UPDATE: Barnes & Noble Rolls Out New Nook E-reader

Barnes & Noble Inc. lifted the wraps on a new version of its Nook e-reader device on Tuesday that offers a full-color touch-screen in an effort to set it apart from the Amazon Kindle. Australia Ugg Boots The announcement--made during a media event hosted by the bookseller in New York City--comes one year after Barnes (BKS) introduced the first version of its e-reader as part of an effort to stay competitive in the fast-growing e-book space that has largely been dominated by the Kindle. The new Nook sports a 7-inch, full-color touch-screen, in contrast to the black-and-white E-Ink based screens commonly used by the Kindle and other e-reader devices. ugg australia sale Besides reading, the company said the Nook will also allow users to surf the Web and play music. The WiFi-only device will be available beginning Nov. 19 at a price of $249. The WiFi-only version of the Kindle sells for $139. E-readers are a growing business as more book publishers embrace the electronic format. The Kindle from Amazon.com (AMZN) is widely considered the leader in the market for stand-alone e-reader devices that use the E-Ink screen technology. Australia sheep boots But the market is becoming vastly more competitive with the growth of tablet computing devices such as the iPad from Apple Inc. (AAPL). The iPad has sold nearly 7.5 million units in its first two quarters on the market, according to Apple's financial statements. Amazon has never disclosed specific sales figures for the Kindle. In a statement on Monday, the company said sales of its latest generation of Kindles has already outpaced total Kindle sales in last year's fourth quarter. botas ugg Analysts expect Amazon to sell between 5 million and 6 million units of the Kindle this year. According to Forrester Research, Barnes & Noble has been battling with Sony Corp. (SNE) for a distant second place in the stand-alone e-reader market. Forrester analyst James McQuivey said the Nook is expected to sell close to 2 million units by the end of the year--which would be on par with the firm's estimates for Sony's e-reader line. "Nobody's close to Kindle," McQuivey said, predicting that the Kindle will total 6 million units this year.ugg outlet store