Rumour: Barnes & Noble developing electronic reader
by Stevie Smith - Oct 9 2009, 15:00
Kindle and Reader beware, there's a new player in town. Or is there? Image: Barnes & Noble.
Seemingly not satisfied with merely offering digital book lovers access to a wealth of downloadable content through its recently unveiled online store, bookseller Barnes & Noble is reportedly preparing to challenge Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader with an electronic book-reading device of its own.
According to unnamed sources cited by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the prominent literary retailer is in the process of developing a wireless touch-screen device that could be ready to hit the burgeoning electronic book reader market in time for the holiday period.
Despite the tantalising prospect of Barnes & Noble Inc. taking on rival retailer Amazon by offering up a digital book reader alongside its gigantic download store, the bookseller is remaining somewhat non-committal on the subject.
Specifically, a spokesperson for the New York-based company indicated to Reuters that, while the bookseller has made no announcement regarding an incoming electronic reader, Barnes & Noble believes its customers should always have access to books in their digital library from any device, anywhere and anytime.
Rumours of Barnes & Noble’s mystery electronic book reader arise only a day after Amazon officially expanded the coverage and availability of its Kindle reader to include mainland Europe and the United Kingdom.
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