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The new Barnes & Noble Nook e-Reader was announced with fanfare and seems like the first valid competition to the Amazon Kindle. As could be expected, they received lots of press and were inundated with pre-orders. Unfortunately, we now learn that the Nook won’t be available in stores this week as expected or shipped to those of us who pre-ordered. Those of us who did pre-order, with an expected ship date of 11/30, are being given a $10 gift certificate and a free upgrade to overnight shipping… Although, I had already paid for it. Read the rest of this entry »
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6 Responses for "Barnes & Noble Fumbles Nook e-Reader Launch"
Actually I believe that Sony Readers are valid competitors to the kindle. They were selling internationally before the kindle was dont forget.
Sony does have a decent retail presence, though no consumer buzz and their hardware pricing needs to drastically shift in light of the nook, iPod Touch, etc — $400 isn’t going to fly. Sounds like their store may see some improvement.
I shouldn’t write off the Sony so quickly as I’m sure the newest reader will be a good one, but there definitely is not much “buzz” for their eReaders. And their 3G reader won’t be ready until 2010.
Case in point: 2 different co-workers, both not the most technically inclined asked me this week about the Kindle and the Nook. Neither knew about the Sony.
Even with the regrettable slipped ship date, the Nook will be worth the wait, everyone sit tight…
…Nook’s OS, Android, confidently suggests access to standard Google suite ( Gmail, Google Books, Google Docs, etc. ) and gives rise to the speculation of Google Voice connectivity too.
Compare to this quote from Jonathan Zittrain
“‘The kindle is basically closed – there is an operating system in there screaming to get out.”
Todd,
I don’t share your optimism on the open-ness of the Nook. While it does run on something Android-based, it won’t even have web browsing capability at launch. Perhaps a hacked version will offer more, but I see B&N fighting tooth an nail to prove to authors and publishers that the books are locked down tight.
I think the Nook is a worthy competitor to the Kindle, but until I have the Nook in my hands to really compare side-by-side I’ll reserve my enthusiasm for now.
If you’re that desperate to read a book you could always go to the library until the nook arrives.
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