B&N Launches eBookstore and Announces Upcoming Wireless E-Book Reader

Barnes & Noble, the world's largest bookseller, has launched the Barnes & Noble eBookstore, which becomes the world's largest e-bookstore. Customers will be able to buy e-books and read them on a wide range of platforms, including the iPhone and iPod touch, BlackBerry smartphones, as well as most laptops and full-sized desktop computers. In addition, Barnes & Noble announced that it will be the exclusive eBookstore provider on the forthcoming Plastic Logic wireless e-reader device.

Barnes & Noble's eBookstore features access to more than 700,000 titles, including hundreds of new releases and best-sellers at $9.99. The company said it expects its selection will increase to more than 1 million titles within the next year, inclusive of every available e-book from every book publisher and every available e-book original.

In addition, the eBookstore offers access to more than 500,000 public domain books from Google, which can be downloaded for free.

Barnes & Noble also announced a partnership with Plastic Logic on a wireless e-reader device. Set to debut in early 2010, the e-reader will be 8.5 x 11 inches.

"Today marks the first phase of our digital strategy, which is rooted in the belief that readers should have access to the books in their digital library from any device, from anywhere, at any time," said William J. Lynch, president of BN.com. "As America's No. 1 bookstore and newsstand, our goal at Barnes & Noble is to build a service that revolves around the customer, enabling them to have access to hundreds of thousands of titles and read on their smartphone, PC, and many other existing and future devices. We want to make e-books simple, accessible, affordable and convenient for everyone."