Demand for Barnes & Noble Inc.'s yet-to-be-released electronic-book reader is so strong that the retailer is telling customers that new pre-orders won't ship until Dec. 11.
In October, the nation's largest bookstore chain told its first wave of customers for the $259 Nook that the wireless device would ship Nov. 30. A second wave of customers was told it would ship Dec. 7. Now new customers are being told that their pre-orders will ship Dec. 11.
"Demand for the product in our stores and online has surpassed our expectations," said Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble.
She declined to say how many Nooks have been pre-ordered since the retailer introduced the Nook on Oct. 20.
Ms. Keating said initial pre-orders will be shipped on Nov. 30 as promised. However, there has been so much interest in the Nook that customers who preorder the $259 device now will have to wait a little longer to receive them. "We are working hard to meet demand for the holidays," she added.
The Dec. 11 shipping date was reported on Brighthand.com. Barnes & Noble introduced its Nook to compete directly with Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle, e-readers from Sony Corp., and other devices. In October, Forrester Research Inc. issued a report projecting total e-reader sales in the U.S. will reach 3 million in 2009, with 30% of sales occurring in November and December.
"Consumers are excited about this device and as long as it arrives before Christmas they'll be happy," said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research, on Sunday. "We see Barnes & Noble playing a much larger role in 2010."
The Nook runs on Google Inc.'s Android operating system, and features an e-paper display from E-Ink Corp. for reading and a smaller color-touch screen for control and typing. Its wireless capacity will enable users to download books from the retailer's online bookstore.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703808904574523994119321648.html
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