Barnes and Noble's new e-reader sets its sights on Amazon's Kindle
Filed under: Company News, Technology
Real competition is emerging for Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle. A few days ago, bookseller Barnes & Noble (BKS) announced a deal with Plastic Logic to supply a Kindle-like reader. B&N's catalog of 700,000 titles, twice that available for the Kindle, should be a major attraction for consumers, as should the new device's cell-network based Internet connectivity, which will be provided through AT&T (T). Barnes & Noble's device will apparently work much like the Kindle, which uses the Sprint network. Users will be able to download reading material anywhere within the AT&T network, including its Wi-Fi network in locations such as Starbucks (SBUX). Amazon bundles the cost of the Sprint (S) connectivity into the price of the device and books purchased. It seems likely that B&N will do the same.
The new e-reader is closer in size to the large-screen Kindle DX than the Kindle 2, which will make it much friendlier for newspaper and magazine content. Further, unlike Amazon -- which uses a proprietary format -- B&N has been a supporter of the open ePub standard, which should further extend the options available to the company's customers.
DailyFinance's Douglas A. McIntyre recently wrote about Google's (GOOG) plans to establish its own untethered e-book store, which would allow content providers to set their own prices. This could also be a major market changer -- and a serious threat to Amazon. For the time being, however, Barnes & Noble's announcement firmly establishes the template for the near future of e-readers: book vendor + device +wireless content delivery service. So far, the major players are:
* Amazon books + Amazon (Kindle) + Sprint
* Barnes & Noble + Plastic Logic + AT&T
A third competitor, Sony (SNE), is still missing a leg:
* Sony e-book Store and Google books + Sony Reader + ???
The lack of wireless connectivity will be a severe handicap for Sony, as its e-reader is comparably priced to the Kindle, yet offers less functionality. If it hopes to survive, Sony will have to add this feature to its next generation of readers.
The US trade wholesale e-book sales jumped by an astonishing 53 percent between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of this year, according to the International Digital Publishing Forum. With these kinds of profits on the table, it is only a matter of time before more competitors will join the e-scrum.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-23-2009 @ 10:40AM
John Waser said...
How do you spell thumbs?
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7-22-2009 @ 2:47PM
Anna said...
Would really like to own either reading device. It is so much more convenient to have magazine options and favorite books and the Bible all in one device that you can carry with you. Instead of having a bookcase of books, you can have all the books you like at your fingertips. Saves the environment and trees, no printing just electronically receiving a top read.
Didn't hear what the listing price for the Barnes and Noble device. Interesting to see if the Barnes & Noble reader is competively priced to rival the Amazon Kindle.
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7-22-2009 @ 3:10PM
susan rettaliata said...
I love my new Kindle 2. It's small and powerful and has some wonderful features. I love that it is paperless - saves trees - and I can carry all my books with me where ever I go. Now all I have to do is convert my "can't be withouts" onto the Kindle!
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7-22-2009 @ 9:21PM
JM Grinder said...
Kindle is a disaster and so is Amazon. That device forces people to buy only from Amazon, and allows Amazon to alter or delete books from your personal library whenever it wants to. It's not a theoretical issue, as Amazon has already deleted three books that we know of.
If Barnes & Noble's reader allows me to read books that get from sources other than them, and if the books I buy are truly mine as opposed to merely "rented" as with Amazon, then I'll be interested. But if they're just going to be a carbon copy of Amazon's "Big Brother" machine, I will stick with regular books.
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8-04-2009 @ 9:34AM
Barbara Monroe said...
At first it looks a bit large to be convenient enough to carry around. Then I think about the Kindle I see at work and how small the screen is. I'd like to compare both side by side to see which one I like better.
As for the price, for those of us living in the recession, the price better be really competitive with the Kindle. The present one is going for $299 now.
I'd love either one. I've been a voracious reader since I'm 4 and I'm 58!
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7-30-2009 @ 12:13AM
Barbara Monroe said...
I like the non-proprietory aspect and the greater selection of titles. I would have liked to see the cost of the B&N book. My biggest problem is the size. The whole point of this product is convenience and portability. I just don't see how convenient this e-book would be for a woman to be carrying around. I work in an office where a few people have the Kindle. Quite easy to pick it up like a paperback from your desk and go on break. Or carry it on the plane to read in your tight-fitting seat. They are getting away from the whole concept. Might as well download it onto a laptop. There are some laptops smaller than this, by the way.
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8-17-2009 @ 5:06PM
Ben said...
MediaCurves.com just conducted a study with 306 viewers of a video comparing Amazon’s e-books and Barnes & Noble’s eReader. The results showed the majority (63%) of viewers preferred Amazon’s e-books. The study also revealed that while only 10% of respondents currently use an electronic device for reading, 42% of respondents reported that they are likely to purchase an electronic device in the next 6 months. For more in-depth results, please visit http://bit.ly/sMTqu.
Thanks,
Ben
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9-13-2009 @ 4:02PM
James Boardman said...
I hope Barnes and Noble makes this program work with the Irex Iliad. I also hear that B&N and Irex are collaborating on a new platform reader, which GREATLY excites me. The 8" screen on my Iliad is exactly the right size, and supports a lot of different formats. If Irex and B&N come up with an 8" screen device that can connect directly with B&N like the Kindle does with Amazon, that's a WINNER!
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