Book retailer Barnes & Noble is taking the spotlight away from online competitor Amazon.com. Photos and details of Barnes & Noble’s electronic book reader, dubbed Nook, surfaced Tuesday, just one day after Amazon made the new international version of its Kindle e-reader available.
The new e-book reader, priced at $259, features touchscreen controls and a white and gray display, according to an ad from Barnes & Noble to be featured in The New York Times Book Review on Oct. 25. The Nook will give users access to more than one million electronic books, magazines and newspapers, according to the ad released to publishers on Monday.
The market for connected and Wi-Fi e-readers is a growing opportunity for big players such as Amazon, Sony and Barnes & Noble and the smaller players, including Astak, Interead and iRex Technologies. Along with price, how vast the catalog is will be factored into consumers’ decisions on which device to buy, according to ABI Research analyst Jeff Orr.
“Certainly, this means more choice and more access to content (for consumers),” Orr said.
Barnes & Noble’ Nook will compete directly with Amazon’s Kindle, which currently leads the market, and Sony’s Reader, along with some of the newer e-readers. Consumers in the U.S. will be able to choose from the Kindle, which is now also priced at $259, down from $299, the Nook, and the Reader, priced at $279.
The crowded market has had enough impact on the Kindle that Amazon has had two price cuts, bringing the cost of the Kindle down $100.
Analysts said there is still a lot of mystery around the Kindle and how well it is doing because Amazon doesn’t publish any numbers on its sales.
“Amazon, as a channel, will remain such, but there will be other sources from which…