Barnes & Noble E-Reader: First Pictures Leaked (PHOTOS)

As we reported before, the "e-reader wars" are going to be heating up given that book retailer Barnes and Noble's new, branded e-reader is looming on the horizon.

The release of Barnes and Noble's e-book reader is likely to intensify the competition between Amazon.com's Kindle and Sony's E-Reader, especially given some attractive product features offered by the Barnes and Noble reader.

Gizmodo writes about the forthcoming device:

The layout will feature a black and white e-ink screen like the Kindle has--and a multitouch display like an iPhone underneath other.

According to a Barnes and Noble rep, the e-book reader will be manufacturer by Plastic Logic and will feature a color screen approximately the size of a paperback book.

Check out some of the first pictures of the Barnes and Noble ereader, which Gizmodo reports should be released next week.

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See Gizmodo for more info and photos.

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Comments

[MosheDayanHero]

These devices are superfluous. Trying to create a need is an old marketing ploy.

[booker52]

Unless you can download free books from your local library why have either the Kindle or B&N ebook reader??? With the Sony ebook reader you can. I just got mine and love it.

[Huffionado]

If B & N editions offer a way of keeping track of original page numbers, that would be a huge advantage over the kindle. If I can't cite a book its not worth very much to me. I realize it might not be that big a deal to most people, but still, it seems like a really small thing that would make a big difference to a number of heavy book-buying demographics.

[All in All]

Very true, indeed; the original page count of a book is & will be very important for most readers of online books, still.

[MosheDayanHero]

Maybe you can petition APA and MLA to revise their citation formats to accommodate Kindle.......

something like: "author, year of publ. title, keep flipping pages until you get there.

just kidding...

[KingCujo]

I have a free Kindle app on my iPhone and love it ... even though that ol' socialist library is on my street! Love the conveniene and it's much easier to read in bed.. no light required.

[AfroGoddess]

"Socialist library"? Does that mean that you owe late fees? Do you also say "socialist police" and "socialist traffic lights"?

:)

[Tyrione]

Not to mention Socialist Roadways, Socialist Water Ways, Socialist Power Systems. The poster is a fool.

[TomInJax]

Is it WiFi?

[Kalel]

Why wouldn't this be backlit? Why would there be a light at the top of the device? Seems a bit backwards.

[FDRbyGodDemocrat]

You can't (currently) backlight electronic ink, and the angle of a light at the top would cause too much glare. Someday, they'll get the technology right...

[CoconutLime]

E-ink is not meant to be backlit. Do some research before spouting off ridiculous statements like that.

[topgenius]

Look at the pics. It has a light.

[VegasWolf]

A light is not a backlit display.

[hoham]

Backlighting causes a glare that makes an ebook very hard to read in natural sunlight. Also -- I think I've read that backlighting would require the print to refresh itself (like a computer screen) and ultimately that is tiring to the eyes. I

[Harvee Wallbanger]

Is that a light? It looks more like a shade. Anyway, is this thing a full tablet PC or just meant to hook to Barnes and Noble to read books? Why don't they just sell e-books on the web? Or do they? LOL- I don't know.

[StarDagger]

Reading books is a passive not active light source. Some day you will get it right!

[owo9ja]

i dont get these gizmos. whats the difference between holding one of these and holding a book. unless u plan to read 10 books at the same time, its not really that useful

[ScienceFTW]

if you don't have room in your apartment for a huge bookshelf? if you want to save trees?

[elizlucinda]

If you want to avoid carrying 10 books on vacation with you?

[Rober]

For people with visual challenges the devices can allow for higher / different contrast levels, large & very large type sizes, etc.

People who travel and who like to read don't need to pack 10 books, just one.

One can buy a book online and not have wait to have it delivered.

[Gudrun]

My Kindle is very easy on the eyes, I love reading it. I use it instead of the paperbacks I used to buy that would clutter up my house that I would have to try to find a home for once I'd finished with them. I have also downloaded a few free classic texts to replace my moldy old college books.

[Harvee Wallbanger]

So why not just sell e-books for people to download to their computers? Why make a special device? It is just a method to physically control the book.

[songbookz]

I love my Kindle. It's re-opened books for me. It had gotten to the point where reading normal txt in a book would have me wanting a nap after an hour or so, not I can increase the font and read comfortably for hours again. If the book is particularly tedious, with most books, I can have the Kindle read it to me as I follow along (not the most accurate txt2speech, I've seen, but it helps).

Plus, all the books on Gutenberg in mobi format are readable on the Kindle (in my 1st month, I spent over a hundred bucks on Kindle books from Amazon & had to go look for something free to spread out my purchases, so I'm re-reading Ibsen, Shakespeare and all that good stuff for free - I'm the guy who used to carry two cloth bags to the library).

Now, what I'd really like to see is some libraries hook up with Kindle and let you borrow or rent books cheaply.

[Harvee Wallbanger]

Indeed.

[CoconutLime]

You don't get these gizmos? Well, I guess that is your problem then. Some of us do "get" it...

I "get" it, especially when I am sitting in my computer/study room. There is absolutely no room for physical books anymore, and this is why I decided to purchase a Kindle when it first came out. So far, since buying the Kindle 1 I have purchased 119 books. That would take up at least two complete book shelves if I had the physical versions. Where would I find the room? When the Kindle 2 came out I got one and gave the Kindle 1 to my father-in-law (who just happens to love it).

Since I am going to be a secondary Social Science teacher next year it is important for me to buy history and political books. Amazon has tons of them in the Kindle format. They are cheaper than what Barnes & Noble can offer for the exact same book in their e-book format.

I also don't like wasting paper and IMHO printing books is a huge waste of resources. This is why I like the Kindle. I wish Amazon would use the more open ePub format but that is a minor quibble I have with the Kindle.

I read much faster on the Kindle and I don't lose my place where I left off because the Kindle automatically knows where I left off. That is cool...

[Glowcy]

.
The e-reader equipment may be new and cool but the managment of shared texts is under the purview of entities outside of e-book owners. Under this scenario, I don't know what my privacy rights are and I don't know when [not if] my privacy rights are violated.

I own a 2d generation Kindle. I like the ease of buying books and probably purchase more books than if I didn't own the Kindle. I am concerned about the rigid DRM for electronic texts. I don't like the Amazaon manner of permitting shared access and don't expect the process to be different for other electronic text providers. A person has to deregister their Kindle account and register with another Kindle account in order to share texts. Apart from the shared access issue, I always wonder whether texts are being revised without my knowledge.

.

[GlassMask]

Open source? Or crippled and proprietary? That's the make or break issue for me, and the main issue holding back the future of digital books. But I'll have to check it out now.

[bring in swat]

i'm with you...i would prefer an open source device, i think some of the netbook's did it right by offering a version sporting the Linux OS instead of forcing the consumer into the Windows downward sink hole of $. Open Source is the way to go with these devices, they're not that complex to develop for and it could be a great market for the Open Source developers.

[StarDagger]

OpenSource is great but they have no clue as far as making things usable and friendly.

I was all excited when Ubuntu came out and the thing wouldnt even start installing because it puked on the 8800gtx (the best card at the time). I try Linux every few years to see how it has matured, I have been doing this since 98. 11 years later I am still using Windows (though I despise Microsoft).
I hope that someday the EU will force MS to open their code so that others can make windows compatible linux builds for us gamers, that will be a great day.

Yours in Gaming Plasma,
Star*Dagger

[no dodo]

If Amazon, Sony, BN and Adobe cannot trust me to keep the books and not distribute them to friends, I cannot trust them to manage PERMANENT storage of my books. For example, of those who downloaded Stephen King's free RIDING THE BULLET as I did years ago, how many still have their free copies? Not I. For me, the digital rights management schemes kill the potential for ebooks.

[redhead61]

A "Leak" infers that the company did not want the information out...This is more along the lines of A PRESS RELEASE..a preview...a hype view...

And hey its nice and all but lets DO be honest..it was not a 'leaked photo'...

[suntzu]

I think you mean "imply" not "infer." Check your Webster's.

[redhead61]

How about addressing the issue of which I posted, instead of deconstructing sentence structure for proper Webster's use on infer or imply 'teach'...

[elizlucinda]

you are annoying suntzu..what are you..the grammar police?

[SteveDenver]

I loved my Kindle, wish my text books had been on this platform when I was in college; I might not be having back problems. Then the whole scene was tainted by reports of Amazon removing books at-will (I guess there were lingering copyright issues). Seems like the clerk from the bookstore can come into my house at any time and remove books. Uncool.

So, who supplies the data to these other readers? If it's Amazon, watch out for massive headaches (for everybody except Amazon).

[DarleenMB]

Amazon apologized for doing that. Said they won't do it again. Since I'm not in an area where I can receive wireless I have to download all my books to my computer. and that's where they STAY. Kindle users might want to consider backing up their ebooks onto their computer and then onto a dvd or cd just in case. If I bought it, I'm KEEPING my copy. thank you very much.