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Tag: Nook Tablet

  • Barnes & Noble Introduces NOOK Kids Summer Reading Program

    Today, Barnes & Noble announced their new NOOK Kids Summer Reading Program. If you purchase any NOOK tablet at a Barnes & Noble store between June 18th and September 2nd, you’ll receive free downloads of three different bestselling children and teen book collections designed to keep your kids busy reading all summer long.

    Each collection will be offered for a limited time and is divided into three age-appropriate groups:

    * June 18 through July 15: Summer Reading Collection for Ages 7-12
    * July 16 through August 5: Summer Reading Collection for Teens
    * August 6 through September 2: Picture books for young readers

    The first collection of titles, available June 18 through July 15, is specially designed for readers ages seven through 12 and features the following perennial favorites and bestsellers by popular authors:

    * Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
    * The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus series No. 1) by Jonathan Stroud
    * Disney after Dark (Kingdom Keepers series No. 1) by Ridley Pearson
    * Judy Moody & Stink: Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt by Megan McDonald
    * The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
    * Just Grace by Charise Mericle Harper

    Jim Hilt, Vice President of eBooks for Barnes & Noble comments on the summer reading program:

    “We are excited to bring together our award-winning NOOK Tablet and this fantastic free collection of bestselling titles so children can start building their summer reading library,”

    “With this offer, we will create lifetime readers by delivering great content into the hands of young readers through an engaging and interactive digital experience.”

    It’s a limited time offer and applies to new purchases of both the NOOK Tablet 16GB ($249) and the NOOK Tablet 8GB ($199). So, if you were thinking about getting a NOOK tablet anyway, this promotion adds a little value to the deal, and it will probably keep your kids entertained for a good chunk of time in the process.

  • Survey Shows E-Reading On The Rise

    A new study has found that Americans’ use of e-readers to read their books is on the rise. Over a fifth – 21% – of Americans have now read at least one e-book, and their popularity is growing, especially among avid readers.

    The Pew Internet survey polled 2,986 Americans aged 16 and up between November 16th and December 21st 2011. Follow-up surveys were conducted January 5th-8th and January 20th-February 19th in order to gauge the impact of the 2011 holiday season on the use of e-readers. The survey found that e-books are most popular among avid readers, and that e-book readers use a variety of devices to read their books, including tablets, smartphones, and dedicated e-readers like the e-ink Nook and Kindle.

    The survey also found that the 2011 holiday season had a significant impact on the use of e-readers. During the initial survey, only 17% of respondents said that they had read an e-book in the last year, compared to 21% after the holiday season. E-readers were apparently major Christmas gifts, as ownership of e-ink readers (like the Nook and the Kindle) jumped 9% from December to January. Ownership of tablets – including the iPad and the Kindle Fire – also jumped 9%, from 10% to 19% of respondents in both cases.

    Interestingly, e-book readers read more books in all formats than those who don’t read e-books. The average respondent who said they read e-books had read 24 books in any format in the past twelve months. Those who didn’t read e-books had read an average of 15 books during the same timeframe.

    There was no difference between tablet owners and owners of other e-reading devices in terms of the number of books read, but there were other differences. Women, whites, the well-educated, and those over 65 all reported reading more books in the past year than men, minorities, the less well-educated, and under 65 age groups.

    Interestingly, the use of e-readers appears to be a driving force in the increase of reading in general. Forty-one percent of tablet owners said they spend more time reading thanks to the increasing availability of e-content, while 35% of e-reader owners said the same. Overall, 42% of e-book readers say they read more than they used to. What’s more, this trend increases the longer you own an e-reading device (tablet or e-reader): 41% of those who have owned such a device for at least twelve months read more than they did before, while 35% of those who have owned their device for six months of fewer say the same. This is especially true of men under the age of 50.

    Even so, print books are not (yet) in danger of being overtaken by e-books as the preferred method of reading. Those who read e-books said that they prefer e-books for ease of access and portability, but when reading to children and sharing books with friends they still preferred printed books. The study also found, though, that 45% of people who are reading a book on a given day are reading an e-book. What’s more, they’re doing it on a variety of devices. Of those who read e-books, 41% said they use a dedicated e-reader like a Nook or Kindle, while 23% do so on a tablet like an iPad, Nook Tablet, or Kindle Fire. Also, 29% read on their smartphones (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Google all have apps that allow e-books to be read on smartphones as well as tablets). Perhaps most surprisingly, 42% of respondents said that they read e-books on their computer.

    E-books vs. Printed Books

    The survey also found some unfortunate news for libraries: the majority of book readers of all kinds preferred to buy their books rather than borrow them. Readers of e-books were more likely to feel this way: as 61% said they preferred to buy rather than borrow, while 54% of those who don’t read e-books preferred to buy. Conversely, only about a third (32%) of those who listen to audiobooks preferred to buy rather than borrow. The fact that audiobooks are usually considerably more expensive than their print or digital counterparts is likely a major factor in that.

    The full study can be found here.

    How do you read? Do you use an e-reader? A tablet? A smartphone? Or do you prefer printed books? Will e-books ever replace printed books? Let us know what you think in the comments.

  • Office Depot Will Now Offer NOOK Tablets

    Office Depot is celebrating 25 year in the business of providing quality products and services to customers worldwide. Today they announced that they are partnering with the world’s largest book seller, Barnes & Noble to offer their cutting-edge ebook readers, The Nook series. Office Depot joins a long list of retailers who already carry the hugely successful Nook products including Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, Target, Radio Shack, Books-A-Million, OfficeMax, Fred Meyer, P.C. Richard & Son stores, and Fry’s Electronics.

    Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer for Office Depot, Farla Efros comments on the partnership:

    “The introduction of the Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet and NOOK Simple Touch eReaders at Office Depot further bolsters our mission to provide our customers with the most cutting-edge products in the marketplace,”

    “We are pleased to be expanding our tablet and eReader portfolio with offerings that are at the top of our customers’ lists.”

    Vice President of Digital Business Development at Barnes & Noble, Chris Peifer commented on the value of the relationship with Office Depot:

    “Office Depot is a leading office supplies, technology and services retailer, offering consumers the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S.,”

    “That’s why we are excited to partner with Office Depot and offer our NOOK devices to Office Depot customers who love to read anytime, anywhere. With NOOK, customers will discover the most immersive, fun and easy-to-use reading experience, as well as gain access to a vast selection of popular books, interactive magazines, newspapers, children’s books, apps and more.”

  • New Nook Tablet Set For February 22nd Launch?

    Despite making hardware of comparable quality and price for years, Barnes & Noble’s line of Nook readers and tablets has been hard-pressed to compete with Amazon’s Kindle devices. Though the original Nook Tablet launched only 2 days behind the Kindle Fire, it has not been seen as a significant competitor. Part of the reason for this has been the Nook Tablet’s somewhat higher price tag ($249 as opposed to $199).

    Now it looks like Barnes and Noble might be preparing to release a tablet that competes with the Kindle Fire more directly. There were hints last month that a new model of Nook Tablet was in the works. Now The Verge has gotten hold of a document from Walmart detailing the February 22nd launch of a Nook Tablet with half the storage – 8 GB, to match the Kindle Fire. The document (picture below, courtesy of The Verge), provides instructions to Walmart for what to do with the shipments that are apparently already arriving at their stores. The tablet is apparently scheduled to launch at 12:01 on Wednesday, February 22, with shipments apparently reaching stores via truck starting on Saturday the 18th, and running through Tuesday the 21st. There is no pricing information on the Nook Tablet, but given the halved internal storage and the need to compete directly with the Kindle Fire, we can probably expect a drop of at least $50, and probably more.

    Nook Tablet Coming Soon To Walmart?

    With just two days until the (apparent) launch, look for more information to be available very soon. No formal announcement has been made – or even hinted at – by Barnes & Noble, but we should expect one on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

    What do you think? Would you buy a Nook Tablet instead of a Kindle Fire if the price is right? Sound off in the comments.

  • Barnes & Noble Preparing New Nook

    Barnes & Noble Preparing New Nook

    In its bid to stay competitive with Amazon, Barnes and Noble appears to be preparing a new addition to their line of Nook readers and tablets. According to a recent report, the company’s engineers are preparing the new device for a release sometime this spring.

    There are almost no details on the device, which was mentioned in a piece in the New York Times on the company’s bid to keep itself alive as the last nationwide brick-and-mortar book retailer. In all likelihood it is either an update to the Nook Tablet or a new e-ink reader, possibly featuring a color display like the one featured at CES earlier this month.

    The financial collapse of Borders this year left Barnes and Noble standing alone – though not necessarily triumphant – as the last of the great brick-and-mortar bookstores. The company has remained competitive thanks in large part to its entrance into the e-reader market with the Nook line of devices. The original Nook launched a few months after Amazon released their second generation Kindle e-reader. It featured an e-ink book display and a touch screen navigation interface, seen by many as superior to the Kindle’s physical keyboard. Later they beat Amazon into the tablet market by a considerable margin with the launch of the Nook Color and then the Nook Tablet. Despite generally positive reviews and a significant head start, the Nook Tablet has not managed the same level of popularity as Amazon’s own tablet, the Kindle Fire, which released late last year.

    It will be interesting to see what Barnes and Noble has in store with its next Nook device. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

  • Nook Tablet Revealed As Barnes & Noble Responds to Kindle Fire, iPad

    Barnes & Noble unveiled its new Nook Tablet today at an event in New York. This is the company’s answer to the iPad, and even more so, Amazons Kindle Fire.

    Barnes & Noble is one of the top booksellsers in the U.S., and this is clearly a move to stay competitive with its rivals as the technology pushes more consumers into digital books.

    Keep in mind that Barnes & Nobles already sells as much as 27% of eBooks, and the Nook Tablet, being much cheaper than the iPad (though $50 more than the Kindle Fire) at $249, has a real shot at boosting that number up.

    One advantage Barnes & Noble has versus Amazon is the giant chain of retail stores, where it can push its device in front of very targeted customers. Sure, there are plenty of places to pick up a Kindle, but people go to Barnes & Noble specifically for books. The company’s loyal customers go to their stores, and is an important audience to get the device in front of in a physical setting.

    I’d be surprised if the price doesn’t come down to be more competitive with the Kindle Fire at some point. You may recall when the two companies got into something of a price war last year. I don’t see why this won’t happen again.

    In fact, last year, we also saw Barnes & Noble take advantage of that brick & mortar element when it set up the big Nook boutiques in stores.

    The Nook tablet gives users access to movies, TV shows, music, etc. through services like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and others. It has a collection of apps, including a web browser and email. It also, of course, has the Nook reading experience.

    “In Nook Tablet, we’ve created the best wireless media tablet in the portable 7-inch class,” says B&N CEO William Lynch. “Nook Tablet’s VividView display has been designed to be the world’s finest screen for readability and viewing content. We’ve utilized that breakthrough display technology to bring consumers the largest digital catalog of color and interactive books, magazines, children’s books and high-quality apps through our NOOK Store.”

    The company also lowered the price of its Nook Simple Touch to $99, and ts Nook Color to $199

    “These three products, at these super-low prices, represent the highest-quality portfolio of reading and entertainment products on the market at the best value,” says Lynch.

    Now, we’ll see how consumers respond. The holidays are coming up, so there’s a very good chance sales for the quarter will be pretty good.

    The Nook Tablet can be pre-ordered today, and should hit stores next week.