The Nookcolor option
The ever-evolving and ultracompetitive electronic reader marketplace has something new — a low-priced color reader. Barnes & Noble Inc. unveiled its updated touch screen color Nookcolor e-reader this week. 
The original Nook occupied a spot below the popular Amazon Kindle and Apple iPad. It will be interesting to see whether a $249 price for a color display will move the Nookcolor up the pecking order. The comparison isn’t exactly equal, though. The iPad does much more than serve as an electronic library; the Apple App Store offers tens of thousands of mobile computing options.
Prices for the black-and-white Kindle eReader start at $139; prices for the larger-screen, color-display iPad start at $499. Many magazines are available in interactive form on the iPad. It will be interesting to see whether publishers and advertisers migrate to the Nookcolor. Much will depend on how widely Barnes & Noble’s new gadget is adopted.
I applaud Barnes & Noble for making this move now, in time to get the new gadget on holiday wish lists. The devices are available for early ordering on the Barnes & Noble site, bn.com, and shipping is scheduled for mid-November.
Although shoppers may like the announcement, Wall Street is so far tepid on it. Barnes & Noble shares fell 4 cents, or 0.27 percent, Wednesday to close at $14.94 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Read a story on the Nookcolor from The Associated Press:
Barnes & Noble unveils color Nook e-reader
http://yhoo.it/arqgjl
Visit the Barnes & Noble site:
http://www.bn.com
