Archive for the ‘barnes and noble press release’ tag
Barnes & Noble News 1 comment
There have been several news releases over the past couple of days from Barnes & Noble. There is also one rather big piece of news that has so far not been forthcoming.
First of all, B&N gets a new Vice President. Gene DeFelice will serve as Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. DeFelice comes to B&N from previous positions at Savvis, Inc. and Spacelabs Medical, Inc., where he held similar positions.
Barnes & Noble also announced today that it will be offering two months free membership to new participants in its Membership program. The Membership program normally costs $25 per year to join. B&N’s loyalty program offers members several benefits including:
In Store:
- 40% off list price on hardcover bestsellers
- 10% off the Barnes & Noble list price on already discounted items such as the growing Toys & Games section, Adult games, DVDs, all café items and more
Online:
- FREE Unlimited Express Shipping in 1-3 business days on BN.com
- 10% off the Barnes & Noble list price on already discounted items such as the growing Toys & Games section, Adult games, DVDs, all café items and more
You can find more details of the Membership program at Barnes & Noble.
And finally, the best news of the lot (apologies to Mr. DeFelice) is that an important new software update is imminent for the NOOK ereader.
In our biggest update since we launched NOOK a year ago, we will dramatically increase NOOK 3G and NOOK Wi-Fi‘s page turn speed and deliver the features and performance enhancements most-requested from all of you!
The 1.5 update includes improved search on the device, customized B&N Library organization and password protection. It also includes the ability to sync across all NOOK and all devices enabled with our free NOOK apps, by syncing your last page read. If you forget your NOOK at home, use the NOOK app for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android smartphone or PC to pick up where you left off. And, the next time you pick up your NOOK, the Reading Now page will be updated and ready to go.
The 1.5 update is expected to be released late in November. B&N’s NOOK for Android app will also be getting an update, probably within a few days. NOOK for Android v2.3 will add Go To a specific page, search within a book, view highlights and notes and delete books from the library. The home screen will also get an update.
This is great, but I’m wondering where NOOK 2 is? It has been a year since the original NOOK ereader was released, and if B&N is going to release a new version in time for the holidays I would expect them to be announcing it now. I’m thinking that NOOK 2 is going to be a no show if we don’t hear anything within the next week or two, at least for this year. That would be a big disappointment for NOOK fans and a huge win for the Kindle as we move into the holiday shopping season.
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Barnes & Noble Reports Fiscal 2011 Q1 Results no comments
Barnes & Noble today reported sales and earnings for its fiscal 2011 first quarter which ended July 31, 2010.
Total sales for Q1 ($1.4 billion) were up 21 percent compared to last year. B&N’s embracing of digital reading has really been paying off – Barnes & Noble.com sales ($145 million) surged 42 percent over the prior year, although the online sales still only make up a little more than 10 percent of B&N’s total sales at this point. Still, just as ebook sales in general make up only a small percentage of current overall book sales, with growth rates like that ebooks (and B&N’s digital sales) are starting to add up to much more than just a hill of beans pretty quickly. Well, actually, maybe the bean counters like to see hills of beans.
“The company made significant strides executing its digital strategy during the first quarter, and all our key metrics on the digital business are well ahead of plan,” said William Lynch, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. “The company launched NOOK Wi-Fi, the most full-featured, low-cost dedicated eBook Reader on the market, the launch of NOOKstudy™, an innovative study platform that enables easy eTextbook and digital content management for college students, and the introduction of NOOK for Android™, free software that brings our eReading experience to millions using Android smartphones and the first of our eReading apps to feature Barnes & Noble’s new NOOK-centric branding. In addition, we are increasing the competitive advantage provided by our bookstores through the launch of full-service NOOK Boutiques, where customers can experience NOOK and speak with knowledgeable booksellers who provide device demonstrations and ongoing product support. Our digital strategy has clearly resonated with our customers as our Members – our best customers – with NOOK devices have increased their spending by approximately 20%. NOOK has also greatly expanded the Barnes & Noble customer base, with 25% of all NOOK customers new to BN.com.”
Meanwhile, in-store sales ($1 billion) were down two percent (.9 percent for comparable stores). The B&N College Bookstores did better than expected and saw a comparable store sales ($226 million) increase of 2.9 percent.
Unfortunately, unless my math is off, it looks as though B&N’s digital sales success is not making up for the decrease in store sales, at least during the time period in question.
Barnes & Noble also announced today that Jamie Lannone has been named President of Barnes & Noble Digital Products and John Foley has joined the company as President of Barnes & Noble eCommerce.
Lannone joined the company a year ago and has been serving as Executive Vice President. Foley is coming from IAC, where he has been for 13 years – most recently serving as the CEO of The Pronto Network. Foley is the founder of both Pronto.com and Proust.com.
In his new role, Iannone will be responsible for all NOOK™ eReading devices, software, accessories and retail integration and experiences; eBooks and digital content; and third-party partnerships. Foley will manage the BN.com online retail business including books, children’s books, toys and games, music, movies, home and gift items, electronics and marketplace, as well as merchandising, online and search marketing. The two seasoned executives will report to William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble, Inc. supported by leadership teams and talented employees.
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Barnes & Noble Updates eReading Apps no comments
Barnes & Noble announced today that it is updating its ereading apps for the iPhone, iPad and PC. The B&N apps are also getting a name upgrade, and will henceforth be known as NOOK for iPad, NOOK for PC, etc.
The new NOOK for iPhone app seems to be getting the most new features and now has many new customization options. These include much of what was included in B&N’s iPad app – lots of font and background colors to choose from and other features to let you personalize your reading.
NOOK for iPad adds book rating, sorting ebooks by favorites and some unspecified performance enhancements . There is also now a user guide and tutorial. Apparently all the NOOK for PC app gets is the new name.
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Barnes & Noble Releases Android App; Fictionwise App Updated for iPad no comments
Barnes & Noble has finally released its ereading application for Android. The new app will work with devices running Android OS 1.6 or higher.
Some of the other features included:
- Eight font types in five sizes
- Landscape or portrait screen orientation; orientation can be locked
- Animated or sliding page turns
- Library can be sorted by author, title or recent reading; Library is capable of showing rich details of selected book such as synopsis and more books by the author
- Syncs with your online Barnes & Noble library; syncs with some of your other devices running the B&N eReader software, such as PC and iPad – B&N says that syncing with other devices will be added soon
You can download the new Android app from Barnes & Noble.
In other reading app news, Fictionwise has announced that its eReader eBook reading application is now available for iPhone, iPod touch and, with the update released yesterday, the iPad.
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Barnes & Noble Featuring Weekly Series of Free Classic Books 2 comments
Barnes & Noble today announced its Barnes & Noble Classics promotion in which it proposes to offer you a choice of ten classic ebooks every week which you can download for free.
OK, so what’s the big deal here? The B&N ebook section is already full of free or very cheap public domain titles, and certainly you can download these titles for free from places like Project Gutenberg (see my eBook Sources page).
At any rate, each week Barnes & Noble will be featuring a different collection of ten similarly themed free classic ebooks which you can enjoy on your nook or other B&N compatible ereader, or on one of the B&N reading apps – which will soon include a version for Android.
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Barnes & Noble and Amazon Offering Free Shipping Upgrade for Kindle and nook for Father’s Day no comments
Amazon usually offers a free 2-day shipping upgrade for its Kindle ereader
B&N is also currently offering a $50 gift card with the purchase of a nook. The gift card can be used for purchasing ebooks to fill up your (or your dad’s) new ereader.
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Barnes & Noble to Help Promote A&E Network’s “The Glades” no comments
A&E Network and Barnes & Noble have partnered to promote A&E’s new drama series “The Glades” which will premier Sunday, July 11 at 10:00 PM EST.
The pilot script of “The Glades” will be available at B&N stores beginning today, June 9 as a free pbook while supplies last. A complimentary copy will also be included in orders that are shipped out. A free ebook version of the script will be available at the Barnes and Noble website.
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Barnes & Noble iPad App – Finally! no comments
Barnes & Noble today finally announced that their iPad app is ready for download at the iTunes App Store. The press release promises a lot of features:
BN eReader for iPad is designed to offer an easy, yet sophisticated, customizable reading experience. Users can choose from multiple ways to view their library, including professionally designed themes with elegant and complementary text and page colors, as well as fonts; and instantly switch between portrait and landscape views based on personal preference. BN eReader for iPad users can further personalize their reading experience with unparalleled options: literally millions of colors for text, pages, highlights and links; eight typefaces and five text sizes; and a variety of margins and customizable spacing options. Learn more or get the new application at www.bn.com/iPad.
"We’ve designed the most easy-to-use, highly customizable eReading experience for the iPad. Ours is the only app that enables iPad users to share eBooks with friends, shop Barnes & Noble’s vast catalog of eBooks and periodicals and access your personal Barnes & Noble digital library across multiple devices," said Douglas Gottlieb, Vice President, Digital Products for Barnes & Noble.com. "We believe our customers will appreciate the book-centric touches we’ve incorporated into our iPad app experience — including some extra large text sizes, ample margins, and line lengths and spacing inspired by classic book design conventions — along with the opportunity to fully personalize that experience to enjoy reading books whichever ways they like best."
Using Barnes & Noble’s breakthrough LendMe(TM) technology, BN eReader for iPad customers can share eligible eBooks with friends who can enjoy the titles on a NOOK(TM) eBook Reader, iPad, iPhone(R), iPod touch(R) and PC enabled with free BN eReader software. Last page read, highlights, notes and bookmarks will also sync across BN eReader for iPad and PC, and in early summer, with iPhone and iPod touch, with more to follow.
Take notes: Bookmark pages, make highlights and write notes. Simply tap a word or drag your finger across a section to highlight it or make a note. In addition to appearing on your iPad, your bookmarks, highlights and notes will also appear on iPad and PC enabled with BN eReader software. iPhone and iPod touch will be added soon, followed by other devices.
Learn more: Tap a word on the touch screen and the in-text dictionary offers you the word’s meaning. Want to learn more? Simply tap one of the options to take you to the Google or Wikipedia page on that word or term using the Web browser.
B&N is releasing their ereading app much later than the other major players, so I would be disappointed if they had not spent the time building a feature rich app. I have installed the new app on my iPad but have not had time to use it yet.
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Barnes & Noble Now Selling Used CDs and DVDs no comments
Barnes & Noble announced today that has begun selling used CDs and DVDs. B&N already sells used books. When you look for a book, CD or DVD on the Barnes and Noble Web site the search results include a list of any available used copies.
Thousands of titles are available from a wide range of trusted sellers. The selection is a comprehensive mix of both new and old titles, as well as titles that labels and studios no longer make available. This new offering expands the extensive selection of used book titles already available for sale on BN.COM through B&N Marketplace.
B&N Marketplace provides customers with access to tens of millions of new and used books, CDs and DVD titles from a network of trusted sellers. These trusted sellers ship items directly to the customer and, just like items sold by BN.COM, all Marketplace purchases are covered by the BN.COM Safe Shopping Guarantee.
Shopping for new and used CD, DVD and book inventory on the B&N Marketplace is seamless. When a customer chooses a CD, DVD or book, the search results pages show prices for both new copies and, when available, used copies. Customers can then click through the selections and decide which option is best suited for them.
