Barnes & Noble News Qtr1 2010: four articles on this page
Barnes & Noble Nook Back on Shelves
From San Francisco Chronicle, Feb 9th, 2010 - The Nook, after two months of delays, is back on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. The chain now says that new Nooks should be in most of its stores this week and that its Web site will have a Nook locator tool updated daily starting today.
Still, the delay may not have cost Barnes & Noble that much of a competitive advantage, because the market is still defining itself, said analyst Allen Weiner. The Nook went on sale online in early December, but Barnes & Noble quickly sold out its supply.
But Weiner said that getting a new supply of the $259 Nook into actual stores is an important step because it plays to its advantage over Amazon - Barnes & Noble is the world's largest bookseller, with 775 book outlets in 50 states.
Barnes & Noble is offering exclusive e-book content and coupons such as 10 percent discount on CDs when Nook users come into stores. Weiner said that added value is what differentiates the Nook from competitors like Amazon's best-selling Kindle and Sony's Readers.
And, he said, Barnes & Noble may have to decide whether it wants to remain in the e-reader selling business long term or instead work with other manufacturers to "have a Barnes & Noble bookstore on every device out there. It's not in their DNA," Weiner said. "We can point to the lack of supply of Nooks in stores to a company that is a book retailer and not adroit at distributing electronics.
Still, the delay may not have cost Barnes & Noble that much of a competitive advantage, because the market is still defining itself, said analyst Allen Weiner. The Nook went on sale online in early December, but Barnes & Noble quickly sold out its supply.
But Weiner said that getting a new supply of the $259 Nook into actual stores is an important step because it plays to its advantage over Amazon - Barnes & Noble is the world's largest bookseller, with 775 book outlets in 50 states.
Barnes & Noble is offering exclusive e-book content and coupons such as 10 percent discount on CDs when Nook users come into stores. Weiner said that added value is what differentiates the Nook from competitors like Amazon's best-selling Kindle and Sony's Readers.
And, he said, Barnes & Noble may have to decide whether it wants to remain in the e-reader selling business long term or instead work with other manufacturers to "have a Barnes & Noble bookstore on every device out there. It's not in their DNA," Weiner said. "We can point to the lack of supply of Nooks in stores to a company that is a book retailer and not adroit at distributing electronics.
Nook officially back in stock
From Zdnet, February 8th, 2010 Barnes & Noble announced that its popular but hard-to-find Nook e-book reader is now officially back on store shelves as of this week. The book retailer said the e-reader is in stock and will be rolling out in a majority of its brick-and-mortar stores beginning mid-week, “just in time for Valentine’s Day.” You know, if your partner really digs digital books instead of flowers and chocolate on Valentine's Day.
The company had depleted its Nook inventory over the holidays and it’s been nothing but wait lists since. B&N says it has ramped up production since then.
To see if your local store has the Nook in stock, the company has provided an in store locater tool that will update each day beginning February 10. The Nook firmware was recently updated to version 1.2 via an automatic over-the-air update. If you’ve already got a Nook, but can’t wait, you can download the update on the Nook support page.
The company had depleted its Nook inventory over the holidays and it’s been nothing but wait lists since. B&N says it has ramped up production since then.
To see if your local store has the Nook in stock, the company has provided an in store locater tool that will update each day beginning February 10. The Nook firmware was recently updated to version 1.2 via an automatic over-the-air update. If you’ve already got a Nook, but can’t wait, you can download the update on the Nook support page.
B & N Nook gets firmware 1.2 update
From SF Gadgets Examiner, Feb 5th, 2010 Today the Nook is getting a firmware update to 1.2 and from the looks of things; it’s a decently nice one. Before you get the rundown of the new features, know this.
Instead of waiting weeks for the OTA update for your Nook, please, go here and install in manually, it will save you a lot of time and trouble. Changes include:
• Enhanced in-store seamless connectivity to enjoy free Wi-Fi, with More In Store content promotions exclusively for Nook owners
• Improved opening of eBooks and ePeriodicals
• Improved response to Reading Now and Settings buttons
• Current reading page and bookmarks on all eBooks are properly saved when you power your Nook off
• Eligible LendMe eBooks in your library have LendMe flags
• Easier navigation of daily subscriptions with issues rolled into one folder
• Improved "back" button functionality for navigating eBooks and ePeriodicals
• Personal files downloaded and displayed in My Documents can be sorted by author and title
• Overall system improvements and battery optimization.
Instead of waiting weeks for the OTA update for your Nook, please, go here and install in manually, it will save you a lot of time and trouble. Changes include:
• Enhanced in-store seamless connectivity to enjoy free Wi-Fi, with More In Store content promotions exclusively for Nook owners
• Improved opening of eBooks and ePeriodicals
• Improved response to Reading Now and Settings buttons
• Current reading page and bookmarks on all eBooks are properly saved when you power your Nook off
• Eligible LendMe eBooks in your library have LendMe flags
• Easier navigation of daily subscriptions with issues rolled into one folder
• Improved "back" button functionality for navigating eBooks and ePeriodicals
• Personal files downloaded and displayed in My Documents can be sorted by author and title
• Overall system improvements and battery optimization.
Barnes & Noble joining iPad application crowd
From ZDNET, March 12, 2010 - Barnes & Noble will also be another e-Book store option for the Apple iPad, announcing that the giant book retailer will be publishing an e-reader app for the tablet computer, probably by the April 3 launch date.
The Barnes and Noble e-Reader Application will be specifically designed for the iPad, including access to the B&N e-Book store plus any content in a particular user’s existing B&N digital library. B&N is covering its bases by taking advantage of casual e-Book users who might prefer iPad's multi-media features or B&N fans who will now buy the iPad instead of the Nook.
The Barnes and Noble e-Reader Application will be specifically designed for the iPad, including access to the B&N e-Book store plus any content in a particular user’s existing B&N digital library. B&N is covering its bases by taking advantage of casual e-Book users who might prefer iPad's multi-media features or B&N fans who will now buy the iPad instead of the Nook.
