Barnes & Noble partners with Plastic Logic

[jotas]

Barnes & Noble partners with Plastic Logic, becomes "exclusive eBookstore provider" for its e-reader

by Ross Miller, posted Jul 20th 2009 at 5:01PM

It's not exactly an e-book reader of its own as previously rumored, but Barnes & Noble's announced an alliance with Plastic Logic in which it'll serve as the "exclusive eBookstore provider" to the long-in-development e-reader, which unless we're playing with semantics here means any and all digital literature you're wanting to purchase on-device will have to come from BN. According to the press release, downloads from Google's public domain archives will also be made available gratis, and as for the enigmatic 8.5 x 11-inch slate, it's still reportedly on track for an early 2010 launch. Much in the vein of Amazon's more recent maneuvers, the ole' brick-and-mortar retailer is taking what it's calling a device-agnostic approach, with apps already available for iPhone and iPod touch, Blackberry, Windows, and OS X. Practice your reading skills with the presser after the break.

Update: A few added details from Barnes & Noble's conference call. The company says it'll be announcing support for other products in the future (not Kindle or Sony e-reader) and that it has no announcements at this point as to whether it'll be selling Plastic Logic e-readers in store, exclusive or otherwise.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/20/barnes-and-noble-becomes-the-exclusive-ebookstore-provider-for-p/#continued

[salvag]

Pensaban que sería un ereader propio y ha resultado un acuerdo con los PL.
Y aquí los veremos como pasa con los Kindle...

..

Por cierto y offtopic. La semana pasada me dispuse a comprar el Gran diccionario Oxford. Después de investigar precios, me ha resultado 10¤ más barato comprarlo a B&N USA que a La Casa del Libro o a ECI aquí en spain; pa' matarlos; y porque Amazon no los envía aqúi, que si no, aún más diferencia.

[rfog]

"Me se" ha quedado la boca abierta. ;;)


De lo de tu compra, luego se quejan de que los pirateamos o compramos fuera... Por mi, que se jodan.

[sadalsuud]

Bueno, al menos el que Barnes & Noble los apoye ya me quita la duda de si estos acabarían en fiasco como el Readius o se eternizarían en sacar algo al mercado. Supongo que ahora si podemos esperar tener algún día la oportunidad de comprarlo en alguna parte. O de leer análisis, porque hasta que no halla pasado por unas cuantas manos mejor no decidir nada.

[jotas]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/att-gets-deal-for-plastic-logic-e-reader?siteid=nbsh

AT&T to act as network for new e-reader device
Telecom giant partners with Plastic Logic for rival to popular Kindle

By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Plastic Logic on Wednesday said AT&T Inc. will supply the wireless connection for a touch-screen device it's developing to rival Amazon's Kindle in the electronic-book market.

The agreement with AT&T (T 24.81, +0.24, +0.98%) comes one day after the Silicon Valley firm signed a deal allowing Barnes & Noble (BKS 22.12, +0.65, +3.03%) to become the exclusive e-book seller for Plastic Logic's device. Customers will also be able to purchase newspapers, magazines and other periodicals once the device becomes available sometime in 2010. See full story.

Based on innovative plastic technology, the device has been designed especially with business users in mind. Plastic Logic said its reader will handle PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other native formats used in the business world. It is unclear if the device will offer e-mail, however.

The Plastic Logic reader is close in size to Amazon's (AMZN 88.28, -0.73, -0.82%) newest Kindle DX, under 1/4-inch thick and about the size of an 8.5-by-11 sheet of paper. Yet Plastic Logic said it will have a bigger screen and weigh "less than many print magazines," a hint that it could be lighter than the DX's 18.9 ounces.

The Plastic Logic device will be also able to connect to the Internet via WiFi, giving customers faster access to the Internet in homes, offices and wireless "hotspots." The Kindle allows limited Internet access at regular wireless-networking speeds.

By teaming up with Plastic Logic, AT&T is adopting the strategy of rival Sprint Nextel Corp. (S 4.82, +0.10, +2.12%) , the sole supplier of wireless connectivity for the Kindle. Carriers are seeking ways to maximize usage of their wireless networks - especially amid a sharp U.S. recession - and develop supplementary revenue streams.

"We see this as a great revenue opportunity," said Glenn Lurie, AT&T's president of emerging devices, in an interview. He declined to say if the device will offer e-mail.

Barnes & Noble, for its part, is hoping to use its agreement with Plastic Logic as a springboard to challenge Amazon's dominance in the small but rapidly growing e-book market. Although Amazon (AMZN 88.28, -0.73, -0.82%) has never released sales figures, analysts calculate the online retail giant has sold more than 1 million Kindles since the device was introduced in late 2007.

Jeffry Bartash is a reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.

[jotas]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/barnes-noble-to-launch-e-bookstore-reader

Jul 20, 2009, 6:53 p.m. EST
Barnes & Noble jumping into e-book market
Retailer gets exclusive deal with Plastic Logic for Kindle rival


By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Barnes & Noble Inc. said Monday afternoon that it is launching an electronic bookstore and has lined up an exclusive deal for an upcoming e-reader, in hopes to compete with the popular Kindle from Amazon.com Inc.

Book retailer Barnes & Noble (BKS 22.08, +0.61, +2.84%) said in a statement Monday that it has launched its eBookstore, allowing customers to purchase and download books directly onto a host of devices. The store's titles can be read over devices like the iPhone and iPod touch from Apple Inc. (AAPL 156.99, +5.48, +3.62%) , the BlackBerry from Research In Motion Ltd (RIMM 74.08, -0.07, -0.09%) and PC and Mac computers.

http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/MWimages/MW-AB282_plasti_MD_20090720175636.jpg

In addition, the company said it has landed an arrangement with Plastic Logic, a nascent Silicon Valley firm developing an e-reader device slated to come out sometime next year.

Under that deal, Barnes & Noble will be the exclusive e-bookstore available on the device. Financial terms of that deal were not disclosed, and the company would not say if the deal would also allow it to sell the device.

"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 Barnes & Noble, in the statement.

The move is part of the company's efforts to better compete against chief rival Amazon.com (AMZN 88.14, -0.87, -0.98%) , which has seen its Kindle e-reader device soar in popularity. The online megaretailer has never disclosed specific sales figures for the device, though analysts believe the company has sold more than 1 million units since the Kindle came out in late 2007.

Sarah Rotman Epps, a technology analyst with Forrester Research, said that while Barnes & Noble will likely be successful with its eBookstore, the company is unlikely to take market share from the Kindle.

"This is a good move, but it's not going to help them dethrone Amazon," she added.

Amazon has an 18-month lead in the market and an online store of more than 300,000 books. Barnes & Noble said its eBookstore offers about 700,000 titles -- though more than 500,000 of those are public domain books from Google Inc. (GOOG 425.60, -2.30, -0.54%)

Barnes & Noble said it will offer several best-sellers at $9.99, similar to the Kindle.

Dan Gallagher is MarketWatch's technology editor, based in San Francisco.

[sadalsuud]

Primer Axioma del mundo de los negocios: "Si algo funciona bien, no lo cambies,limitate a copiarlo", y eso parece que es lo que van a hacer Barnes & Noble con AT&T y Plastic Logic, reclamar su parte del pastel editorial a base de copiar la idea de Amazon y su Kindle.
Eso es lo que me ha parecido leer en esos dos artículos posteados por Jotas, limitarse a copiar a Amazon, visto que le ha ido de maravilla con el Kindle.
Supongo que en cuando se pongan en marcha comenzaran a darse de ostias con Amazon y la competencia abaratará el servicio. Bien para los customers americanos, pero me temo que entonces el lector de plastic logic se limite al mercado norteamericano y aquí en la vieja y maltratada Europa nos volvamos a quedar a dos velas.

[the_doc]

Esta noche he estado mirando la web de Barnes and Noble.
Curioso curioso que los libros que miré costaban exactamente lo mismo en formato físico (rústica) que en formato electrónico. Espero que cambien de política...