Barnes & Noble’s NOOKcolor Shipping Early to Pre-Orderers, Heading to Retail; e-Ink Nook Getting Big Update Next Week

Barnes & Noble’s just put out a press release confirming that their NOOKcolor Android eReader would be shipping early to pre-orderers as early as today. We should also see it showing up in Barnes & Noble and some of the bigger third-party retailers starting sometime this week. For $249.99, you’ll get what’s essentially a 7-inch Android tablet with a heavy focus on e-Reading. This is a logical step up from the original Nook, which was Android-enabled but not to its full capacity due to the smaller sub-screen.

Barnes & Noble also states that their pre-order volumes smashed initial expectations and is now their best-selling item. Finally, they put in a bit about the original e-Ink equipped Nook, stating that the $149.99 3G and WiFi-only devices would be seeing a major update sometime next week. Read on for full press details.

Customers Begin To Touch the Future of Reading™ As Barnes & Noble Starts to Ship NOOKcolor™, The Ultimate Reading Experience

Initial Devices Shipped and Arriving to Pre-Order Customers
Ahead of Schedule

Experience NOOKcolor with Demo Units in Most Barnes & Noble Stores
Beginning Today

NOOKsmart, Book Ready Program In-Stores Offers Free Customized NOOKcolor Set-Up Service

New York, New York – November 16, 2010 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, began shipping its highly anticipated NOOKcolor by Barnes & Noble ahead of schedule to customers who pre-ordered devices. The first full-color touch Reader’s Tablet will begin arriving today and through the week to customers who pre-ordered the device online and reserved units in Barnes & Noble stores. Live demonstration units that will allow customers the opportunity to touch the future of reading, along with very limited quantities of devices available for purchase, will start arriving in Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Walmart and Books-A-Million stores beginning this week.

NOOKcolor features a stunning 7-inch VividView™ Color Touchscreen and delivers digital books, magazines, newspapers and children’s books in rich, gorgeous color – all in one beautiful, thin and highly portable device. Following the product’s announcement on October 26, Barnes & Noble began taking NOOKcolor pre-orders for the $249 device at www.NOOKcolor.com and reserving units in its Barnes & Noble stores. The product has quickly become the bestselling product at Barnes & Noble with pre-order volume significantly beyond that of the company’s aggressive expectations for the breakthrough new device.

“NOOKcolor is the device for people who love to read everything: books, newspapers, magazines, children’s books and more. Beyond being the most full featured reading product on the market, it also offers the versatility of a tablet, enabling wireless web browsing and streaming music. At $249, it represents tremendous value. We’re encouraged by the consumer response thus far, and the organization is committed to doing everything we can to meet demand,” said William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble.

As Barnes & Noble continues to fill pre-orders and in-store reservations for devices, there will initially be a limited inventory of NOOKcolor in Barnes & Noble and partner stores. Those ordering NOOKcolor online this week can expect their device to ship on or around November 26, a date that the company will continue to adjust as it manages supply with high consumer demand.
Given the strong demand for the new product, Barnes & Noble recommends that consumers who want to ensure receipt of their devices in advance of the holidays pre-order in Barnes & Noble stores or online at www.NOOKcolor.com shortly.

NOOK 3G and Wi-Fi Firmware Update Next Week
For book lovers who crave a paper-like reading experience, NOOK continues to be the most full-featured dedicated E-Ink® device on the market at a great value, starting at $149. Barnes & Noble continues to enhance the overall reading experience and performance of its award-winning, best-selling NOOK 3G and NOOK Wi-Fi devices and will offer a major update to customers next week. More information will be available at www.NOOK.com/support.

About NOOK™ from Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble’s NOOK brand of eReading products makes it easy to read what you love, anywhere you like™ with a fun, easy-to-use and immersive digital reading experience. With NOOK, customers gain access to Barnes & Noble’s expansive NOOKbook™ Store of more than two million digital titles, and the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices. NOOK products are the most full-featured, dedicated eReading devices on the market. NOOKcolor ($249), the first full-color touch Reader’s Tablet, provides the ultimate reading experience with a stunning 7-inch VividView™ Color Touchscreen to read all of the content you love. For book lovers, NOOK 3G ($199) and NOOK Wi-Fi® ($149) offer a paper-like reading experience with a color touch screen for navigation. In Barnes & Noble stores, NOOK owners can access free Wi-Fi connectivity, enjoy the Read In Store™ feature to read NOOKbooks for free, and the More In Store™ program, which offers free, exclusive content and special promotions. Barnes & Noble was the first company to offer digital lending for a wide selection of books through its LendMe™ technology, available through NOOK eReading products. Find NOOK devices in Barnes & Noble stores and online at www.NOOK.com, as well as at Best Buy, Walmart and Books-A-Million.

In addition to NOOK devices, Barnes & Noble makes it easy for customers to enjoy any book, anytime, anywhere with its free line of NOOK software, available at www.bn.com/NOOKapps. Customers can use Barnes & Noble’s free eReading software to access and read books from their personal Barnes & Noble digital library on devices including iPad™, iPhone®, iPod touch®, Android™, BlackBerry® and other smartphones, PC, and Mac®. Lifetime Library™ helps ensure that Barnes & Noble customers will always be able to access their digital libraries on NOOK products and software-enabled devices and BN.com. Barnes & Noble also offers NOOKstudy™ (www.NOOKstudy.com), an innovative study platform and software solution for higher education and NOOK kids™ (www.NOOKkids.com), a collection of digital picture and chapter books for children.

For more information on NOOK devices and eReading software, updates, new NOOKbook releases, Free Friday™ NOOKbooks and more, follow us on www.twitter.com/eBooksBN and www.facebook.com/NOOKBN.

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