Barnes & Noble News: Eight articles on this page
How Barnes & Noble outsmarted Amazon with the Nook
Part 1:When I was in my first year of high school, I spent hours building a log cabin model for a history class project. It came out pretty good & my classmates gathered around to admire it. Just before the class started, my classmate "Tommy" walked in with a much better model cabin than mine & everybody went over to look at his superior version. Boy I was not happy!
I think I know how Amazon's Kindle team must be feeling, as Barnes & Noble just released their own e-Reader a few months after Amazon started selling their second edition of their very popular Kindle e-Reader. As quickly as the positive press went out, reviewers suddenly turned against the Kindle, saying as good as it is, Amazon's e-Reader does not measure up to the Nook, (a sentiment I happen to agree with)
B & N has taken the best elements of the Kindle, Sony's Touch Reader & Apple's iPod design and smashed them together into the hottest e-Reader of this season. Not only does it have wi-fi downloading like the Kindle, it beats all competitors by allowing the lending of popular & bestselling eBooks to friends who have iPhones, PC's & Blackberries. (again by wireless transfer).
Kindle decided not to offer a touchscreen on either of its models, so in many ways, Sony's 600SC and B & N Nook are easier to navigate, select & choose books and features.......continues
I think I know how Amazon's Kindle team must be feeling, as Barnes & Noble just released their own e-Reader a few months after Amazon started selling their second edition of their very popular Kindle e-Reader. As quickly as the positive press went out, reviewers suddenly turned against the Kindle, saying as good as it is, Amazon's e-Reader does not measure up to the Nook, (a sentiment I happen to agree with)
B & N has taken the best elements of the Kindle, Sony's Touch Reader & Apple's iPod design and smashed them together into the hottest e-Reader of this season. Not only does it have wi-fi downloading like the Kindle, it beats all competitors by allowing the lending of popular & bestselling eBooks to friends who have iPhones, PC's & Blackberries. (again by wireless transfer).
Kindle decided not to offer a touchscreen on either of its models, so in many ways, Sony's 600SC and B & N Nook are easier to navigate, select & choose books and features.......continues
How Barnes & Noble outsmarted Amazon
Part 2: Wisely, the Nook has a color touchscreen display of book covers available to buy & currently inside the Nook's library -users just have to touch the screen to find and select a book cover and tap it to start reading. The Kindle requires several button presses and it's picture interface is in grey shades only.
But the Nook is not only better because of the touchscreen, navigation & "Lend Me" features, it also has a beautiful design and sleek casing that looks amazing. The Nook looks so much like an iPod, it seems like it was designed by Apple and is much more attractive to admire, hold & touch than most of the competition's devices.
Barnes & Noble has bested Amazon in both design and in the marketing of their e-Reader as well. Was it coincidence that the Nook came to market several months after the Kindle DX, with superior features at a competitive price, forcing Amazon to lower the price of their device? B & N waited until the trade magazines & public got familiar with Kindle's shortcomings and then outsmarted everyone by adding a lending feature no other device on the market has. Very cool.
The Nook is e-Book heaven for travelers
From Post-Courier.com, Dec 14th, 2009 - Barnes & Noble's million book titles can now be downloaded on a very sleek, handheld device called the Nook. Barnes & Noble also partnered with Google to access downloads of free public-domain titles, i.e., classics.
While some people say they'll never abandon real books, there's obviously a market for e-reading and no shortage of booksellers eager to fill that niche. "You can also download books right onto your iPod or BlackBerry for the same price," said Patti Morrison, manager of the Barnes & Noble in North Charleston. "But the nook makes it easier to read."
"I definitely think these products will not replace the book," said Morrison, whose store holds 250,000 printed products. "However, there are times when the e-book is certainly worthwhile, like kids' school reading assignments. The schools don't provide the books like they used to. So, if you can download the books for free, your child can accomplish those assignments without a big expense.
"Traveling is also an application for e-books. People can't always carry their books around. We have a lot of military customers who serve overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they think these products are absolutely wonderful."
And there's one feature of e-books that gives them an advantage over the traditional print version. You can still lend a book to a friend, but after 14 days it automatically comes back to you. You know, unlike a real book.
While some people say they'll never abandon real books, there's obviously a market for e-reading and no shortage of booksellers eager to fill that niche. "You can also download books right onto your iPod or BlackBerry for the same price," said Patti Morrison, manager of the Barnes & Noble in North Charleston. "But the nook makes it easier to read."
"I definitely think these products will not replace the book," said Morrison, whose store holds 250,000 printed products. "However, there are times when the e-book is certainly worthwhile, like kids' school reading assignments. The schools don't provide the books like they used to. So, if you can download the books for free, your child can accomplish those assignments without a big expense.
"Traveling is also an application for e-books. People can't always carry their books around. We have a lot of military customers who serve overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they think these products are absolutely wonderful."
And there's one feature of e-books that gives them an advantage over the traditional print version. You can still lend a book to a friend, but after 14 days it automatically comes back to you. You know, unlike a real book.
Five ways Barnes & Noble could overcome Amazon
From eWeek, Oct 29th, 2009 = Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader faces substantial competition as it attempts to take market share away from Amazon.com’s popular Kindle line, but it could conceivably triumph thanks to a combination of new technology, Google Android, brick-and-mortar stores, and other e-readers such as Plastic Logic's QUE. The introduction of the long-rumored Apple tablet PC could also have a seismic effect on the e-reader market, as well as Amazon.com’s and Barnes & Noble's ability to compete in the space.
Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader will go head-to-head with Amazon.com’s Kindle this holiday season. While the Kindle cornered much of the public’s attention throughout 2009, thanks in part to extraordinarily high-profile launches of its latest models, it now faces substantial competition from companies that have dissected its business model.
Two or three quarters from now, will Barnes & Noble’s Nook have managed to eat away at the Kindle’s market lead? Or will Amazon.com succeed in its goal of making "Kindle" synonymous with "e-reader"? And what will either outcome mean for the e-reader market overall? rest of article here
Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader will go head-to-head with Amazon.com’s Kindle this holiday season. While the Kindle cornered much of the public’s attention throughout 2009, thanks in part to extraordinarily high-profile launches of its latest models, it now faces substantial competition from companies that have dissected its business model.
Two or three quarters from now, will Barnes & Noble’s Nook have managed to eat away at the Kindle’s market lead? Or will Amazon.com succeed in its goal of making "Kindle" synonymous with "e-reader"? And what will either outcome mean for the e-reader market overall? rest of article here
Nook hacked! Can now run Pandora & other Apps.
From Wired, Dec 18th, 2009 - Listening to music as you read a book is just perfect. Now picture doing that on your Barnes & Noble Nook eReader.
A few Nook device owners have hacked it to run the Pandora music application in the background. “It wasn’t that hard,” says Robbie Trencheny, a 18-year-old student who is also the team leader at nookDevs, a wiki and an online forum for Nook enthusiasts. “Once we had rooted the Nook (on Sunday), it was only a matter of time until we could put an app on it.”
The nookDevs group has also gotten a browser, an Android twitter client called Tweet, Google Reader and a Facebook app running on the Nook. The move opens the door to running apps on the e-reader — something that Barnes & Noble does not support officially.
A few Nook device owners have hacked it to run the Pandora music application in the background. “It wasn’t that hard,” says Robbie Trencheny, a 18-year-old student who is also the team leader at nookDevs, a wiki and an online forum for Nook enthusiasts. “Once we had rooted the Nook (on Sunday), it was only a matter of time until we could put an app on it.”
The nookDevs group has also gotten a browser, an Android twitter client called Tweet, Google Reader and a Facebook app running on the Nook. The move opens the door to running apps on the e-reader — something that Barnes & Noble does not support officially.
Barnes & Noble Nook may not ship until mid December
According to PC World article on 11.10.09, Barnes & Noble confirmed that new orders for it's eReader Nook will not ship until after December 11th.
"Since Barnes & Noble announced the Nook on October 20th, Nook has quickly become the fastest selling product at Barnes & Noble. In fact, there is so much consumer interest in nook, that pre-orders have exceeded our expectations," a B&N spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "As with any other hot consumer product, the sooner a customer orders, the sooner they receive it."
"As the demand continues to grow, we will provide timely updates to our customers on expected nook availability throughout the holiday season," she added.
"Since Barnes & Noble announced the Nook on October 20th, Nook has quickly become the fastest selling product at Barnes & Noble. In fact, there is so much consumer interest in nook, that pre-orders have exceeded our expectations," a B&N spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "As with any other hot consumer product, the sooner a customer orders, the sooner they receive it."
"As the demand continues to grow, we will provide timely updates to our customers on expected nook availability throughout the holiday season," she added.
The Nook: Raising the eReader Bar
From Business Week, 20.10.09 Gray letters on a gray screen. A keypad that some users found lacking. With the Kindle e-book reader, Amazon.com simply didn't set the bar that high. On Oct. 20, book retailer Barnes & Noble raised the standard considerably by announcing its own e-book reader, the nook.
The nook still may not be the game-changer that e-book advocates hope will attract legions of new readers, but it has its attractions. Priced at $259 (the basic Kindle is also $259), the nook has two screens instead of one—a screen for the book itself and another iPhone-like touchscreen that lets users type on a virtual keyboard, skim and browse book covers, and add their own personal touches, including pictures, music, and personal documents.
Shipping Starts in November Another unique nook feature that drew much interest at the publishing-industry-and-press event held at New York City's Chelsea Piers: a "lend-me" function that allows one e-book owner to pass a favorite title along to a nook-owning friend for 14 days.
Software updates boosts Nook's speed
From JK on the Run, Dec 22, 2009 - Because Barnes & Noble rushed it's Nook to the market too quickly, they were not able to fix all the "bugs in the system". For example early videos of the Nook shows a very slow page refresh rate and many users are not too happy with the relatively sluggish performance and unfinished feel.
A Firmware update has been released for the Nook & the device has showed some improvement but still trails some of it's competitors such as the Kindle. Matt Miller's You Tube video compares it to his Sony Reader PRS-505, as he did on day one of Nook ownership. Instead of taking twice as long as the Sony, the Nook has caught up a little — it’s still not as fast as the Sony, but it’s a noticeable improvement, thanks to version 1.1 of the firmware. This is indication that future Nooks will run more quickly as production catches up with demand.
A Firmware update has been released for the Nook & the device has showed some improvement but still trails some of it's competitors such as the Kindle. Matt Miller's You Tube video compares it to his Sony Reader PRS-505, as he did on day one of Nook ownership. Instead of taking twice as long as the Sony, the Nook has caught up a little — it’s still not as fast as the Sony, but it’s a noticeable improvement, thanks to version 1.1 of the firmware. This is indication that future Nooks will run more quickly as production catches up with demand.
440,000 Nooks to ship in February & March 2010
From TechCrunch, Dec 23, 2009 About 500,000 Barnes & Noble's Nook e-readers will have shipped by March, despite the company only making 60,000 of the device available in December 2009.
ODM Foxconn will step up manufacturing in the new year after B&N's low supply in 2009 despite high demand. The bookseller has also told would-be consumers that new online orders will not ship until February 1st, leaving many consumers waiting over a month for their device.
In comparison, the Amazon Kindle is said to have sold between 300,000-500,000 units in its first full year in 2007.
ODM Foxconn will step up manufacturing in the new year after B&N's low supply in 2009 despite high demand. The bookseller has also told would-be consumers that new online orders will not ship until February 1st, leaving many consumers waiting over a month for their device.
In comparison, the Amazon Kindle is said to have sold between 300,000-500,000 units in its first full year in 2007.
