It's summer, which means sun, fun and time to kick back to catch up on a few good books. Whether you're into Orwell or Us magazine (or both), it's hard to haul all of your summer reading out on the road or onto the beach. In other words, summer is the perfect time to pick up an eReader.
Barnes & Noble is making the option a lot more enticing, announcing plans to knock $60 off its nook. Like many other eReaders, the nook can store eBooks, magazines and newspapers. However, unlike many other eReaders, it's dirt cheap, and offers some reader-friendly options, such as ebook lending (up to two weeks), and free reads of any ebook while in a Barnes & Noble store. The new lower price will make the original nook a cool $199, including 3G and Wi-Fi content access and downloading.
Our own Greg Robinson got to flip through some of the nook's features not too long ago and seemed pretty pleased. Maybe that's because the unit holds about 1500 of your favorite titles.
If 3G isn't all that necessary for you, B&N also just announced a new nook that is strictly for Wi-Fi connections. That's awesome if you're in a freebie hotspot. Not so much anywhere else, but everything else on this unit is identical -- except the price. The new nook Wi-Fi is available today for $149. If you don't foresee the need to download a quick e-book or browse the Web from the taxi cab or airport, then you can save yourself $50 with the Wi-Fi only version.
Another nifty feature for both units is that B&N lets you "sample" eBooks before you buy them. And, for ebooks you do own, you can lend them to a friend for up to two weeks.
Amazon's response? They just lowered the price of the 3G/WiFi-enabled Kindle to $189. Surprise surprise...
Thanks to engadget for the tip.
Where to Buy the nook:
