New preorders of Nook get later shipping date

The Nook

(Credit: Barnes & Noble)

Demand is so strong for the Nook that Barnes & Noble has begun telling new customers not to expect delivery of the soon-to-be-released e-reader until the second week of December.

When the nation's largest bookseller unveiled the device in October, customers placing early preorders were told they could expect the Nook to ship by the end of November; customers placing preorders now are being told they can expect shipment by December 11. The new shipping date was first reported by Brighthand.com.

A Barnes & Noble representative confirmed the December 11 shipping date but disputed the characterization of the new shipping date as a delay.

"Like with any hot, new consumer device, the sooner you order it, the sooner you receive it," said Mary Ellen Keating, senior vice president of corporate communications and public affairs. "We had high expectations for the Nook and couldn't be happier" with preorder sales. However, she declined to say how many of the e-readers had been preordered.

"We are working hard to meet demand for the holidays," she said.

Earlier this month, start-up Spring Design filed a lawsuit against Barnes & Noble, alleging the bookseller misappropriated its trade secrets in the design of the Nook. Spring Design had announced its Alex e-reader just days before Barnes & Noble formally unveiled the Nook. Both e-readers use the Android operating system and combine an e-ink screen with a color touch screen. It seeks both monetary damages and a halt to sales of the Nook.

The $259 Nook, a challenger to Amazon.com's Kindle, will join an expected boom in e-reader sales. In a report released last month, Forrester Research raised its 2009 forecast for e-reader sales in the United States to 3 million units from its previous prediction of 2 million sales. Forrester also expects Amazon's Kindle to command about 60 percent of the e-reader market in 2009, compared with 35 percent for Sony's Reader.

[ddanckaert]

I'm glad there's competition in this space, but it doesn't look like B&N is competing with Amazon on the price of the media.

If I'm buying digital content, I want to be able to re-read it for years to come, and have flexibility regarding the devices. I sort-of trust Amazon on this, I think they get it. Rather than have shelves of books, I essentially have an online book shelf.

If my trust is broken, my titles disappear, I can't re-download them, etc, then this model is *broken* for me. It will be a long time before I get suckered down this path again.

I hope to enjoy using the Apple Tablet with Kindle App next winter. Listening to itunes on the device while reading a book.

[Kev365]

It would seem to me that they are competing with amazon on the price. Nook seems to have much better specs and new technology, example, a color touchscreen. To offer that at the same price as a lower end device, just makes the kindle look expensive.

I don't understand your comment about the digital content, your bn.com account would reflect what you have purchased, if you take something off your device (which holds 1500 books with built-in memory alone) you just re-download it from your account...

The Apple tablet might be a nice gadget, I don't see it being a great e-reader though. The bright screen would hurt your eyes after staring at it for too long and battery life would be really short. I'd buy a tablet computer for its other functions.

[forever4now]

Hopefully, B&N will really leverage Android, on the Nook, by enabling 3rd-party apps. It would be great to use the Nook, to read email, access Fast Flip, browse the web, view maps, listen to music, etc. I read a lot on a computer these days & I would much rather read on an e-ink screen, to make it easier on my eyes.

[Kev365]

agreed...

[jcmark42]

They better get cracking on producing more Nooks for the holiday. Hopefully, B&N won't do a Wii repeat.

[PixP]

I'd never buy the Kindle simply because of that **** they pulled with deleting files off a consumers devices without their knowledge, or consent. Absolutely unforgivable.

[JoeF2]

Yup. That's why I ordered a nook instead.

[mp lee]

yeah, and the bastards followed up by handing out a $25 credit. absolutely unforgivable!

[Kev365]

Supposedly, it was in the fine print. Not that I'm justifying it. I'd be upset, too. They could have done that differently, maybe offering a different publication of it or something.

[ujohngl]

I wonder if the hold up has more to do with the fact that Barnes and Noble is being sued by Spring Design. Sounds like pretty sketchy business, and might make me decide to go with the Kindle.

[Kev365]

If the device is not even out yet, they never heard of it until it was released (so Spring Design says), and they sued just a few days after, then it seems to me they are suing only because of how it looks. If you check the specs, they have vastly different functionality, they just happen to both have e-ink screens. That seems sketchy to me. That's not the hold up. From above... '"Like with any hot, new consumer device, the sooner you order it, the sooner you receive it," said Mary Ellen Keating.' So the early orders will ship in November.

[MarkPharaoh]

I hate stories like these, especially when the rep from the company refuses to give concrete numbers...For all we know they've only sold a few thousand on pre-order so far and are just trying to hype further for more sales.

[Kev365]

I don't get it, why the hate? That kind of info does not determine how good a product actually is. How good it is will just be your opinion. Take MACs for example... Some people say they are really great, but they don't sell anywhere near as many MACs as PCs.