Barnes & Noble is really laying on the heat on rival Amazon's Kindle these days as it steps up its marketing push via a launch party for its own Nook eBook Reader.
Right smack within B&N's cross hairs, apparently, is Amazon's Kindle 2. How do I know? Well, besides the eerily similar price of $259, B&N also has this not-so-subtle side-by-side comparison on its Web site pitting the Nook against a certain Amazon device. Let's just say B&N's comparison doesn't exactly have the Kindle 2 trumping the competition.
In addition to sporting the same electronic paper display and 6-inch diagonal screen size as the Kindle 2, B&N says its reader also throws in extra features such as a color touch screen, expandable memory and a wider range of supported formats. Nook owners get free Wi-Fi at all B&N stores as well. While the device lets you browse books online, I didn't see anything in the features list about a dedicated Web browser, though.
The official Nook blog says the device will be out on the market starting Nov. 30, with pre-ordering available online or at any B&N store. With Sony also throwing in a new line of readers into the mix, the race to grab eBook market share from Amazon is really starting to heat up. Will Amazon continue to keep its crown as the market matures (a la Apple's iPod) or will the increased competition bring more parity to the eBook sector? I can't wait for the next volume in this series.
Photo © Barnes & Noble
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