Hasta La Gadget!

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. All that sounds good to us, but we wish there was a clause that required them to include a spec sheet. Considering the Nook Color just got Froyo, is it possible we’ll be seeing a Honeycomb version come the 24th? It looks like we’ll just have to wait and see.

Barnes & Noble to release new e-reader, according to securities filing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 20:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The upcoming firmware update for the Nook Color is shaping up to be a hefty one for the e-reader-turned-Android tablet. Barnes & Noble has now announced that it’s officially opening up the device to developers, and will be taking app submissions through its developer site effective immediately. The Nook has long been one of the best bangs for your buck in the ever-expanding world of Android tablets, and all that’s left now is Honeycomb — and no, the hacked port doesn’t count.

B&N accepting Nook Color app submissions, because you can never have too many app stores originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spent some quality time watching the Home Shopping Network this morning to hear just how the Nook Color will be improved? That’s what we thought… but we bit the bullet and tuned in ourselves to get the details for you. Simply put, HSN says Barnes and Noble will start rolling out an over-the-air software package in “mid-April” that will update the Nook Color to Android 2.2, bringing Adobe Flash Player, Angry Birds, and push email of some sort. It’ll also apparently include “lots of Nook apps,” though the channel’s pitchmen only had one to show on TV — a kid-friendly sketchpad, with a variety of drawing utensils and colored paper. HSN hosts also claim that customers who purchase the Nook Color on the show are “guaranteed to be the very first people updated,” though we’re not sure we’ll take them at their word, considering some of the other fabulous exaggerations we just heard on the air.

HSN details Nook Color update for ‘mid-April’: Android 2.2, Flash, apps and push email originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 13:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already seen Apple boast that it’s sold 15 million iPads in 2010 and commanded more than a 90 percent market share, but IDC has now come in and provided a broader picture of the tablet market as a whole — and e-readers, too. Not surprisingly, it too found that the tablet industry is basically all about Apple at the moment, although its market share did dip from a whopping 93 percent in the third quarter to 73 percent in Q4, which averages out to 83 percent for the year — all told, there were 18 million tablets sold in 2010. Things are a bit more competitive in the e-reader market — where there were 12 million devices sold — although Amazon is still head and shoulders above everyone else with a 48 percent share. Interestingly, it’s followed not by Barnes & Noble as you might expect but by Pandigital, which just eeked into the number two spot for Q4 (though B&N is slightly ahead for the full year). Hanvon came in fourth based largely on strong sales in China, and Sony rounded out the top five with sales of 800,000 units in 2010. Check out the press release after the break for some additional details

Continue reading IDC: 18 million tablets, 12 million e-readers shipped in 2010

IDC: 18 million tablets, 12 million e-readers shipped in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, this one strikes us as a little… odd. Barnes & Noble is currently selling its Nook Color on eBay (along with plenty of other things). The truly interesting part, however, is that the price, once a $50 coupon code is applied, is $199, which is of course $50 less than it sells them for in stores or on its own website. We aren’t sure what the motivation behind this move is, but we’d guess that the bookseller is attempting to compete with other, unofficial eBay retailers selling B&N’s goods. Either way, if you’re in the market for a Nook Color, eBay seems to be the place to get one, for now.

Barnes & Noble now selling the Nook Color on eBay for $199 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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