Interesting. Bookseller Barnes and Noble is launching e-books, beginning with 700,000 titles at $9.99. A more open platform, they are not compatible with Kindle. They will, however, be the lone provider for the Logic eReader, aimed at Business readers and set to launch next year. Let the competition begin.
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)-Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) on Monday launched an e-bookstore offering titles that can be read on Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone and iPod Touch, Research in Motion Ltd.'s (RIMM) BlackBerry smartphones, as well as most notebook and desktop computers.
The largest U.S. book retailer said its e-bookstore will offer more than 700,000 titles, including hundreds of new releases and bestsellers for $9.99.
Unlike online retailer Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), whose e-book strategy has largely revolved around its Kindle reading device, Barnes & Noble is taking a much more agnostic approach to the market, said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.
"Barnes & Noble is not trying to pick a winner. They are betting on the whole category of e-reading," said Epps.
Epps noted that Barnes & Noble appears to be trying to capitalize on the affinity that consumers have shown for reading e-books on their mobile phones.
The research group estimates that more people have downloaded apps to read books on their iPhones than have bought dedicated e-book readers such as the Kindle.
"Mobile phones are not optimized for book reading, but for many consumers they are good enough," she said.
Amazon declined to comment.
Barnes & Noble also said it will be the exclusive e-bookstore provider on the Plastic Logic eReader device aimed at business professionals. The ultra-thin 8.5-by-11-inch wireless eReader is to debut early next year.
I really doubt that they can compete with amazon
Posted by: dave | Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 03:20 PM