b and n
Latest
Barnes and Noble CEO describes Nook as 'single best-selling product,' critical to success
In a conference call with investors yesterday, Steve Riggio described the Nook as a great success and the company's best selling product. The former is predictable, but the latter is kinda weird. You typically wait to have more than one own-brand product in order to describe anything as "best-selling," but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's comparing the Nook against books published under the B&N name. It's still disappointing that, much like Amazon, Barnes and Noble refuses to issue actual sales figures. The closest we get to that is Steve's boast that the Nook's release has fueled a 67 percent increase in online ebook sales -- an effect that would have been even greater if the company had more stock of the device to sell. In the long term, he sees the Nook as a stimulant of traffic and sales, both in its retail and online stores, and a central component of his company's strategy. As to the iPad? Steve skirted that question by noting that B&N ebooks are also available on PC, Mac, iPhone and BlackBerry devices. Which is good to know.
How would you change Barnes & Noble's Nook?
We know that some of you chaps are still waiting for your Barnes & Noble Nook to arrive, but by now, we're hoping that the vast majority (read: all) of you that were jonesing for one can finally say that yours is in-hand. For those that got one during the madness that is the holiday rush (or yesterday... that works too), we're interested to know how you'd do things differently. Are you kosher with the dual-screen approach? Is the user interface smooth enough? Would you tweak the e-book buying process? Do you wish you would've held off for some magical Mirasol-based device to hit "later this year?" Be sure to toss out your opinions in comments below, but make sure you think before you type -- the Nook sees and hears all, don'tcha know?
Nook ship date slips to January 11th, supply chain managers weep
Hardware construction is a funny thing. Sometimes, regardless of the money you throw at something, you just can't get products to come together any quicker. Evidently that's the case with Barnes & Noble's Nook, which has seen its estimated ship date slip from today to sometime after the holidays, and now to January 11th. There's still a sliver of hope that you'll be able to snag one from a high-traffic retail location on December 7th, but unless you're planning on abandoning ship and helping the Kindle have its new best month ever, the realistic choices are pretty clear: a) pay Tickle Me Elmo-like prices on eBay or b) drop an IOU in a nicely wrapped box, preferably with a cute puppy. We suggest the latter. [Thanks, Dave and Wes] P.S. - We're also hearing that pre-orders (even those placed moments after it was announced) are also being pushed back, though hopefully they'll still be received before December 25th.
QUE proReader hitting Barnes & Noble retail stores in 2010
In a rather odd unfolding of events, it seems as if Barnes & Noble is finally clearing up the mystery behind that Plastic Logic e-reader slated to hit its retail locations by Spring of 2010. After making said announcement, the book seller then went out and introduced an e-book reader of its very own in the Nook, and only now are we learning that the Plastic Logic-built QUE proReader will also be splashing down at the outfit sometime next year. In a brief release posted today, we're told that the recently teased big-screen reader (8.5- x 11-inches) 10.5-inch will be sold throughout B&N's retail footprint and on its website; makes sense given that B&N is powering the proReader's online e-book store, but the fact that it'll be placed prominently near the outfit's own (somewhat competing) device is certainly interesting. We're expecting to see more come CES 2010, and seriously, with the rate at which these readers are hitting brick-and-mortar locations, Amazon might want to consider implementing some kind of physical trial in order to not go overlooked in its corner of the web. Update: Plastic Logic rather dubiously lists "large 8-1/2 x 11-inch shatterproof display" on its specsheet. A bit of digging into the Barnes and Noble listing, however, reveals the following spec "Display (viewable area): 10.5-inch diagonal, 944 x 1264 pixels at 150ppi, 8 gray levels." Sneaky.
Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader leaks a bit early: $259, pre-orders are live (video)
Looks like all those whispers were true -- the "Android-based" nook is alive and well, and it's calling itself the planet's "most advanced e-book reader." Measuring 7.7- x 4.9- x 0.5-inches and weighing 11.2 ounces, the device includes a top e-ink display from Vizplex and a color touchscreen (3.5-inches) below, which supports one-touch control and swipe-to-browse books with full-color covers. The rechargeable battery takes 3.5 hours to go from zero to full if using a wall outlet, and B&N claims that it'll last for up to ten days if you flick the wireless to "off." Speaking of which, inbuilt WiFi (802.11b/g) and AT&T 3G is included, not to mention 2GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, MP3 player, built-in mono speaker, 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, a micro USB port and support for EPUB, PDF and MP3. The nook also supports bookmarking, making notes, and highlighting passages, and the 'LendMe' feature allows users to lend books for up to a fortnight at a time to other e-readers, cellphones or computers. B&N also tells us that you can pick up where you left off (with markings and highlights in tact) on your iPhone or BlackBerry using its free eReader software, which just so happens to be the same app that allows sharing to iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC or Mac. As expected, the company will also let you sample ebooks before you buy, and you'll enjoy free WiFi each and every time you sashay into a Barnes & Noble retail location. It's available to pre-order as we speak for $259, with initial shipments expected to happen at the end of November. Introductory video is after the break, along with a few highlights about accessories and features. Update: Aw snap, B&N just yanked everything related to nook from its website. Thankfully for you, everything you'd ever need to know is right here. Update 2: Looks like it's back! Though, the landing page itself still seems down. Hurray for backdoors! Update 3: Be sure to check out our live reveal coverage and our hands-on images / video! %Gallery-76016% %Gallery-76013% %Gallery-75994%
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.
Plastic Logic deflates dreams, denies Spring 2010 release for color e-reader
We had a sneaking suspicion that it was too good to be true, and now Plastic Logic has stepped forward to officially kill our pipe dreams. Just days ago, the web was set ablaze when a Barnes & Noble representative mistakenly (or deliberately, for all we know) stated that a Plastic Logic-sourced color e-reader was on track for a Spring 2010 release. Today, the aforesaid outfit has stated that the video report was "inaccurate and the individual (who was apparently filmed while attending a trade show was not an authorized Barnes & Noble spokesperson) was misinformed." Continuing on, we're told that while "color is on Plastic Logic's roadmap, it is not on the map for the Spring of 2010." Welp, that settles that... unfortunately.[Thanks, Charlie]
