Barnes & Noble Inc., put itself up for sale Tuesday, succumbing to pressure from shareholder activists as digital books erode the traditional business of the nation’s largest bookstore chain.

The news surprised analysts and alarmed publishers, who have watched as the book business has increasingly shifted to online retailers and e-book sales, leaving both chains and independent sellers struggling.

Barnes & Noble, the country’s largest book chain with 720 stores, said that its board believed the stock was “significantly undervalued” and that it had set up a special committee to review its options.  It sells approximately 300 million books annually.

A few years ago, such figures represented a fearsome retailing force, attracting ire of rivals and publishers who fretted that one company controlled the country’s book-reading tastes. Since then, it has been hobbled by larger technological forces, with books becoming mere digital files, peddled by anyone with an Internet connection.

“Anybody with their eyes open knows that the retail book market is increasingly challenged,” said Mike Shatzkin, chief executive of Idea Logical Co., a New York consulting firm. Each new report that shows e-book sales are growing more rapidly than expected only intensifies the problems facing the bookstore chains, he said.

Today, Barnes & Noble has a market capitalization of just under $950 million—even after a 25% run-up in after-hours trading Tuesday in the wake of the announcement. In comparison, chief competitor Amazon.com Inc. has a market cap of around $55 billion. In 2001, Barnes & Noble was worth $2.2 billion and Amazon $3.6 billion.

Sources: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal

A few days ago I made a post singing the praises of the Barnes & Noble Nook. I should be getting mine in the mail tomorrow, and I stand by my decision to get one, but I thought it only fair to give some of the other eReaders on the market some time and attention here on NeoLibrarium. After all, I’m not here to sell you anything, but to review books, discuss books, and take a long hard look at anything new, different, or just interesting in the world of books.
Today we’ll take a look at the Sony Reader Touch Edition (Model # PRS600SC). The Touch has apparently been through a few other incarnations, including models 505 and 700, but where each of those were flawed the 600 seems to have made progress to the point where most owners are satisfied.
For starters, and as apparent in its name, the Touch has a 6″ touchscreen display. This allows for easy navigation, page turning, and it comes with a stylus for highlighting, note taking, and drawing. A double-tap can look a word up for you in the device’s included New Oxford American Dictionary and there are five font sizes.
While the 6″ screen is pretty standard among eReaders the part where it is a touchscreen is fairly unique. The downside to the touchscreen is, from what I understand, a potential for sluggish reaction time and less contrast on screen. The Sony Pocket, for example, has a crisply white screen just like a page in a book where the Touch has a light gray screen – probably not noticeable to users, but apparent when the devices are placed side-by-side. This I know not just from reviews, but because by going to Borders bookstores and playing with the display models I noticed the difference for myself. Reviews confirmed this so now I know that it isn’t just the specific device I toyed with, but a flaw noticeable in all such units.
Now, the display technology is still quite good. It features an E Ink display – again, fairly common, but consistently good – and works with 8-level grayscale. Some devices feature 16-level grayscale, but hey, it’s all shades of gray to me!
The memory onboard the device is only 512MB, enough for about 750 books according to the sonystyle.com website. However, there is the option to expand storage with up to 300MB Dual Memory, or with an SD Card (up to 16 GB, if you’re hardcore).
Two big advantages for users who are tech-savvy are: the number of supported file formats, and the fact that the Sony eReaders are not proprietary. The Touch supports Adobe PDF, MS Word, BBeB Book, EPUB/ACS4, MP3/AAC, TXT, RTF, JPEG, BMP, and PNG files. The fact that audio files are supported means that yes, folks, this eReader falls into the listen-while-you-read category, which is a big plus in my book. In fact, but for price and the dim screen, I may have gone for this over the Nook! As for the fact that this is not a  proprietary device, that means you don’t have to go through Sony for your ebooks. The not-so-great part is that B&N and some other readers are proprietary and they encrypt their ebooks, making those files incompatible ( in theory ) with other devices. Bummer.

The Sony Touch does fall behind a few other eReaders in that it does not have wireless access. To download books, you must have a “wired” connection to your PC. This makes the Sony Touch a little less than desirable to those whose lives have them constantly on-the-go and away from their home computers. Business travelers, for example, may want to nix this reader simply because you have to be able to sit down and plug in any time you want new content.  On the other hand, with expandable storage, you could just download whatever you want before you get going so that potential downside may not be devastating.

Reviews online have also revealed to me the downside of the Sony Touch’s enclosed battery. I did notice when purchasing the Nook that there was an option to buy a separate battery – a chargeable backup that I could switch out with the battery that will come with the Nook. The enclosed battery on the Sony Touch means that it can’t be switched out like that. This would not be deal breaker for me, but it is a little inconvenient if you use your eReader with enough frequency that charging it is annoyingly time-consuming. (I still haven’t seen how long it takes for a full charge…)

For carrying, the Sony Touch weighs in at about 10 ounces. (For reference, 1 lb. = 16 oz.) This is about the same weight as the Kindle and lighter than the Nook by about two ounces. I’m not sure how much the average mass-market paperback weighs, but I doubt that these eReaders are cumbersome enough to snap our wrists or cause tendonitis. Heartlessly I say to you: get a wrist brace if you’re worried about it.

The Sony Touch – like the Nook – also supports library ebooks! I have not had the chance to explore how exactly this works on any device, but there’s a library just a few blocks North of where I live so I’ll let you know once I’ve got my Nook operational!

(As a sidenote, I thank God for the libraries here and the fact that they are offering ebooks for geeks like me is a wonderful thing, so support your local library, will you?)

For navigation, almost everything is done through the touchscreen on the Sony Reader Touch, but there are actual buttons on the device for navigation and page turning so if your touchscreen is slow to respond (and the display models are devastatingly slow) you can always punch the hard key to get things done.

There is also an option for landscape vs. portrait orientation on screen. Personally, I think that it is a pro for any device, but I also can’t decide exactly how this is advantageous. Surely it is. Somehow it must be – and if not, well it’s still really neat!

So, pros of the Sony Touch are:

1) 6″ touch screen E Ink display with 5 font sizes, with options to highlight, take notes, and look up words

2) Battery life is, like most devices, about two weeks.

3) The Sony Touch supports several file formats, including MS Word, TXT, RTF and others. It is not proprietary, so you can add what you like, though some files from some vendors may be encrypted to prevent this.

4) The Touch supports two audio formats, which means you can listen to music while you read. (For extra fun, format an audiobook to an mp3 and read along while you listen.)

5) The Touch allows for tons of extra storage so you can download as many books as you feel necessary, though if you’re really hardcore you may need to switch SD Cards to access it all.

6) For the aesthete, this reader comes in three colors: red, silver, and black. So, it can be pretty. This is comparable with some features in other devices ( for example interchangeable back covers on the Nook) but it remains pretty unique to Sony.

The Cons:

1) Users have griped about slow response times, and the touchscreen could be more of a nuisance on that front than a blessing of technology.

2) The battery is enclosed. No switcheroonies if you lose charge on your device.

3) Display is only 8-level grayscale vs 16 on other devices, and the contrast is not as good as it is on other devices.

4) It is not a wireless device. You must have a PC connection to download your ebooks. Also, some users have said that USB charging only works with a PC – so that handy device that plugs into your car lighter or wall outlet may not work.

5) The cost for the Touch is $199. This doesn’t make it the most expensive models of eReader on the market, but it does price it evenly with the Nook Wi-Fi + 3G which (obviously) has Wi-Fi and 3G connections…and other similarly priced devices have more features.

All in all, the Sony Touch is not a bad value, though I can’t say it’s the best value on the market and believe myself. It is a good value for what it is and what it does, but its limitations (as listed above) make it a question for consumers of what they find personally necessary in their eReader. As I mentioned before, if not for the price (and the cons I listed) I may have gotten a Sony Touch rather than the Nook.

David Attenborough is a name that may not immediately ring a bell for all of us, but I can guarantee that if you watch more than just one or two films about wildlife then you’ve probably heard his voice. To celebrate a belated World Oceans Day, I picked up – courtesy of my local library – a set of DVDs that had David Attenborough Wildlife Specials. Now, each of these is a small segment worth watching, but for W.O.D (as I’ve named it) I focused on one special in particular: Humpback Whales!

Humpback whales are creatures who truly earn the adjective “ginormous” whether that’s a real word or not. They are often perceived as gentle giants, and though that is not entirely untrue, this short special shows that they also can be frighteningly aggressive creatures! For those of you more acquainted with whales this may not be a surprise, but to me it was pretty surprising.

The specials are a bit dated – our HDTV didn’t display this older film too well – but the scenes are no less intriguing as the humpback whales are traced from frigid to tropical climates, showing how the mothers care for their young and how the males of the species can be frighteningly demanding!! There are also interesting facts about how the humpback whale’s unique song can be traced across the oceans and among migratory patterns. The film is short, and in times it may seem to slow down a bit, but it is educational and serves as a good introduction to whales. (Certainly different species of whales have different behaviors, habits, etc, but if you’re not familiar with whales the humpback whale is a nice place to start learning.)

I would recommend the Humpback Whale special for novices to the whale world, though some enjoyment could probably be had by experienced folks as well. I count myself as a novice, and I enjoyed it. There is also something to be said for hearing David Attenborough’s familiar voice narrating all the action when we look at the world of the humpback whale.

While I have been mostly silent, reader, I have not been idle! My personal life is once again interfering with my chance at good reading, but I am still keeping up with the trend in eReaders.

You may remember that in previous posts I denounced eReaders, expressed a large dose of skepticism, and probably started to imply that they were evil. In some measures these things are still true. Certainly, the eReader devices on the market will never duplicate the satisfaction of opening up a new paperback or replace the excitement of buying the latest book in hardcover. They do, however, have many notable advantages.

The first and most obvious advantage of an eReader is portability. As a woman whose criteria for any purse is: “Can I fit a book in it?”, the idea of carrying up to 1, 500 books in one device that will still fit in my purse has appeal. Almost all eReaders on the market also have custom-made cases in a wide variety of colors, styles, materials (and prices) so you don’t have to fuss over whether the keys, toothpicks, pens, or whatever-it-is that you drop in your purse, bag, or backpack will scratch the screen of your device.

Another advantage to the eReader is one that doesn’t come as readily to mind and that is this: the large amount of free books in the public domain which are already available online in eReader compatible formats. I have yet to run across a device that cannot read a .pdf file at minimum, and there is already a wealth of literature available online in this file format simply because it is A: in the public domain, and B: a work that many thousands, if not millions of people, enjoy reading without having to pay for a hard copy.

There are, of course, tons of new books out there that will cost you if you want them in ebook format. What about those? Well, if you’re looking for a bargain I think patience may be your best bet. There are several ebooks on the market that are under $5, some under $1, and my prediction is that the price on new ebooks – even newly released ebooks – will continue to steadily drop. The fact is, ebooks are only labor intensive in terms of composition by the author and formatting by the publisher. These things are worth money only in terms of mental effort and time put in by the artist creating them – outside of that consideration they’re not worth the paper they aren’t printed on. Certainly authors should be paid for their works, publishers should be compensated for their time and effort, but the price of the ebook is currently an arbitrary number. So, be patient. I don’t think it can sustain itself at the higher prices that are being asked for very much longer – especially since electronic copies of anything can be transmitted virally across the internet with little effort.

Now, after looking at a good many eReader devices I have come to the conclusion that, despite its shortcomings, the nook is currently the best device for its value on the market. Barnes & Noble created a firestorm when they introduced the Nook Wi-Fi and then dropped the price on the original Nook. The difference if you’re wondering, between the Nook Wi-Fi and the original Nook is simple: The “old” Nook has AT&T 3G + Wi-Fi and the “new” Nook does not have AT&T 3G. The 3G and Wi-Fi access are also unnecessary features. You can download ebooks, or magazines, newspapers, etc in electronic formats, from your computer onto the Nook – so the Wi-Fi is a luxury and the 3G network is only useful if you plan to download a new ebook while you’re roadtripping, via AT&T coverage rather than using a Wi-Fi hotspot (which is now available , in the US at least, at Barnes & Noble stores, Borders bookstores, Denny’s, coffee-shops, cafes, restaurants, and your neighbor’s unencrypted signal).

One advantage the Nook does have is that, unlike the Kobo and some others, it supports mp3 files so you can plug in a pair of headphones and listen to music while you read. The Nook also supports a wide array of file formats. There are some file formats still missing, but in my opinion this is not an obstacle since there is a dizzying array of free software out there which will convert your ebooks file into a nice .pdf, or .lit, or .epub file – the three most common formats for eReaders.

The Nook also features an approximately 6″ reading screen – a fairly standard size – bigger than the Sony Pocket Edition eReader. One feature that I can’t decide where I stand on is the touch screen on the Nook. Unlike the touch screen on the Sony Reader Touch Edition, or it’s pricey counterpart the Sony Reader 7, the Nook is not a full touch-screen device. Instead you have a small bar of screen at the bottom of the device in full color – the only color screen on the eReader market, diminutive though it may be – which is the “touchable” part of the Nook used to navigate. Unfortunately, Barnes & Noble brayed loudly about it’s color touchscreen, but failed to point out with equal volume that this touchscreen was not the same, full-size screen which we read from. That lack of information had me very disappointed in the Nook when it first came out, especially given the original price.

An advantage the Nook has over the Kindle (other than not being a Kindle) is its expandable storage. In fact, the Kindle seems to be the only device that hasn’t had the good sense to include an expandable storage slot. Maybe it is the fault of the designers, since the Kindle isn’t really sentient, but come on! No matter what your storage capacity is (and it’s not that great) expandable storage is vital. My phone has expandable storage!

Is there a device better than the Nook? In my opinion, yes. The new Sony Reader 7 – which I have only read about online since it’s only in one store I know of – is a fantastic eReader which combines almost every single feature that I would want in an eReader. Unfortunately it is now the most expensive device I’ve seen on the market, coming in at over $300.

The disadvantages of the Nook are:

1) It’s proprietary. You have to register the Nook with Barnes & Noble, with a credit card number. Ostensibly, the credit card is so that when you download media to the Nook you are paying for it without having to go through all the rigmarole online. It seems sensible since you can download anywhere with Wi-Fi (or 3G, depending on your Nook), but it is an unpleasant condition for consumers.

2) It’s color touch-screen is not so much. It’s handy, and it’s useful, it keeps you from getting fingerprints all over your reading screen, but it is not as nice as what you imagine when you hear it lauded by Barnes & Noble. Also, I think this eliminates the wonderful Sony Reader feature of being able to highlight, draw, and take notes in your ebook.

3) The file formats supported cover a pretty good range, but not all. It would be nice to see .txt, .doc, .docx, or other common formats supported. Geeks everywhere, and be thankful for them, are working on solutions to this limitation, but it is annoying. Not everyone who owns a Nook will want to spend time converting their files into a Nook-supported format, or finding ways to hack the Nook.

The advantages:

1) Touchscreen navigation. It’s not a small thing since the buttons on other devices can be slow to operate, confusing, or for aesthetic purposes, just plain ugly.

2) 6″ reading screen. This is pretty much a standard, but some devices for similar prices have a 5″ screen. That one inch doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but having handled the Nook and the Sony Reader Pocket Edition I can tell you it’s a world of difference!

3) Wi-Fi. It’s not necessary, but it is an advantage. The Kobo doesn’t have it. The Sony Reader Pocket and Sony Reader Touch don’t have it, and the Sony Reader Daily (or Sony Reader 7) is over $300.00!!!

4) Price. The Nook Wi-Fi is $149. The Sony Reader Daily is $349; the Sony Reader Touch is $199; the Sony Reader Pocket is $169. The Kindle is $189 and the Kindle DX is $489. The Kobo is $149 – the same price, but with less features. The Aluratek Libre is only $119 – but it is boxy, and again without the prized features an eReader should have. Other devices merit mention, but not just now.

5) It’s the first eReader with digital lending. That’s right, you can borrow Nook books. It’s probably not a perfect system, but it can be done. It’s the first one to offer it and it’s a good idea.

6) It supports audio files. The Sony Touch and Sony Daily do, too. So does the Kindle. It is a feature that breaks the deal for me on the Kobo and some other devices. I love to listen to music. It’s why I have a stereo, a cd player, a zune, and a great radio installed in my car. If my reader can’t support audio, I’m not interested.

7) It’s lightweight and smaller than some, though not all, devices on the market. Again, that portability factor. It’s a common eReader advantage, but not one that should be ignored.

8.) For those intent on individuality, the back of the Nook can be replaced with one that is more colorful. The screen saver can be customized from your own photos. There are also a variety of Nook covers available, including some expensive Kate Spade designs for those who are in a league of chic and money beyond what I want to contemplate.

All in all, not bad and great for the price. Which is what tipped the scale. Hate me all you want readers, but I’m getting a Nook.

“Return to Hope.

Return to Magic.

Return to Narnia.”

WE HAVE A WINNER!

For details.. read the comments, for Pete’s sake!

What is it? It's this!

Uh oh.. now it’s getting interesting…

What is it? Image 6

Remember, click on the image for a bigger view.

They’re coming fast and furious now! Pay attention. The end is near. (And I feel fine).

Now this DEFINITELY looks like a dragon wing to me! How about you?

What is this? Take a guess.  Between right NOW and 1 PM Central US Time on Friday, May 7th, several more visual clues will be posted here on NeoLibrarium.   Remember, kids: Guess early, guess often. You can guess as many times as you like.

Whoever gets the answer right (or a random commenter, if no one does), will get the first book in the Dragon Keeper Chronicles Series: Dragonspell, by Donita K. Paul.

It will be shipped anywhere in the world (sorry, no UPS to the International Space Station).  You can comment as much as you like, as often as you like, and I will take the FIRST commenter who is correct. Just make sure I have a way to contact you.

In the chance that NO ONE guesses what IT is, a winner will be chosen at random from all entries.