Barnes & Noble may launch new device

Barnes and Noble Incorporated will introduce what analysts and the blogosphere predict will be improved, and in some cases, cheaper versions of its Nook devices to compete for holiday tablet sales, Reuters reported on Monday.The largest United States bookstore chains Nook had been a hit since its launch in 2009, but the retailer was under pressure from Amazon.com Incorporated, which in September introduced the Kindle Fire, its first tablet, to challenge the tablet-like Nook Colour and slashed the price on its basic Kindle.Technology blog Engadget claimed in a post on Thursday to know that Barnes and Noble would unveil its first tablet, for $249 at the launch in New York. It earlier said, citing leaked presentation slides, that Barnes and Noble would lower the price on its touchscreen e-reader, launched in May, to $99 from $139, matching that of the Kindle Touch.A Barnes and Noble spokeswoman declined to comment.Whatever the company presents on Monday, analysts said Barnes and Noble would need to show a new product or at least a significant upgrade with strong new features to keep Barnes and Noble competitive, justify any higher prices and win customers."You lock them into the Nook platform and promise them that new devices are also going to be coming out," Forrester Research analyst, Mr. James McQuivey, said.Barnes and Noble had faced years of shrinking book sales, so it had invested tens of millions of dollars to develop the Nook to reinvent itself as readers move to digital formats. It claimed to now have about a quarter of the digital books market.Despite having modest financial means compared with Amazon, its Nook Colour beat Kindle Fire to the market by a year, and its touchscreen reader was launched in May, months ahead of Amazons.Amazons aggressive pricing would put pressure on Barnes and Noble to follow suit on the devices it does not upgrade."Amazon is in land grab mode," Morningstar analyst Peter Wahlstrom, said. "Barnes and Noble doesnt want to be seen as a low-cost leader. They want to be viewed as a premium product."
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