Nook e-readers UK bound: Kindle killers out in time for Christmas

The Gadget Show  Tuesday 21 August 2012

US bookseller Barnes & Noble’s hit line of Nook e-readers are coming to the UK, it’s been announced. They’ll be arriving in time for Christmas, meaning an almighty scrap for a spot on your present list between Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, now backed by Microsoft, is about to kick off.

Barnes & Noble will be bringing its black and white Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight (Read: built in lamp) e-readers to the UK. Both devices come with Wi-Fi built in and will connect to a digital download store at Nook.co.uk with 2.5m titles- the website is live now but the service is not yet up and running.

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It seemed like a one horse race when even Waterstones caved in and announced it would sell Amazon’s Kindle e-reader, with only Kobo holding its own against Amazon’s smash hit digital tomes in last year’s Christmas sales rush. But Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-readers have proved worthy competitors in the US, and they could well do here. Earlier this year, Microsoft invested $300m (£190m) in the bookseller to help bolster the entertainment line up for the new range of Windows 8 tablets expected later this year.

Exact launch date and pricing for the UK Nook e-r-eaders are yet to be announced, but sadly, it looks like we won’t be seeing Barnes & Noble’s Android-powered 7-inch Nook devices, the Nook Color and Nook tablet, hitting these shores just yet. Barnes & Noble says it’s just the black and white eBooks for now, meaning your low price Android tablet options remain somewhat limited here.

What do you make of the news? Are you glad to see an Amazon rival coming this way? Or is this just more of the same? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.

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Tags:

Nook, Barnes & Noble, e-reader