RUMOR: BARNES AND NOBLE TO RELEASE NEW TABLET FOR $349

The Barnes & Noble NOOK Color is one of the best-selling Android tablets in the US, even though the company positions it as a color eBook Reader first and a tablet second. Now it looks like B&N’s 7 inch, $249 tablet may be getting a pricier sibling.

Nate at The Digital Reader received a tip that the company plans to launch a new $349 device next quarter. It will have the code-name Acclaim… and that’s really about all that we know about it. There’s no word on the screen size, processor, or any other specifications.

BARNES & NOBLE ANNOUNCES NEW NOOK eREADER

Barnes & Noble on Tuesday unveiled its all new NOOK eBook reader, and to say it’s an improvement over the previous-generation model is an understatement. This new version replaces the older greyscale model, not the still-young NOOK color, and it features a major improvement we probably all saw coming… a touchscreen.

The eReader sports an on-screen keyboard and it also allows readers to look up words or take notes with simple taps on the beautiful E Ink display. The new NOOK features just one button compared to the Kindle’s 38, which obviously simplifies the user experience significantly. More importantly, the new NOOK can last up to two months on a single charge, double the battery life of Amazon’s Kindle.

Other nifty features include a new proprietary dissolve transition that takes readers from one page to the next, and social media integration that allows users to share recommendations via Twitter, Facebook and more. Of course the new eReader also features Wi-Fi connectivity and owners can enjoy free hotspot access at all Barnes & Noble stores as well as every AT&T hotspot across the country. The new NOOK will retail for $139.99 when it becomes available on June 10th from Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and more.

LEAK: BARNES AND NOBLE TO RELEASE NEW EREADER

It's not often that we get word of a new gadget by way of an SEC filing, but Barnes & Noble has broken with tradition with an 8-K report that reveals its intentions to introduce a new e-reader. The form, filed earlier today, says that the company "indicated it expects to make an announcement on May 24, 2011 regarding the launch of a new eReader device," and goes on to say that the form was filed "solely to satisfy the requirements of Regulation FD." Said regulation was instated back in 2000 to address concerns over insider trading.

RUMOR: AMAZON MAKING AN ANDROID POWERED COLOR KINDLE

There is an interesting idea presented in a post over at the New York Times blog system, talking about the fact that Amazon has posted five new job openings, looking for Android devs. The most notable thing is that the job listings are inside "Lab 126", which is the division of Amazon that is responsible for making the Kindle itself.

This begs the question of course, is Amazon gearing up to compete with the Nook Color, and present the market place with another quality low cost tablet? Or are they simply beefing up their staff to bring some changes to it's Kindle app on the Android platform? But, five devs seems like an awful lot.

AMAZON SELLERS CHARGING FOR FREE PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS

A report in Tuesday’s Washington Post reveals that Amazon is apparently selling free public-domain eBooks that have had their license information stripped. The eBooks in question originate from Project Gutenberg and are available there for free in a variety of formats including ePub, HTML and Kindle.

Project Gutenberg was founded by eBook inventor Michael Hart and is known as the first generally available collection of free eBooks. It is also maintained by volunteers who are not paid for their services.

Amazon’s alleged practice of selling rebranded Gutenberg eBooks is not illegal — in fact it doesn’t even violate Project Gutenberg’s license terms. It is, however, unethical at best and very disturbing at worst. In response to inquiries, an Amazon spokeswoman told the Post, “These books were uploaded by a third party using our self-service platform. I’ve sent your note to the appropriate team internally.” Amazon did not state that the Gutenberg eBooks would be removed from its Kindle store, nor did it condemn the practice of selling reformatted versions of free public-domain eBook files. [BGR]

SONY EREADER APP COMING TO iPHONE AND ANDROID

Sony must be feeling a little left behind in the ereader app department. They are the only leading ereader manufacturer without an app for the iPhone and Android. They have now rectified this. Sony will release their version of the ereader app for those devices in December. The functionality in this upcoming slice of software will be familiar: you get to access books already purchased at the Reader Store or pony up cash for new ones, while making bookmarks, notes and highlights on your mobile device. Throw in adjustable fonts and you've got your boilerplate beginning to a decent mobile e-reader. [Engadget]

NOOK COLOR SHIPPING EARLY

The Nook Color, $249, has started to ship to pre-order customers. It was originally slated to begin shipping November 19th, however Barnes and Noble moved that date up by almost a week. In addition to those who pre-ordered or reserved their device, there will be limited quantities available through retail outlets like Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Walmart and Books-A-Million. [Engadget]

NEW YORK TIMES TO PUBLISH BESTSELLER EBOOK LIST

The New York Times has officially announced it will begin to publish a bestseller list for e-books in early 2011. The current NYT bestseller lists -- which are divided into several categories -- are considered by many to be the definitive metric for a book's success. The Times will have two separate lists covering fiction and non-fiction when it launches, drawing on information from various retailers, and will be independently verified by third party company RoyaltyShare. The list will appear in both the print and online editions of the paper. [Engadget]

E INK TO COME IN COLOR

Tired of reading in black and white on your ereader? A Chinese company will announce, on Tuesday at the FPD International 2010 trade show in Tokyo, that it will be the first to sell a color display using technology from E Ink, whose black-and-white displays are used in 90 percent of the world’s e-readers, including the Amazon Kindle, Sony Readers and the Nook from Barnes & Noble.

“Color is the next logical step for E Ink,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, an analyst at iSuppli. “Every display you see, whether it’s a TV or a cellphone, is in color.”

The new color E Ink display, while an important technological breakthrough, is not as sharp and colorful as LCD. Unlike an LCD screen, the colors are muted, as if one were looking at a faded color photograph. In addition, E Ink cannot handle full-motion video. At best, it can show simple animations.

These are reasons Amazon, Sony and the other major e-reader makers are not yet embracing it. Amazon says it will offer color E Ink when it is ready; the company sees color as useful in cookbooks and children’s books, and it offers these books in color through its Kindle application for LCD devices. Sony is also taking a wait-and-see approach. [NY Times]

Hanvon color e-ink reader

AMAZON BRINING KINDLE TO WINDOWS PHONE 7

Amazon isn't satisfied with having its own ereader or just having apps on a few devices, they aim to take over the ebook/ereader world.  Amazon has just announced they will make their Kindle app available for Windows Phone 7 devices "in the coming months".  This brings the worlds largest ebook retailer onto the new Microsoft platform. [Engadget]

Kindle for Windows Phone 7

RUMOR: NOOK 2 WILL BE COLOR

Barnes and Noble have registered the domain NookColor.com setting off a tidal wave of speculation that the bookseller will be launching a color version of their Nook ereader.  The rumor is Barnes and Noble will announce the "Nook Color", a 7-inch color touchscreen ereader with limited tablet function, running Android OS, at their media event in New York on Tuesday, October 26.  It is expected the new device will retail for $249.  Guess we have to wait until Tuesday to find out,until then the rumors will be running rampant. [Engadget]

Pandigital ereader B&N was interested in branding Nook originally