Barnes & Noble go ink to ink with Amazon with UK e-reader launch
American book retailer Barnes & Noble are taking their battle with Amazon for e-reader dominance across the Atlantic with the launch of their Kindle-baiting Nook device in the UK.
In what will be the first territorial expansion outwith the US Barnes & Noble will take the fight to Amazon in Britain this autumn following a capital injection of £385m from Microsoft.
This will see the unveiling of a nook.co.uk shopfront from mid-October selling both the e-reader device and a range of digital books, magazines, newspapers, films and games - in tandem with a series of retail partnerships.
The range will be limited to black & white e-ink readers only however with no indication given as to a likely arrival date of their full colour tablet.
Barnes & Noble have had considerable success with the device Stateside, estimating their market share to be between 25-30%.
The firm plans to open in 10 countries over the next 12 months in a bid to replicate that success internationally.