Barnes and Noble has been known to be planning an update for its highly successful Nook Color e-reader, but according to recent news the company is developing two new devices.
In the next month, Barnes and Noble will be releasing the Nook Encore and the Nook Acclaim. There will be different price points on both models, which leads me to believe one will be a 7 inch model and one a 10 inch edition. The 7 inch Encore will be $249, while the Acclaim will cost $349.
The encore, which is the upgraded model for the original Nook Color, will likely have a number of hardware enhancements. I hazard to guess that it will have more internal memory, a dual-core processor, and run Google Honeycomb instead of a lesser version of Android. The Nook Acclaim is likely a 10 inch model and will compete against the iPad in terms of size and space.
Both new devices will run on the Android, OS but will likely still retain the Nook Color UI that customers are used to. This will allow for a more e-reader style experience with the device rather then just a standard tablet.
I am excited about the possibility of the Acclaim model! Many content partners such as iStorytime have just formed partnerships with Barnes and Noble for a new line of interactive children’s apps. The possibilities of magazines and kids books showing up in full interactive color is too good! The company has really pioneered full color kids books, magazines, and other full color content.
More news to follow soon.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
