Globonomics!

The nook - Barnes and Noble e-book reader

Source: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp

Just read on the launch of the awaited Barnes and Noble e-book reader. This is touted as the closest in competition to the amazon.com kindle2 with similar features and characteristics including the e-ink technology but the B&N reader also comes with some snappy features such as LendMe (TM) technology and the ability to use a touchscreen at the bottom to get the coverflow. I looked up the reviews of this reader and it clearly has what it takes to take on the kindle2 though a lot of the reviewers claimed they had not got to feel the device yet.

Barnes and Noble - nook product launch - Source: B&N website

This will enable B&N customers to surf the e-books while inside B&N stores in the USA and use Wi-Fi as also the regular 3G for book downloads.

amazon.com created a blue ocean 2 years ago when it entered the e-book reader market and now the others seem to be sprucing up their product offerings to compete with the kindle2. The other ones that sport touch interfaces are the Sony e-book reader (I had blogged about that product before as well). There are others in this space – Plasticlogic, Samsung etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e-book_readers

This is a hot space to watch out for in the days/months to come.

I received information that my kindle2 has arrived at the destination (a US delivery address) of my close relative who would be coming over to India next week so will post a detailed review of the device/functionality once I start using it in a fortnight time.