nook adds a splash of colour to eBook readers

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 21 Oct 2009 at 07:42

US bookseller Barnes & Noble has launched a new eBook reader - dubbed nook - with a colour touchscreen.

However, those looking forward to reading books and magazines in glossy colour are set to be disappointed as the main display still uses a monochrome E Ink screen.

The colour arrives in the form of a small, secondary display that is used to flick through book cover art and doubles as a touchscreen keyboard. The addition of the secondary screen obviously has a knock-on effect for battery life, with Barnes & Noble claiming battery life of 10 days, compared to the claimed 14-day life of Amazon's Kindle.

The colour touchscreen isn't the only novel touch on the nook. The device also allows users to "lend" their eBooks to friends for 14 days. Selected titles can be shared with other nook owners, or with other devices such as the iPhone, BlackBerry and Motorola smartphones or PCs equipped with Barnes & Noble's software.

The nook is also the first eBook reader to be powered by Google's Android operating system.

The device sports both 3G and Wi-Fi connections, the latter of which can be used to purchase new books in Barnes & Noble stores.

The nook will go on sale at the end of the month for $259 (£158). There's no word as yet of a UK launch.