During a big investors and conference today Barnes and Noble told the assembled audience that they will be officially announcing a new e-reader May 24th.
Barnes and Noble has seen critical market success with its Nook 3G, Nook WIFI, and the new Nook Color e-reader the last 2 years. The Nook Color continues to be the color e-Reader to beat in the tablet world and recently the company released a new firmware update. This update allows Nook Color users to get new games, access to a app market, full Adobe Flash integration, and an upgraded OS.
Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating declined to comment about the recently filed 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contained one sentence of text to comply with Regulation FD fair disclosure rules, except to confirm the meeting took place in New York City. The filing says simply that the company, in the meeting, “indicated it expects to make an announcement on May 24, 2011, regarding the launch of a new eReader device.”
Barnes and Noble recently discontinued its Nook 3G e-reader because of lack of demand, the Nook WI FI continues to sell well. The Nook Color released late last year is proving to be the most popular tablet/e-reader hybrid. There is little to no knowledge on what this e-reader will entail for hardware, but we do know enough to speculate.
I think Barnes and Noble will be releasing a 3G model of the Nook Color and it will be a tablet instead of the e-ink based e-readers. Barnes and Noble cannot discount the success of the Nook Color and the average consumbers desires an interactive tablet, rather than an e-reader. It is no secret 2011 is the year of the tablet and people demand video, music, pictures, and a full online web experience. Barnes and Noble can expand on the success of the Nook Color, add 3G functionality, and make it more tablet-esque, rather than bothering to redesign the wheel.
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.
