{"id":10111,"date":"2009-10-20T21:42:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-20T19:42:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2009-10-20T21:42:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-20T19:42:00","slug":"the-nook-latest-e-reader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/hardware\/10111-the-nook-latest-e-reader.html","title":{"rendered":"The Nook: latest e-reader"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nook costs 259 dollars — the same price as the basic Kindle<\/strong><\/a> — and will be available at the end of November, Barnes and Noble said.<\/p>\n

The device, powered by Google’s open-source Android software, features a black-and-white electronic ink display for reading books and a color touchpad for navigation, storing books or making purchases.<\/p>\n

Barnes and Noble said readers will have access through its online bookstore to more than one million books, newspapers and magazines.<\/p>\n

They will also be allowed to lend e-books to other users for free for up to 14 days to read on various devices including the Apple iPhone, the iPod touch and certain BlackBerry and Motorola smartphones.<\/p>\n

Barnes and Noble said the Nook, which is about the size of a paperback book, can hold up to 1,500 e-books.<\/p>\n

The Nook is the latest entrant in an increasingly crowded e-reader market.<\/p>\n

Plastic Logic, a Mountain View, California-based company, said Monday it will announce the availability of an e-reader for business professionals called the “QUE” at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.<\/p>\n

Another US company, Spring Design Inc. announced plans Monday to release an e-reader known as “Alex” also powered by Google’s Android software.<\/p>\n

The Fremont, California-based Spring said it was currently in discussions with major content partners and planned to release the device later this year.<\/p>\n

The Alex features dual screens — a main electronic paper display screen and a secondary color liquid crystal display (LCD) screen for Web browsing.<\/p>\n

Other companies offering e-readers include Japan’s Sony, Britain’s Interead, maker of the “Cool-er,” and Dutch company IREX Technologies.<\/p>\n

Apple is also rumored to be coming out with a portable tablet computer early next year that may double as an e-reader.<\/p>\n

Forrester Research estimates that three million e-readers will be sold in the United States this year, up from a previous forecast of two million units, and for e-reader sales to double to six million units next year.<\/p>\n

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