The Original Nook gets a facelift!
Barnes & Noble unveiled an update to the original Nook eReader today that combines the latest eInk technology with touchscreen features. 
Available for preordering beginning today, with shipping about June 10th, this new version of the Nook features WiFi only access, costs less than NookColor, and it weighs under 7.5 ounces (that 35% lighter than the original Nook). At 5 inches wide by 6.5 inches long, Nook has a 6-inch Pearl eInk display combined with an infared touchscreen that lets you navigate with taps and swipes of your fingers.
William Lynch, CEO, stated that ”the Nook Color has been a home run, but there’s also a number of people who don’t need all those features” at the Nook unveiling in the bookseller’s Union Square, New York City location.
Nook, powered by Android 2.1, includes two gigabytes of onboard storage, which will allow you to downloaded about a thousand books, and there’s an SD card slot for additional storage. Nook runs on an 800 MHZ Texas Instruments OMAP 3 processor, which Barnes & Noble say will enable a much smoother reading experience, with quicker page transitions, and 80% less “ghosting,” or page flashing. Even better, it also will last two months between charges.
With the launch of the new version of the Nook, Barnes & Noble is putting the Kindle directly in the crosshairs, comparing features like battery life (Kindle 3 features one month of battery life compared with the new Nook’s two months) and the actual number of physical buttons.
“The Kindle 3 has 38 buttons, 37 more than the all-new Nook,” Lynch said. “Anyone who has mobile devices with [a lot] of buttons and nav bars knows that means a lot of scrolling and a lot of interface. . . with the all the new Nook, you just get into the device.”
The new Nook software interface introduces a homescreen with three sections:
- A “Reading Now” area that displays what you’re currently reading and the number of pages of left.
- A “New Reads” section
- A ”What to Read Next” section that is social-focused and displays what your friends are reading.
With less physical buttons to deal with and the new homescreen, Barnes & Noble says, users will be a few taps or swipes away from anything they want.
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Pandigital’s new Novel eReader, with color touchscreen, pre-loaded with Google’s Android OS, and integrated with Barnes & Noble’s eBookstore will begin selling next month for $199.99, and promises to push color eReaders more to the front for the coming holiday season! 
Borders is now taking orders for the Libre eReader, a new five inch monochrome LCD eReader. Originally announced back in late summer 2009, the Libre comes in black only at the $119.99 price, and lacks some of the features of