BarnsAndNoble
Latest
The Daily Roundup for 07.08.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
NYT: Barnes & Noble may be moving away from Nook hardware
Barnes & Noble's hardware division hasn't exactly been glowing recently, and if one New York Times source is to be believed, it'll take more than cute (and charitable) rhymes to keep investors happy. According to the NYT source, company executives want to shift from making Barnes & Noble branded hardware to licensing its content to other manufactures. "They are not completely getting out of the hardware business, but they are going to lean a lot more on the comprehensive digital catalog of content," the paper was told. The source went on to explain that the company will emphasize this new strategy in its Q3 2013 fiscal report next week, committing to building deeper relationships with device makers like Samsung and Microsoft. The unnamed informant didn't say which devices the bookseller planned to shelve, but we wouldn't be too surprised to see the more expensive SKUs fall by the wayside. Either way, we'll see the facts for themselves when the company posts its earnings next week. Update: Barnes & Noble followed up with us to clarify the situation, stating plainly that it has "no plans to discontinue our award-winning line of Nook products."
Barnes & Noble intros Nook Color: the worst of all worlds
Barnes & Noble introduced a new color version of its Nook eBook reader on Tuesday and as expected, it features a color touch screen. Unfortunately for B&N, this new device is unlikely to pose a significant challenge to either Apple's iPad or Amazon's Kindle. The big advantage that both the Kindle and the original Nook had was a monochrome e-ink display which uses very little energy and generally provides excellent readability. The iPad on the other hand needs to be charged daily but its color LCD provides plenty of capability for displaying photos and video that are utterly beyond what a slow moving e-ink screen can do. This allows iPad users to utilize any of hundreds of thousands of apps for all sorts of tasks. The Nook Color has a color LCD with a touch screen and runs on Android. But unlike forthcoming Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, this device is going to be locked down and will only be able to run a limited number of B&N-approved apps such as Pandora and Lonely Planet. Even with WiFi-only, the Nook Color only runs for eight hours, at least two hours less than an iPad. With limited capability, poor battery life and a higher price than the Kindle, the Nook Color doesn't really seem like it would be very appealing to anyone. At $249 it seems like either a full featured iPad or Galaxy tab would be a much better choice even at a higher price. [Via: Crunchgear]
Lexi e-book reader probably won't ever be called sexy (hands-on)
We swung by the Audiovox / RCA booth in search of the new Lexi e-reader but sadly were met with a non-working version that was effectively useless. We've heard about the specs but were lacking in the image department, so it was good to at least see what the thing will look like when it hits the increasingly crowded e-reader space. The design is basic, and from the signage in the booth, so is the UI on the handheld itself. There's not much else to say here, and the PR reps weren't the most helpful, but we managed to snag a bunch of shots anyway so check them out below. %Gallery-82490%
First Nooks begin shipping as demo (and retail?) units hit stores
You've waited and waited and now it's happening: the first Nooks are shipping. Those of you who pre-ordered early will receive your Nook in the "next day or two," while anyone with a December 7th confirmation date will now receive theirs on the 16th -- delayed, sure, but at least it'll be home before the chubby man and his elves arrive with the in-laws. Select Barnes & Noble stores are also receiving the first demo units. A quick search with the handy Nook locator tool reveals broad availability of demo units across the US. Interestingly enough, we found a single store (Lincoln Triangle, Manhattan) showing an in stock "pick me up" option for what appears to be the ability to reserve a Nook for purchase, as unlikely as that sounds given the limited supplies. Still, if you're in NYC and like to gamble, and you just can't wait for the first firmware update to tweak the performance and interface issues we found, then you might want to arrive at 9am when the store opens. Update: We gave the Lincoln Triangle store a call this morning, and they definitely don't have any Nooks in stock! [Thanks, Kris]
