyshawn Posted Oct 13th 2009 6:08PM]

I'm going to one of those slick win7 house parties I saw on the youtube. They'll have a geek, a retired woman, a soccer mom, and a black athletic man.

[comphelp Posted Oct 13th 2009 6:17PM]

Conveniently a day after Amazon ships the International Kindle too.

[Newslang Posted Oct 15th 2009 9:05AM]

Jeez, that graphic is a photoshop disaster.

[bruin2010 Posted Oct 13th 2009 6:34PM]

they are teamed up with apple to release the new tablet..

[jcar302 Posted Oct 13th 2009 6:39PM]

Irex 800 release?

I hope so, i have a significant other that wants a Ereader for christmas and have absolutely no interest in putting my money towards a kindle.

[physh Posted Oct 13th 2009 6:55PM]

Android rumor IS true. I accept bets. Barnes and Noble "Nook" is on the way.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 13th 2009 7:51PM]

please for the love of god, dont let this cost more than $299, thats all i ask.

[DPRoberts Posted Oct 16th 2009 11:38PM]

E-book readers offer two main benefits - portability (many e-books in one reader) and price (only $10 per download). Walmart and Amazon are selling hundreds of bestsellers for only $9. So, why spend MORE on a download, especially since you still have to pay $200 or more for the reader? Just buy the actual book from Amazon, it's cheaper!

[AlienFanatic Posted Oct 20th 2009 11:58AM]

Portability, DP. Currently, the hottest market for e-Readers is for travelers. For travelers, space is a huge issue. Also, over long business trips it's not unheard of for someone to fly through several books. The immediacy of wireless download, the space conservation, and the flexibility to read both books and PDF's make these highly desirable for business travelers. I agree that these won't be truly mainstream until they start selling at sub-$99 prices, but until then it's nice to see them working out the ergonomic and screen real estate issues.