Digitimes reports that Barnes & Noble will launch its next-generation Nook Color (Nook Color 2?) this September 2011. Taiwanese suppliers such as TPK Holding, which makes transparent, projected-capacitive touch technology, are already shipping key components to be used in Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color 2. TPK Holding is supplying touch panels used in the e-book reader, while Inventec (manufacturer of notebook computers, phones, personal digital assistants, calculators and electronic dictionaries) will be responsible for assembly of the Nook Color 2. Pegatron, which is a Taiwan-based design and manufacturing service that develops mainly computing, communications and consumer electronics to branded vendors, has also received orders for the Nook Color 2. Both Inventec and Pegatron may be able to supply two to three million units of Nook Color 2 by the end of 2011.

Nook Color 2 Features

Like the original Nook Color, Nook Color 2 will feature a 7-inch, full-color touchscreen, support functions of email, music, games and apps, and will continue to use E Ink for the e-paper backplanes of the Nook Color 2. It is unclear what differences the Nook Color 2 will have over its predecessor, but based on other manufacturer upgrades, it could come in the form of increased memory, storage, processing power, or screen resolution. But the one that is probably most likely to occur is the addition of 3G, which previous Nook models have, but was missing from the Nook Color.

Nook Color vs. The World

While this newly upgraded e-book reader from Barnes & Noble is meant to directly against Amazon’s Kindle, it’s biggest competitor may be the new 7-inch Lenovo IdeaPad, a $199 Android tablet priced $50 less than today’s $249 Nook Color. But it really depends on why the user is buying the tablet. For those who want a cheap, powerful tablet PC, the Nook Color has been the choice for most of 2011, but for those who want the best reading experience that’s more of a mixed bag. If Barnes & Noble adds 3G they will be competing directly head-to-head with the iPad, which differs in the operating system and screen size, and price mostly. And then there are the apps. While the Nook Color runs Android and has the Android Marketplace, the iPad has iOS Apps and the iTunes App Store. Like PC World said, it could be that Barnes and Noble is not competing against the iPad or the current Kindle, but against the future Amazon Tablet – keeping it firmly in e-reader land and safely away from the iPad, which so firmly dominates the tablet market right now.

Light & Thin – Only 8.7 Ounces
When reading for long periods of time, weight matters. That’s why Amazon worked hard to make their newest Kindle lighter than ever – only 8.7 ounces – so you can read comfortably for hours with just one hand. Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback, and thinner than a magazine. Just a third of an inch in profile, Kindle fits perfectly in your hands.

Ergonomic Design
Kindle is easy to hold and read. We designed it with long-form reading in mind. When reading for long periods of time, people naturally shift positions and often like to read with one hand. Kindle’s page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to read and turn pages from any position. The new soft-touch, textured back is comfortable to hold and never gets hot in your hands.

Never Gets Hot
Unlike a laptop or tablet, Kindle never gets hot so you can read comfortably as long as you like.

Simple to Use, No Computer Required
Unlike most electronic devices, Amazon wanted to keep Kindle simple. Kindle is wireless and ready to use right out of the box – no setup, no software to install, no computer required.

Included in the box Kindle wireless reader U.S. power adapter (supports 100V-240V) USB 2.0 cable (for connection to the Kindle power adapter or to connect to a computer.)

• Dense, neoprene material protects your E-Reader from drops, bumps, scratches and scrapes
• Additional accessory pocket lets you store memory cards, card readers, charger and charging accessories
• Slimline design protects your E-Reader on its own or in a travel bag
• The back strap allows for easy carrying and comfort
• Guaranteed Quality! Manufacturer’s 3 Year Warranty

Neoprene is a synthetic rubber that is resistant to oils and aging and is commonly used in waterproof products like wetsuits, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces (wrist, knee, etc.), electrical insulation, liquid and sheet-applied elastomeric membranes and flashings and car fan belts.etc. This neoprene sleeve is a great way to protect and store your E-Reader. It is made out of dense neoprene that protects your E-Reader from bumps, drops, scratches, and scrapes. It comes with an additional accessory pocket that can fit lots of your accessories. The sturdy handle on the back allows for easy transport. Protect your E-Reader! This cover fits Amazon Kindle (latest generation), Sony PRS, and B&N Nook.

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

E-books haven’t always been free. In fact, as of just 10 years ago, e-books were more expensive than their paper counterparts. But lately Amazon has been offering e-books for free or at a discounted rate, some say as loss leaders in order to help push early adoption of their Kindle e-book reader platform. The proof is in the list of top 100 downloads of which 64 are listed for $0.00.

Amazon is able to distribute public domain works like “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” and “Pride and Prejudice” for free, but e-books like Noel Hynd’s “Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker: Recipes for Entertaining” (#9) has to cost Amazon something. In the same way a grocery store offers a steal-of-a-deal on the front page of their ads, Amazon is luring in customers with these free e-books.

Would customers have purchased these free e-books if Amazon had not of offered them? Are people downloading them simply because they are free? Most are probably downloaded by readers in the first few weeks that they own a Kindle, when they’re looking to download something simply for the sake of downloading something and Amazon is in a way rewarding them for their recent purchase.

Kindle’s charts may also be skewed by hardcore early adopters’ reading habits, but these patterns may change now that more casual users are picking up the Kindle for the first time. And we know consumer buying habits are changing because more customers purchased Kindle titles than physical books on Christmas Day this year for the first time ever.

With Sony’s e-book Reader and Barnes and Noble’s nook e-book reader, the demand for e-books is only going to go up. If Amazon opens it’s e-book sales for distribution on these other devices, it can only be a win-win for hardware and book sales alike all around. Both the nook and the Kindle are solid platforms. Learn more about each of them here.

Amazon shot for simplicity and what they created was a simple product. Yes, it was improved with the Kindle 2, but Barnes and Noble raised the bar considerably with the release of the nook.

While Amazon’s Kindle is still the market leader, it’s grayscale-only screen makes Barnes and Noble’s nook’s color screen look fantastic. I also features iPhone-like touch screen and finger manipulation. Just flick your finger and the screen scrolls just as it does on Apple’s iPhone.

Both ebook readers are similarly priced at $259 so removing price from the comparison, you are truly choosing between hardware and software options at this point along with the back-end service and ebook availability. Both are strong companies who share roots in selling books, but Barnes and Nobles is exclusively a book store and that may be why they are able to offer up to three times as many ebooks than Amazon.

And while we are comparing nook’s color screen to Apple’s iPhone, let us remember that Apple has yet to release an ebook reader or even a touch screen tablet. iPhone users can download and use both Kindle and Barnes and Noble apps to read ebooks on the iPhone, but Apple has yet to release a standalone ebook hardware platform. While the nook has made improvements to the ebook reader, it is not necessarily a game changer like the way the iPod changed MP3 players and the iPhone changed cell phones forever. Can Apple do it again and if so, will that be the game changer?

You might want to ask why you would want the game changed at all.

Barnes and Noble and Amazon are both releasing solid products that do one thing well: read ebooks. No, they can’t surf the web well, but they can download ebooks from the web just fine, which is exactly what they are for. If you want to search the web, there is already hardware for that. Most people can even surf the web on their cell phones, for example. So this push for a game changing device may only be a play on our human nature to always want the grass on the other side of the fence, never being satisfied. This fuels our economic engine and spurs innovation, but sometimes we need to stop and appreciate what we have now and that it is pretty cool and not always dismiss the present while we are waiting for the future to arrive.

For each Nook e-book reader not received by Christmas, Barnes and Noble will hand out a $100 gift certificate to the store, which is more than a third of the $259 cost of the device. Those that are set to arrive after Christmas will already contain a gift certificate so there is no rebate system, which would only cause further frustration. Barnes and Noble says that most Nooks will arrive on or before December 24th, but some will not and those that do not make it will contain the gift certificate.

When Was the Nook Released?

The Nook was revealed in October 2009 and originally was to go on sale at the end of November, but was pushed back to the beginning of December. Since then orders have been slow to be fulfilled and the software has been slow at times. The Nook is getting mixed reviews and is running primarily head to head with Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader, which is not having shipping delays. Barnes and Nobles blames higher than expected demand for the device, which caused fulfillment problems.

The software on the Nook is currently running slow and a fix was expected to be released in January, but may be released the last week of December. Software updates are handled wirelessly over the Internet using either the Nook’s Wi-Fi or 3G connections.

Barnes and Noble is not the only company to have manufacturing and delivery issues. Amazon had the same problem with the Kindle in 2007, but this year Amazon is boasting record sales for the month of December. And If you order a Kindle by Dec. 22, you get free two-day shipping, with a guaranteed arrival by Christmas Eve, 2010.

1. The Nook has a color navigation screen, whereas the Kindle does not.
2. The Nook has Wi-Fi, but again, the Kindle does not.
3. The Kindle has a web browser, but the Nook does not.
4. The Nook has an expansion slot, but the Kindle does not.
5. They both have 3G, but the Nook uses AT&T and the Kindle uses Sprint.
6. While they both run Linux, the Nook specifically runs Google Android, a flavor of Linux.
7. Kindle can read books to you (when allowed by the publisher), but the Nook cannot.
8. Barnes and Noble is offering over 1 million eBooks versus Amazon.com’s 360,000.
9. The Nook can share annotations and notes with others between devices like smart phones & PCs.
10. The Nook can get books from the Google Book Project.

First eBook reader to work with Apple’s iTunes Store wins!

[Update: The Nook App is now available in the iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPad.]

*Not all ebooks will allow these features.

With the announcement that the 774 U.S. book store behemoth will mostly be selling it’s newest product, the Nook eBook reader, online, Barnes and Noble is creating the largest Internet kiosk on the planet.

Barnes and Noble was already cannibalizing its retail outlets with bn.com, but like Steve Riggio said about Amazon.com, “It’s better to cannibalize yourself than to be cannibalized.” Now it is more than just BN.com VS. Amazon.com, it’s Nook VS. Kindle in Round 2.

While Amazon.com is all about having a large selection, it was by it’s very name, a website. The only way Barnes and Nobles is able to differentiate was by moving more towards Starbucks, further utilizing the retail space they have available to sell coffee and cappuccino. They have added wi-fi and encouraged patrons to hang out and drink a cup of coffee. And while the Nook will only be available online, once you get it, what is going to make you want to come into the store? [Update: The Nook is now available in Barnes and Noble stores nation-wide. Click to find out where to buy the nook eReader.]

A Forced Hand

Being that Barnes and Noble was late to the party for both their online website and their eBook reader, my guess is that their hand was forced each time by you guessed it, Amazon.com. The amazing success of both Amazon.com and the Kindle eBook reader made it impossible for Barnes and Noble to stay out of the ring. So who will win round 2 of the book wars? The answer could be both.

The Associated Press predicts that, “The shift to digital from physical books will ultimately hurt traditional brick-and-mortar book sellers.” If the shift continues to it’s ultimate conclusion, Barnes and Noble will end up looking a lot like Amazon.com did ten years ago, but Amazon.com has an obvious advantage because they lack any retail stores.

Barnes and Noble needs to double-down and make the Nook eBook reader be as successful as Apple’s iPhone and BN.com as successful as iTunes. Only time and eBook sales will tell.

[Editor's Note: On July 31, 2010, PC World's, Harry McCracken, wrote Barnes & Noble Doubles Down on the Nook, about how Barnes and Noble is nurturing its e-reader with designated Nook lounges with accessories and demos.]