“Calling the ‘Nook,’ eBook reader its ‘single best-selling product,’ Barnes & Noble CEO Steve Riggio this morning argued the gadget is helping lure customers to its stores and boosting online traffic,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.
MacDailyNews Take: What other product does Barnes & Noble offer under their brand, a clip-on book light? No, seriously, do they even have that? They sell other people’s books, but Ray specifically states “its” when referring to “single best-selling product.” So if you only have one product, it certainly isn’t difficult to make it your “best seller.” Sell one and you’re done. Issue the press release.
Ray continues, “Much as with Amazon.com and its ‘Kindle’ eReader, Riggio declined to give sales figures.”
MacDailyNews Take: What a surprise.
Ray continues, “When asked about the large up-front cost to develop the Nook, and the imminent arrival of Apple’s iPad — it goes on sale in about a month — Riggio responded, ‘Gee, that’s a great question,’ and then went on to clarify that the company’s eBooks are available on multiple devices, including Macs and PCs and BlackBerries and iPhones.”
Full article here.
i’m sick of this iPad already. this will be the first apple flop since the cube. well, if you don’t count the iPod HiFi or the appleTV or the iPod socks.
They’re outselling crannies almost 2:1!
And they say Steve Jobs has a reality distortion field generator . . .
How many Nuts err Nooks has been sold to date? Cmon let’s hear it. iPod socks probably sold 10 times the number of Nitwits err Nooks sold.
nook single best selling product until end of March for wifi and end of April for 3G…
Nook better than what? I didn’t know B&N;had an IT R&D;to enhance and expand it best selling product of all time… er what else has B&N;sold?
@ mike g:
That’s quite a list . . . in that it’s barely a list.
The ipad *can’t* fail because of the technologies it uses and the ecosystem of whi it’s a part. All of which are proven and unmatched.
This isn’t the Apple of the G4 Cube days.
My mom has one. It’s ugly and slow. It does, however, offer those engraving-style B&N;portraits as screen savers when the thing isn’t on.
If the iPad doesn’t display Kurt Vonnegut when it’s sleeping, I just can’t see why anyone would want one.
@ C1 – Do Nooks dream of electric Vonneguts?
(…with apologies to Philip K. Dick)
its about to be relegated to the nook fo’sho!
never ceases to amaze how the competition gets so defiant and in denial
and then cries like a baby the hypocritical “monopoly” once just stomps them. has done it several times over yet still people talk about 15 years ago like is going to suddenly just lapse into a timeshift coma!
get a modern life people.
They better be working on a B&N;eReader iPad app.
not for nothing, but isn’t there room in the market for more than just one e-reader? this “[leading-industry-gadget]-killer” mentality is ridiculous. i mean, some people actually LIKED their GMC Gremlins and Pontiac Aztecs—whatever floats your boat, i guess.
i understand that it was microsoft that felt the need to eliminate all competition because they’ve been creatively bankrupt from it’s inception, but now that they are slowly dying i hope that we can get away from that kind of thinking. i’m sure the iPad will be a success (i know it’s waaaaaaay more than an e-reader), but i can just imagine the tech reporters and bloggers saying that it’s an abysmal failure if it doesn’t wipe Kindle or Nook off the map.
mdn mw: “works”—apple stuff just “works”
There apparently is no limit to idiocracy at all levels – this guy sells but obviously doesn’t read
@ mike g:
“…well, if you don’t count the iPod HiFi”
Hey mike, I got a returned iPod HiFi 2 years ago at BestBuy for $258. With the digital optical port, it makes the perfect shelf speaker. Currently plugged into my HDTV setup in our room off the kitchen where a 5.1 or 7.1 system is not practical. I know other companies have newer form factors, but, for the price, this thing packs some punch. I just wish it had been available in black.
1. Well, first of all, the Nook is a dedicated book reader with a comfortable e-ink display and is cheaper (along with Kindle) compared to an iPad.
2. As excited as I am about the iPad, it will be an uncomfortable glossy LCD display – great as a computer, but not so great to just read printed books. Sorry folks, just keeping it real. I don’t enjoy reading books on my MacBook, iMac, or iPhone because of the bright backlit glossy screen. Not like a real printed book at all.
3. I love Apple, but the Kindle and Nook are good for those that want to read digital books comfortably, and thats all. No graphics, no color, no apps, nothing else.
Barnes and Noble is a chain of retail stores. They sell many thousands of titles of books, records and magazines, and the list of those products changes – minimally – on a weekly basis. To wonder “what else do they sell?” is a proclamation of – minimally – ignorance.
I agree that it is a bit frustrating to hear a claim of “best sales ever” without being told how many sales that amounts to. Kindle. Nook. And I agree such a representation easily leads to suspicion. That does not mean you should go and shout to the world “I am ignorant, and I yet I am willing to shout my opinions from the rooftops!”.
Show just a little class, would ya?
Jeez!
More to the point will you all be cheering when B&N;disappear? Amazon can survive the failure of the Kindle. B&N;are facing the gradual decline of book sales levels that will sustain their biz. I’ve spent many contented hours in their shops on visits to the US. I for one will be sorry to see the decline of bricks and mortar booksellers.
For what it’s worth, the Kindle and the Nook were developed to provide an access point for people who didn’t want to haul a laptop or netbook around to read their books with. In that market, they shined. Soon there will be a new player. Soon the somewhat more capable iPad will be available. The iPad will offer considerably more entertainment value than the Kindle or Nook do. At a higher price. It will offer a marginally better – for some tastes – reading experience. For a price. If the iPad were “just a reader”, it would have priced itself out of the market. However, as a minimalist “computer”, it offers more than enough additional content to justify its price to most.
And … Amazon and Barnes and Noble will continue to profit from the sale of e-books – to be read on any of the “readers”.
Anyone who just wants to read digital books will find that the Nook and Kindle are more comfortable on the eyes due to the e-ink displays, compared to the iPad. That’s the truth.
If you want more than black and white text, you need an iPad. That’s also the truth.
Nobody has bought the Kindle or Nook thinking that is was a functional computer that could surf the web, play games, play movies, play music, etc. They are dedicated book readers with excellent black and white text screens.
In other words, the Nook and Kindle will be able to exist along with the iPad and I hope they do for people that just want to freaking read some books. If all devices use a common book format, that will be better for everyone.
mike g,
I call bullshit.
Put your money where your mouth is, unless that money is tainted Microsoft payments.
You know, the VW Beetle outsells the 2012 Volt, right?
It doesn’t matter that the Volt isn’t made yet, only that the VW is selling better.
There.
@ Reintree. On contrare.
http://www.infrageeks.com/groups/infrageeks/weblog/60edd/
http://gizmodo.com/5152092/giz-explains-why-there-isnt-a-perfect-ebook-reader
It’s far from “The truth”
Enuff FUD pal.
Couldn’t sleep.
Last night.
Still up at 3.
Bought 1st ever.
Kindle book.
For iPhone.
Pleasantly surprised.
At readability.
Read til 5.
Still tired.
Can’t.
Wait.
For.
iPad.
…”Anyone who just wants to read digital books will find that the Nook and Kindle are more comfortable on the eyes due to the e-ink displays, compared to the iPad. That’s the truth.”
Amazon’s marketing team has masterfully planted this premise and successfully convinced quite a number of people that this is in fact so.
Kindle’s (and Nook’s) e-Ink display is in several ways inferior to iPod/iPad/iPhone’s. It has poor contrast (dark gray on light gray, vs. black on white), it has no back lighting of any kind, which severely limits the conditions in which one can use it (plenty of bright light is required), and has very limited ability to display shades of gray. Apparently, Amazon was able to take all these shortcomings and turn them into positives (“looks like a real book!”).
Apple’s mobile products have far superior displays. The contrast is significantly higher, which makes it much easier on the eyes to read. The ability to display millions of colours makes it much more pleasing on the eyes, even if text is only black-and-white. Backlighting guarantees optimal reading conditions in every situation (even in bed at night, when you don’t want to disturb your spouse).
Both Amazon and B&N will have their own e-Book apps for iPad ready. They may continue to sell their readers for those folks who like them, for whatever reasons. But make no mistake, iPad will be a better reading device for vast majority of people.
As for the “best selling product” statement, he said “it’s our single best-selling product”, which it may well be. B&N sells many products made by others; the Nook is likely one of very few (if not THE only) product sold under the B&N brand name, so he can safely say it and mean it. Same for Bezos/Amazon and Kindle (what other product does Amazon make/sell under their own brand name?).
@ Britney
It was an AMC Gremlin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Gremlin
@Britney’s Postpartum Sister™
“but isn’t there room in the market for more than just one e-reader?”
Yes, and they will all fit nicely into the iPad.
@macaholic
That’s right! Hahaha! Not sure if I actually ever saw one up close.
In other news, Jeff Bezos patents “Kindling”, a process which one says things are selling extremely well, when they are not. Then proceeds to sue Barnes and Noble’s CEO over patent infringement.
It’s like using the words 5 star restaurant and McDonald’s in the same sentence. When we are near the holidays and Nook/Kindle sales have dwindled, let’s revisit this topic.
@reintree
re; (un)comfortable
There is no scientific evidence that either e-ink or LCD is inherently more likely that the other to tire the eyes. In other words this is probably a matter of preference.
I’m sure that there are a subset of people that would find either uncomfortable when reading for long stretches. However, given the prevalence of LCDs, I do not think the number of consumers that will not buy an iPad because of the display is going to be a significant factor in whether it succeeds or not.
@ChrissyOne
I’m sure you could set it as the background image… possibly
@ predrag
@ me in LA
@ DRMSSB – really? ask my EYE DOCTOR
I am not putting down the iPad. I want it. I don’t think the Kindle and Nook will be able to outshine it in any way. But they should continue to exist for those that don’t want to do anything but read text comfortably.
Give me a break. Did you read what I wrote? Why are you attacking me? Of course the iPad is revolutionary and awesome, etc. Great for reading? Sure.
But, having spent many hours with Kindles, Nooks, iPhones, MacBooks, iMacs, LCDs in general, guess what? The e-ink display causes LESS eyestrain. Everyone knows that. Backlighting is NOT good for you. Doesn’t everyone know that?
Being a Mac loyalist does not mean acting like anything else is purely wrong. Is Steve Jobs your eye doctor or something?
Glossy screens are great at providing richer color, but in particular, at the cost of considerable eyestrain. Ask your eye doctor instead of complaining to me. I did and he said glossy displays, like the ones I use ALL THE FREAKING TIME are not good for your eyes. The glare and reflection are NOT good. Guess what the iPad has? A glossy LCD.
The iPad will run circles around the Nook and Kindle in terms of what it can do, but in terms of non-reflective, non-backlit screens, the Kindle and Nook are easier on the eyes and better for reading ordinary text. Period.
(backlighting is a huge cause of eyestrain – do you like staring at a fluorescent bulb much? That’s basically what you are doing with an LCD. Open it and look inside.)
Oce again, ask your eye doctor or go to medical school to be an eye doctor before attacking me. I can’t wait to get the iPad but I wish the e-ink technology would support color and high refresh rates, which it does not at the moment.
Geez…
BTW, LCD in general typically supports a smaller color gamut than CRT displays, i.e. the color range is WORSE. Unless you get more expensive LCDs that support 100% or more of the NTSC color gamut.
Looking forward to the iPad but the Kindle and Nook (especially the large Kindle) have a use too.
@Reintree
” it will be an uncomfortable glossy LCD display – great as a computer, but not so great to just read printed books”.
Have you actually seen one?, used one?. I don’t think so! Why do people always do this? You are complaining about a product that hasn’t even shipped. You have not touched or seen one in person, let alone read anything on its screen to say that.
Please people, let’s just wait to see one and use one before jumping to conclusions.
Reintree
“That’s the truth.” “Everyone knows that.”
Those two sentences mark you as troll. Peddle your FUD elsewhere, perhaps on a nook site. You have most likely never touched the iPad. Come back after you do.
…a Nook can’t read and a Nook can’t cook, so what good to a Nook is a hook cook book? .
The reason I’ll get an iPad instead of a Kindle or Nook is very simple: I want to be able to read all of the 100 best books of the 20th century- and that includes Watchmen. The ability to have full-color graphic novels, manga, comic books, and do forth is a powerful force. It will also be useful for cookbooks, nature guides, photo essays, etc, all of which benefit from full-color displays. Books are not just text. Imagine even a reproduced bible with art and images in full-color, to say nothing of choose-your-own-adventure books and kuds’ books.
mike g has been iCal’ed. Moron.
Hey MIke, the cube was a great computer. The only problem with it was they had other Macs with more functionality for less money. They’ve never made that mistake since.
@mike g:
How nice to see that you’re running for Moron of the Year!
Wrong, mike g. You are utterly and irrevocably in error. And I’ll put up a $1000 (more, if you would like) to back that up. That will be the surest bet that I have ever made.
Seriously, mike g. Or are you just spewing?
@ Carlos
No – good point, I haven’t seen it in person. However, I do have the SDK with simulator because I am an iPhone developer. I spend most of my waking hours in front of an iMac, MacBook and iPhone. All glossy, all LCD, all the time. When I take a break and read a physical book or magazine, it feels good to get away from the glossy backlighting of current tech. I’m just saying that the eink screens are not LCD and they are not backlit. That’s all.
@ silverhawk
whatever hawk dude, grow some courtesy, I’m not pushing the Nook or the Kindle, just that they do have a use, limited as it may be, My mom can’t work an iPhone or an iPod and can barely use a computer, she could probably work a Kindle though and she just likes to read books, thats all I am talking about, plus the benefits that eink provides. I hope the iPad will change to eink in the future as the eink technology improves. Right now, eink is very slow refresh and is only black and white. Not suitable for anything animated or moving or color.
Tough croud here. Now I’m being called a troll?
@ all
Why bash on “mike g”?
The media hype around the iPad is a little silly. Just my opinion.
There actually have been a lot of Apple flops and the company almost went out of business before they brought back Steve Jobs and introduced the iMacs and iPods and most importantly, OS X and then Intel CPUs.
I had a Mac in the mid-late 1990s that could not get out of its own way. In contrast, my Windows Pentium 120 mhz laptop had ethernet, a modem, could go online, it was good. My Proforma Mac could barely go online with a crappy Netscape and was so slow it was unusable, even back then. It was useless and totally outdated even though it was new.
Now, the tables have turned. My MacBook and iMac run circles around most everything on the market with 4GB ram each, intel core 2 duo, and the fanstastic Unix based OS X which is rock solid. I love Apple products but they have not always been awesome. I think the iPad is going to be great but I think it is a stepping stone and let’s wait and see.