Books? Exactly. Books have been hit very hard, if not the hardest by the digital revolution, and more over, the introduction of the iPad and other tablets. Large bookstores have already been greatly effected, with one of the two largest chains, Boarders, already deep in a brutal bankruptcy. Barnes & Noble, the last surviving book giant has released it’s new competitor in the tablet and e-reader market: The updated Nook and Nook Color.
The Nook was one of the first e-readers, albeit not the best selling. The best selling e-reader title is currently held by the Amazon Kindle, which also released updated models within the last month.
So clearly, Barnes & Noble is trying very hard to stay alive in the game. The distribution company has suffered a great deal of lost profit to the digital tablet market. The iPad alone, almost put out of business the Amazon Kindle, which is still the best selling e-reader. So what’s new about the Nook? Well it has crossed into the tablet market, meaning it now can run several apps, not just display books. The new ability to do more than just be a digital book opens up a whole new market for the very competitively priced Nook. Netflix, Facebook, and several popular games are already available for download on the new Nooks.
Another new feature that has come to the Nook isn’t part of the Nook itself. Instead, Barnes & Noble has installed, in several retail locations, Nook Stations. Nook Stations are interactive booths designed to sell Nooks along with content, like books and apps. The new feature in the retail store has experts expecting the most heated tablet market yet for this coming holiday season.
So what is all the hype really about? Apple is the tablet leader with the iPad, but the price point for the entry level iPad has recently, by some experts, been considered quite high. Barnes & Noble’s new Nooks start at an incredibly low $99. That being $400 less than Apple’s entry level iPad. A fully loaded iPad will cost you almost $850, while a fully loaded Nook, in color even, only runs at $249. Still almost $200 cheaper than an entry level iPad. The tablet market is going to start seeing more and more competition, starting this holiday season and early next year when the iPad 3 is rumored to be released.
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