Archive for the ‘barnes and noble’ Category

Entelligence: Of ebooks and suburban moms

There was a raging debate going on last week at Engadget HQ over the role of dedicated ebook readers that spilled over on to the Engadget Show. You can watch the show here, but essentially big boss Joshua Topolsky and Paul Miller feel that the new Barnes and Noble Nook is going to be a hit — the one machine that gets suburban moms to buy. On the other hand, Nilay Patel, rationally (as he agrees with me) says it’s not going to happen and there’s no mass market for dedicated ebook readers. I’m going to weigh in and say Nilay is probably right.

Now don’t get me wrong, this is not entirely an integration vs. convergence story. I believe there’s a market for dedicated devices: cameras have not been displaced by music phones, media players have not been displaced by music phones and ebook readers could serve bibliophiles, especially those who travel a lot. However, mobile reader apps like those from Amazon and Barnes & Noble can easily tap into more casual markets, allowing users to leverage the investment in screens they already own instead of buying a dedicated device. That’s one reason why I think it has been important for Amazon and B&N to get their ebook platform onto as many devices with screens as possible, and why Sony’s making a mistake by ignoring the opportunity.

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Filed under: Handhelds

Entelligence: Of ebooks and suburban moms originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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) 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.

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Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

QUE proReader hitting Barnes & Noble retail stores in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Making book with ePUB

The ePUB standard, developed by Adobe, allows consumers to purchase books at a variety of digital stores and use them on a wide range of compatible devices without the manufacturer having to explicitly support them. That may sound a bit like the PlaysForSure initiative that Microsoft tried mounting to challenge the iPod but ultimately shifted away from (at least for MP3 players) in favor of the Zune, but ePUB has a better shot than PlaysForSure did.

First, unlike PlaysForSure, which was playing catch-up to the already dominant iPod, ePUB is appearing relatively early in the market; it need not break anyone’s “stranglehold.” Second, after attracting the support of Sony, the format achieved a significant coup with the support of Barnes & Noble, which noted last week that it was “excited” to be supporting the format in its forthcoming Nook e-reader.

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Filed under: Software

Switched On: Making book with ePUB originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week In Review: Apple, Microsoft, Nook and More—It Was Nuts [Roundup]

What didn’t happen this week? We saw the Windows 7 release, new Apple hardware, Barnes & Noble’s ereader, the beginnings of major net neutrality legislation and more. It was so crazy, we thought we’d round up all the highlights.

Microsoft:
• Windows 7: A Weekend Install Guide and More
• You Guys Had Some Wild and Crazy Windows 7 Launch Parties
• Japan’s Windows 7 Whopper Is Real, and It’s Horrifying
• Behold! The Saddest Example of Promotional Convergence Ever!
• Microsoft’s First Retail Store Opens (Like Apple Store With More Colors)
• Windows Mobile 7 Screenshots Leak: Where’s the Start Button?
• 38 Surefire Ways (Not) to Make Windows 7 Cooler
• 7 Reasons to Stick with Windows XP
• 27 Takes on Windows 7
• Windows 7 Review: You Can Quit Complaining Now

Apple:
• Apple iMac Review: 27 Inches and Less Chin
• Unibody Apple MacBook Review
• Apple Magic Mouse Review
• Time Capsule and Airport Extreme Grow New Antennas to Get Faster and Stronger
• Mac Mini Updates: Faster Processors, More Memory, and a Dual Hard Disk Server
• 10 Things You Need to Know About Apple’s New Stuff

Barnes & Noble
• Exclusive: First Photos of Barnes & Noble’s Double Screen E-Reader
• Barnes & Noble’s Dual-Screen Nook: $260, Eats the Kindle’s Lunch
• Barnes & Noble Compares Nook to Kindle 2: Biased But Fair
• Live From Barnes & Noble’s Nook Event
• 8 Reasons You Can Finally Love Ebook Readers (Thanks to Nook)
• Barnes & Noble Nook Up Close: Yep, It’s Real Nice

The Rest:
• FCC: We’re Going to Make Net Neutrality the Law
• The Totally Predictable Cable Industry Response to the FCC’s Net Neutrality Plan
• John McCain’s “Internet Freedom Act” Seeks to Block FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules
• Motorola Droid Unexpectedly Appears on Motorola’s Site Ahead of Schedule
• 48 Stunning Photos of Fall

Barnes & Noble Nook’s first close-up (now with video!)

There she blows, we’ll be getting hands-on and try to scrap together some impressions of the Nook if they let us touch it once this Q&A is done. The device is a bit thicker than some, and certainly looks minimal up front. The LCD is nice, but not overly bright, and that’s about all we spotted before it was snatched away. Check out the gallery for a few more fleeting shots and a look at a non-functioning prototype for a better idea of the unit’s shape.

Update: We got a closer look at the device, though they still haven’t let us touch it. The LCD seems very “passive,” and has a shallow viewing angle — obviously to gather more ambient light and save on battery. The interface appears relatively intuitive, but we’re a little confused and doubtful about the highlighting features — it brings up a software d-pad on screen, and seemed a little unwieldy, though we’ll only find out for ourselves when they actually let us get our grubby paws on the thing.

Update 2: We’ve got some video! It’s so very exciting, and can be found after the break.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Nook’s first close-up (now with video!)

Filed under: Handhelds

Barnes & Noble Nook’s first close-up (now with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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