Barnes & Noble Inc's first high-definition tablets, unveiled on Wednesday, were well received by analysts who said the devices keep the bookseller in the fight with Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Google Inc - for now.
The largest U.S. bookstore chain has staked its future on success in the growing e-books industry in the face of declining sales of physical books that last year led to the bankruptcy of the Borders bookstore chain.
Barnes & Noble introduced a $199 U.S. 7-inch Nook HD tablet that will go up against similar, recently launched products by Google and Amazon.com this holiday season.
The company also unveiled a $269 U.S. 9-inch Nook HD+ tablet that will compete with the Apple iPad.
While the new products are thinner and lighter than rivals and follow a few months after Microsoft said it would invest $605 million U.S. in Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader and college business, the bookstore chain still faces a daunting task.
In many ways, Barnes & Noble, which operates nearly 700 stores, has defied expectations. It beat Amazon to the marketplace with touchscreen devices and a color reader in recent years, and won plaudits from reviewers this year for its glow-in-the-dark Nook that allows someone to read with the lights off so as not to disturb others.
Since the chain launched its first Nook device, a basic e-reader, in 2009, it has won as much as 30% of the U.S. e-books market. Amazon is the leader with about 60%.
This race has proven expensive and, so far, unprofitable. The battle with Amazon is taking a toll. Barnes & Noble reported lower Nook sales last quarter, after earlier quarters of torrid growth, hurt by price cuts to fight Amazon's aggressive pricing.
But the company's chief said the Nook devices are essential to helping it generate sales of digital content.
Shares of Barnes & Noble closed 6% higher to $12.99 U.S. in Wednesday's New York Stock Exchange trading.
Tech Insider
