After Amazon announced its new set of Kindles we didn’t hear anything from its competitors like B&N. However, it was well-known at that time that B&N will announce a new Nook Color in the early November. And now we know the announcement is coming on November 7. In preparation of that B&N is going to lower the price of Nook Color 1 according to some leaked Wal-Mart flyer. Now we have another leaked document showing Nook Touch is going to be sold at $99.

Amazon is selling Nook Touch wifi-only version at $99 which is ads supported. Now B&N says that the company can also sell the similar device at $99 without “annoying ads” support (see the picture). The original price of Kindle Touch wifi with ads support is $139. Amazon subsidizes $99 Kindle Touch with ads.

It seems now we are heading towards another round of device war to capture the market share. I’m not sure how B&N would be able to sell Nook Touch at $99 without making loss on device itself, and how Amazon will respond to such an announcement.

Another problem is Nook Touch is already in the market for couple of months. Kindle Touch is still at pre-order level. If Amazon makes any decision to cut the price in response now, then they company must sell it at new price to all pre-ordered customers. I guess this would be a great dilemma for Amazon.

Kindle Touch OR Nook Touch?
	The All-New Nook! The Simple Touch Reader jat BarnesandNoble.com!

Chicago Sun-Times has published a story on NookColor with the above title. Those of you are not Kindle fans and want to have a cheap device for e-reading can try NookColor. According to the piece:

..this fall has seen the release of two 7-inch multitouch-capable Android tablets. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is nice enough, but vastly overpriced at $599. The Nook Color focuses all of its energy on being a book reader, a web browser, and a media consumption device; it never presents itself as anything else and you certainly can’t install any other Android apps on it. Even so, at just $249, it’s the far more successful tablet of the two. It’s way better at doing its single limited function than the Tab is at doing everything else.

You can read the whole review here. This is a very detail review. Digitimes reports that Barnes and Noble will upgrade their operating system Android is on the color Nook for Android 2.2 in January 2011.

YOUR NookCOLOR

Here is the collection of FAQs about NOOKcolor for you. I’ll add more as I get more information about the device.

Q: What is the OS of NookColor:

A: Android OS 2.1

Q: What is the internal storage of NookColor?

A: 8GB

Q: Does it support SD card for memory expansion?

A: Yes, microSD card.

Q: What file types are supported by NookColor?

A:  Load these popular formats for eBooks, graphics, audio, and other file types from your computer or microSD card.

• EPUB (including Non or Adobe DRM)
• PDF
• Other documents: XLS, DOC, PPT, PPS, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, PPTX
• Graphics: JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP
• Audio: MP3, AAC
• Video: MP4

Q: Does NookColor support amazon kindle, LIT or Sony Reader formats?

A: No, LIT, AMZ (Amazon), LRZ/LRX (Sony) are not supported.

Q: Does Nook Color natively support EPUB (and other formats) with non-latin character set?

A: NOOKcolor will work the same as NOOK regarding foreign character set support. Native support is Latin character set only.

Q: Is the battery user replaceable like the original Nook?

A: No, it’s not.

Q: Does it have 3G connectivity?

A: No, only wifi.

Q: Does NookColor support access to Google Android Market?

A: No, it doesn’t. B&N will have it’s own app store for Nook.

Q: Does NookColor has social networking integration like Kindle?

A. Yes, It has integrated social reading with B&N’s new NOOKfriends technology:  you would be able to share your reading experience with friends via Facebook, Twitter, and Google.

Q: Does it limit web surfing?

A: NookColor comes with full web browser. You can browse anything you want over the wifi network.

Q: What is the battery life?

A: According to B&N, with wifi off, the battery life is 8 hours.

Q: Where can find real pictures of NookColor?

A. Here is a link from cnet.

Q: What is NOOKnewsstand?

A: NOOKnewsstand: From The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA TODAY to Rolling Stone, Esquire, US Weekly, National Geographic, Martha Stewart Living, Cosmopolitan and Elle, you’ll find an impressive and growing list of the best daily, weekly and monthly periodicals, all optimized for NOOKcolor. Magazine reading is easy and engaging with full-color pages displayed through our exclusive ArticleView that puts the focus on the content, customized to your favorite reading style. Periodicals, available by subscription and single copy, will continue to become even more interactive in the coming months.

Q: What is NOOKkids?

A: NOOKkids: Through our exclusive AliveTouch technology, your child can interact with words and pictures, easily find a favorite story, and even have it read aloud to them. For kids, even there is a dedicated website: http://www.nookkids.com

Q: Can I upload my personal files on NookColor?

A: Yes, you can transfer and view personal PDF and ePub files to NOOKcolor, as well as JPG, PNG, GIF and BMP files, and use personal photos for wallpaper.

Q: Does it support microsoft word file?

A: Yes, it has built-in Quickoffice software so that you can view Microsoft Office files including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Q: Can I listen music while reading?

A: Yes,  you can load your MP3 and AAC songs to enjoy music while reading anywhere using the built in 3.5mm headphone jack or speakers.

Q: Can I listen radio while reading?

A: Yes, you can stream tunes from your favorite artists over Wi-Fi with Pandora internet radio’s free, personalized music service.

Q: CAn I play games on NookColor?

A: Yes, you can play crossword puzzles, Sudoku, chess for now. More apps will be available through Nook app store later.

After some speculations about B&N’s event, it’s final now. B&N has just announced a new ebook reader called NookColor. It’s a 7″ LCD touchscreen device running Android OS with built-in wifi, and web browser. The price is $249. B&N is taking pre-order now.

Supported file type:

• EPUB (including Non or Adobe DRM)
• PDF
• Other documents: XLS, DOC, PPT, PPS, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, PPTX
• Graphics: JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP
• Audio: MP3, AAC
• Video: MP4

Not Supported: LIT, AMZ (Amazon), LRZ/LRX (Sony)

Expandable Storage:

• 8GB*** (up to 6000 eBooks) built in memory.
• Expand your memory up to 32GB with microSD™ memory card.

Nook Extras:

• Pandora® internet radio
• Games: Chess & Sudoku
• Crossword Puzzles
• Media Gallery (for photos and videos)

Click on the picture for more information:
Here is a video demo:

NookColor seems to be a cheaper iPad alternative. However, it needs to remember that iPad is more versatile. The main focus of NookColor is reading. Of course the web browsing is an added bonus. It seems now that web browser has become an indispensible part of ebook reader no matter how it’s designed.

Here is the link of B&N NookColor customer discussion section.

Nook 3G that is being shipped now by B&N has been updated with new hardware. And it seems it can’t be hacked anymore with the old nookDev’s software. Accoding to NookDev:

It appears Barnes and Noble has introduced a new hardware revision or another change which is causing units to become bricks after running the official Barnes and Noble 1.0.0 firmware image. These units can be identified by the 1003 serial #.
A label on the bottom of the nook box will indicate what version your nook is.

If the serial # begins with 1003, this unit is NOT currently rootable.

Also the settings indicates that these versions are running 1.4.1 which is not publicly available (likely to handle new/changed hardware).

[stextbox id="alert"]So be careful when you think of hacking your new nook. Check the serial number before you proceed with rooting the nook.[/stextbox]

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[asa]B003DZ165W[/asa]

A new FCC report reveals that B&N is coming with new Nook. According to Ubergizmo:

the main difference from the existing Nook will be that its Sierra Wireless 3G modem supports the 850MHz and 1900MHz bands, though it drops support for the 2100MHz band. Such a move means more international 3G bands will be supported, which is good news for users. Pictures of the device weren’t available just yet, as the company has filed for a 180 day secrecy document, which is the maximum time period that a company can apply for.

So we don’t know anything more than that. What are the extra enhancements are coming with the new Nook – not sure at this point. However, it seems that B&N is getting ready to launch a international Nook like Kindle Global edition. B&N wants to go head to head with Amazon. For us, its a good news. We want to see more competition. Such competition will determine not only the prices of ebooks, but also which ebook formats are more reliable – Kindle’s propitiatory AWZ or industry standard ePub.

Twook is an application for posting and reading messages on Twitter. This was developed bu Nookdevs. According to Noodevs:

The most recent version is 0.0.6. It has 4 custom search buttons, a button to display the favorite tweets for the authenticated user, and search users button. The tweet button is now large and on the left. It will display the user avatar when the user authenticates.

To bring up the keyboard for searches use a long press on the respective search buttons.

Functionality

The button functionality is in this order from left to right:

The large button on the left displays the image of the user on logging in. It’s also the button for posting tweets.

Row 1 – personal

• show replies timeline
• show tweets by the user
• show homeline
• show retweets of the user
• show direct messages received
• show followers with their latest status
• show followed users with their latest status

Row 2 – search

• show public timeline
• buttons 2-5 – search a term
• show favorites
• find users

Row 3 – tweet actions

• buttons without images are not implemented, they will have functionality like retweet, favor, etc
• last button – log in using username and password

Installation instruction on the Twook page here.

As soon as B&N lowered the price of Nook to $199, and introduced wifi-only Nook, released a Nook software updates 1.4 with some new features and improvement in Nook’s overall performance:

1. Extended AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspot support — FREE and seamless connection to AT&T’s entire nationwide Wi-Fi network including restaurants, hotels and additional locations, and wherever you see an AT&T Wi-Fi sign.
2. New extra extra large font size
3. Go-To Page feature allows users to go to a specific page in their eBook

Nothing that much to be surprised. Yet it signals the indication of further updates as more and more user requests are submitted.

Click here to how you can update your Nook.

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Buy a 3G Nook at $199 OR a Wifi-only Nook at $149 from B&N

Borders is talking pre-order for Kobo at $149, and the Borders ebook store is supposed to open July 6. To beat the market, B&N finally has released Wifi Nook at $149. Not only that they have also reduced the 3G Nook to $199. This news is amazing in the sense that ereader prices are coming down. That’s what it should be.  Here is the link to B&N store to read all about new Nook.

However, I here present you the comparison between both nook:

	NOOK Wi-Fi $149	NOOK 3G + Wi-Fi $199
Appearance	White back panel	Gray back panel
Features	Same great features for both! Shop over 1 million titles Holds 1,500 eBooks Read eBooks FREE in Barnes & Noble Stores Share eBooks with friends with exclusive LendMe™ technology
Connectivity	Connects via Wi-Fi.	Connects anywhere via FREE 3G plus Wi-Fi.
	Free at all AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots and Barnes & Noble Stores.	Free at all AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots and Barnes & Noble Stores.
Weight	11.6 oz (329 grams)	12.1 oz (343 grams)

Engadget reports with a scrrenshoot regarding a wifi-only Nook. It’ll be sold at $149 same as the Kobo reader being sold by Borders. There are rumors that it’s coming this Wednesday. It seems not realistic. Why does B&N release a new Nook without any campaign within such a short time interval? However, it’s reasonable to believe that a fierce market competition in the ebook market going to bring down the ereader prices. It’s good that Kobo has blowed the whistle, and everybody has no other choice but to follow Kobo.