Barnes and Noble has officially introduced their iPad app called “Nook” that brings a ton of new functionality to using Apple’s iPad as an ereader. The app is available for free and offers lots of great reasons to choose it over other eReaders including ten free samples of current bestsellers, three free classics, and samples of any ebook.

One unique feature of Nook for iPad is the ability to share books with friends with the LendME feature with built in integration with your existing iPad contacts. Ebooks can only be lent once and for a period of no more than two weeks.

Nook for iPad also features adjustable font sizes (up to 10 different font sizes), multiple font types, swipe to turn pages (the nook ereader uses hardware buttons to turn the pages), background and text color options, and the ability to sync notes, bookmarks, and highlights.

A lot of the other features are similar to the features that exist on the actual nook ereader, which should make those who are used to using the nook comfortable with using the iPad, although I’m not sure there are many users who initially bought a nook only to purchase an iPad months later, but who knows.

Barnes & Noble

Best Buy will be the first and only chain to carry the device other than Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S. specialty bookstore chain, putting the electronics seller at the center of the fast-growing ereader market.

The exclusive deal calls for Best Buy to also include Barnes & Noble’s BN eReader software on some of the personal computers and mobile devices it sells. Currently, the nook is available at Barnes & Noble’s website and 723 bookstores.

The deal with Best Buy will greatly increase the Nook’s availability and ability to compete with the recently launched iPad, a portable computing and entertainment system that also functions as an e-reader and is sold at Best Buy in addition to Apple stores.

Along with the iPad and the Nook, Best Buy also sells Sony”s Reader. The other major player in the e-reader wars, online retailer Amazon.com Inc, sells its market-leading Kindle (SEE nook vs Kindle) on its own web site.

“This partnership provides [Barnes & Noble] with an additional distribution channel, which is critical to driving sales of the Nook,” said Michael Souers, an analyst with Standard & Poor’s Equity Research.

Unlike Amazon, whose downloads are not compatible with competing ereaders, Barnes & Noble’s ebook store is “device agnostic” — meaning owners of the iPad or Sony’s Reader can download titles from the site.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPad is, “having difficulty being accepted at George Washington University and Princeton University because of network stability issues. Cornell University also says it is seeing connectivity problems with the device and is concerned about bandwidth overload.” Read more.

For comparison, Barnes and Noble’s nook uses the open source operating system, Android, and Apple‘s iPad uses iPhone software for its OS.

The following table compares Barnes & Noble’s nook with Apple’s iPad on several different metrics and measurements, such as screen size, weight, dimensions, and other features, but it is important to note that while the iPad can be an e-book reader, the nook cannot (yet) be a mobile media PC, but there are some users looking to change that by adding a browser to the nook.

e-Reader Comparison Table: Nook vs. iPad

Did I mention that they named it the iPad?

But, they didn’t ask me for a reason, I suppose…

I’ve had this discussion with a doctor who uses the iPhone like crazy when dealing with patients. There are a ton of apps that help doctors. I asked her if the iPad appealed to her; for the same reason that we think it is bunk technology (giant iPhone that is less convenient without reducing the need for a computer) and she said no.

I can see the medical profession using something like an iPad in the future, if the cost comes down and they are more PC-like (i.e. EMR and Hospital (Citrix) systems can be installed on the OS). If Epocrates (and others) could unshackle themselves from Apple, it would change the medical community. As it stands, Epocrates is simply latching on to a known (and healthy) distribution channel.

I’m surprised they surveyed physicians so soon after the release. That’s an interesting demographic to target.

With the announcement of iPad with eBook capabilities, Amazon and Apple will be in direct competition.