Monthly Archives: November 2011

Bits and Bytes: Nook News

Posted on by

The Nook certainly dominated the ebook news yesterday.

As expected, Barnes & Noble announced the Nook Tablet,which will be available on November 18. The Tablet will retail for $249. Here’s a link to a  hands-on video from Engadget.

 Barnes & Noble has also reduced the price on two of its other readers. The Simple Touch will retail for $99. The Nook Color’s price will be reduced to $199.

Both readers are also getting updates: The Simple Touch update includes improvements to the page refresh rate and the battery life. Here’s a hands-on video for the Simple Touch from Engadget.

 For the original Nook color, the new updates will add Hulu Plus, etc.

And, if you find it confusing – Nook Color, Nook Tablet – here’s an article to  help you sort it out.

To help sell all the readers, Barnes & Noble is launching in-store Nook Stations!

And, if all of that is not enough, Barnes & Noble announced that they will be launching an international Nook in the months ahead.

News Bits and Bytes for November 3, 2011

Posted on by

There’s lots of news today on the Kindle and Nook fronts….

There is a lot of buzz today about the Kindle Lending Program.  None of the “Big Six” publishers are yet on board with what is rumored to be the start of Amazon’s “Netflix for books” lending program for books. This article from Paid Content fills in some of the details.

There is already a list of categories for the books in the lending library, and I predict that you will see lists of the books available soon.

There’s also  a thought-provoking article in Publisher’s Weekly that talks about Amazon’s program and how libraries may fit into the future of lending.

On the Nook front:

According to Engadget, The Nook Simple Touch price is being reduced to $99, effective November 16, 2011. And, B & N is pushing the fact that there are no ads!

B & N is also reducing the price of the original Nook Color to $199. In addition, they are adding apps for Hulu plus and more streaming music options for the device.

Engadget is also reporting that B & N’s new Nook Tablet (the successor to the Nook Color) will retail for $249. The tablet, which launches November 7, is touted as having everything the current Nook color has plus “the best in HD entertainment.” In-store demos start on November 15.

Kindle Lending Library Details

Posted on by

Amazon explains the Kindle Lending Library program in more detail on their help page for the lending program.

A few main points:

  • The program is only for Amazon Prime Members
  • The program is only open to U.S. Kindle and Fire owners
  • The books can only be read on devices, not the software apps. They cannot be read on an iPod or iPhone.
  • The device must be registered to the same account as your Prime membership
  • The program does not begin until Thursday, November 3, 2011.
  • You can only read one book per month with no “roll-overs.”