Barnes & Noble Nookcolor
Barnes & Noble has unveiled a Nook e-reader with a color touch screen and more social networking features that give the bookseller solid advantages over rival Amazon.com's Kindle, while also giving avid readers reasons not to switch to more expensive tablet-style computers, such as the Apple iPad. The $249 Nookcolor, trades the black-and-white, E Ink digital paper display in the rest of the Nook family for a 7-inch, full-color screen. The new display takes the device into the business of selling magazine subscriptions and children's books, many of which depend on color, so are unavailable for E Ink-based e-readers, such as the Kindle. The Nookcolor, which is roughly 8 inches high, 5 inches wide, and a half-inch thick and weighs 15.8 ounces, is scheduled to begin shipping Nov. 19. The e-reader will be available through B&N's bookstores and Website, as well as Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Books-A-Million. B&N is expected to start taking pre-orders Oct. 27.
