Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Barnes & Noble plans international Nook launch

Barnes & Noble is to expand its e-book service internationally next year, the company's chief executive has said. The development was revealed at the company's New York press conference at which it unveiled its $249 Nook Tablet, a direct competitor to Amazon's Kindle Fire and the Apple iPad.
William Lynch, chief executive of Barnes and Noble, told The Bookseller that publishers and consumers in the UK should expect an announcement within the next four months about the Nook going international. "We want to do it right," he commented. The comment has prompted speculation that the US chain could do a deal with Waterstone's, which has previously announced that it intends to develop an e-reader.
The B&N press event marked the launch of the $249 Nook Tablet, in stores beginning next week; and major enhancements and price changes to the Nook Color – reduced from $249 to $199, matching the Kindle Fire; and Nook Simple Touch – reduced from $139 to $99, and unlike Kindle Touch, with no "annoying" ads. (An ad-free $99 Kindle Touch costs $139.)
B&N's share of the ebook market in the US is 27%. Publishers want that share to grow. No publisher would speak on the record about Amazon, but as one executive at the launch put it bluntly, "We are all hoping that B&N will compete successfully. We need them to do so. Amazon engages in thuggish tactics and treats the whole book business as a loss leader."
More at The Bookseller.

While at WiredNook Fires Back: Tablet & E-Reader Family Aims at Amazon and More
At the Wall Street JournalBarnes & Noble Bets It Can Compete in Tablets 
And at c/net: What's missing from the Kindle and Nook? Support for printed books
Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33198_7-57320044-286/whats-missing-from-the-kindle-and-nook-support-for-printed-books/#ixzz1d8ay6Jtj

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