Barnes and Noble Announces NOOKcolor E-Reader/Tablet

From DailyTech: When it comes to the e-reader market, Amazon's Kindle lineup of devices get the bulk of the attention (and sales in the marketplace). However, there are other strong competitors in this field including an entry from Barnes and Noble. The Nook was announced just over a year ago and has gone on to take roughly 20 percent of the e-reader market according to Engadget.

The first generation Nook made use of a main e-ink display for books and a smaller color panel directly below for navigation. The new NOOKcolor, however, does away with e-ink altogether and uses a seven-inch, 16 million color, 600 x 1024 "VividView" IPS display (169 ppi). Due to its full-color display, battery life takes a hit, coming in at only eight hours of reading time when Wi-Fi (802.11g/n) is disabled (the original Nook can last for ten days with Wi-Fi off).

The NOOKcolor measures 8.1" x 5.0" x 0.48" and weighs 15.8 ounces. The device has 8GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for expansion.

"With NOOKcolor, we've combined the functionality and convenience of a 7-inch portable wireless tablet with the reader-centricity of a dedicated eReader, and employed a breakthrough color screen technology that will wow customers," said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. Added Lynch, "NOOKcolor enables Web browsing over Wi-Fi, music, games and much more, but reading anything and everything in brilliant color is the killer app and squarely the product's focus."

Barnes and Noble is not only billing the NOOKcolor as an e-reader, but also touts its tablet functionality including the ability to use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter along with email.

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