Barnes & Noble debuts Android-powered touchscreen ereader

As expected, bookseller giant Barnes & Noble officially launched nook, a touchscreen-based color ereader device to rival Amazon.com's bestselling Kindle. According to Barnes & Noble, nook heralds several industry milestones--it's the first ereader based on Google's Android mobile operating system, and it's also the first to provide for free both 3G wireless access via AT&T's mobile broadband network as well as in-store WiFi access via B&N's own service.

Barnes & Noble will offer more than one million nook titles at launch, with most bestsellers and new releases priced at $9.99--in addition, consumers can subscribe to periodicals including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Barnes & Noble reports that nook can hold up to 1,500 ebooks and other printed content--a 16GB MicroSD card holds up to 17,500 ebooks. The device's LendMe technology enables consumers to lend ebooks to friends free of charge for up to 14 days at a time--nook content may be shared across devices including the iPhone, iPod touch, select BlackBerry and Motorola smartphones, and PCs or Macs equipped with Barnes & Noble eReader software.

Barnes & Noble will begin shipping nook at the end of November--the device will cost $259.00. The first 10,000 customers to pre-order the device will receive a free ebook copy of Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller The Tipping Point.

For more about nook:
- read this release

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