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Nov. 10, 2009

According to various initial reports, Barnes & Noble's new eReader is selling very fast before the Christmas period.

Barnes & Noble's Nook, which was officially announced on October 20, is apparently back-ordered already.

B&N customers who intitially pre-ordered the new eReader were told that their device would be shipped on November 30.

But now customers ordering the Nook are being told the device will arrive only in the second week of December.

The Nook, which sells for $259, is Barnes & Noble's first entry into the rapidly growing market for eReaders.

Amazon's Kindle eReader device has long been the market leader in this segment of the industry.

Sony offers a line of eBook readers as well. The Nook differentiates itself with an Android operating system, as well as a dual screen with a full color touchscreen panel at the bottom of the device.

Barnes & Noble's e-bookstore, which it rolled out only four months ago, now boasts a catalog of over a million books, 500,000 of which are free and come as a part of its recent partnership with Google Books.

All of those books can be bought and read on desktop computers and laptops, as well as through apps for the iPhone and BlackBerry smartphone.

According to the Wall Street Journal, citing a Barnes & Noble spokeswoman, demand for the Nook has exceeded the company's most optimistic expectations.

As a result, a second wave of shipping is being set for December 11.

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Source: Barnes & Noble.