Report: Barnes & Noble e-book reader ships next month

IDG News Service - Barnes & Noble plans to announce its own branded e-book reader, which will run the Android operating system, according to media reports.

The bookseller may start selling the device as early as November, in time for the holiday shopping in the U.S., according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, which attributed the information to "people briefed on the matter."

Barnes & Noble's move to introduce its own branded reader will pit the bookseller against Amazon.com -- which is already offering the Kindle -- and other vendors, such as Sony.

Barnes & Noble set up a digital bookstore in July to offer e-books that could be downloaded and read on reader software designed for PCs, Research In Motion's BlackBerries and Apple's Macintosh computers, iPhone and iPod devices.

The company also said in July that it will tailor the e-book store for an e-book reader from Plastic Logic slated for early 2010.

The new stand-alone reader from Barnes & Noble will run the Android operating system, said Gizmodo in a report on Thursday. The report quoted an unnamed person who claims to work for Barnes & Noble developing mobile applications.

The Barnes & Noble device will have a six-inch screen from digital-paper maker E-Ink, with a touch input and a virtual keyboard, according to the Wall Street Journal. It will also have a wireless connection to download books. Pricing information for the device was not available.

Amazon cut prices earlier this week on its basic 6-inch display Kindle reader to $259 from $299, and it said that it will ship the Kindle to over 100 countries and territories outside the U.S. beginning Oct 19.