Barnes and Noble were sure of selling their trendy eReader during the holiday season from the start. But due to increased demand for the device, early shipment of the device has been delayed and now eager customers will get their hands on the device on Jan. 4, 2010.
In an interview, the company told reporters that orders placed past Nov. 19 will ship at the end of this month.
"There is so much consumer interest in Nook, that pre-orders have exceeded our expectations," a B&N spokeswoman said at the time. "As with any other hot consumer product, the sooner a customer orders, the sooner they receive it."
Barnes and Nook also said, earlier this month, that a second round of shipments would go out on Dec. 11, because of the devices’ ever increasing demand.
The Nook was going to be sold at $259 around the holiday season.
On Oct. 20, Barnes and Noble announced its eReader-- the Nook and also started taking pre-orders for the device. Those who pre-ordered the eReader were originally scheduled to get their devices by shipment on Friday.
The much hyped and awaited Nook is based on Google’s Android operating system and features a six-inch e-ink screen for text and a smaller display screen for browsing purposes.
Bad for customers, good for competitors
It’s definitely a bad news for those who wanted to get the eReader Nook on holidays; now they have to wait till next year for their wish to come true. But the news of Barnes and Noble’s Nook getting further delayed must come as a welcome relief for the competitors of the device just before the holiday season kicks in.
The Nook eReader has been marketed as a worthy competitor of Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader series.
This news from Barnes and Noble has come several days after the Sony Corp. announced that the delivery of their Daily Edition 3G eReader might not be guaranteed in the coming holiday season.
People who pre-ordered the Sony’s device at sonystyle.com for $399 will receive the device anytime from Dec. 18 to Jan. 8.
Not to miss out on customers because of the delay, Barnes and Noble is doing its best to encourage people to pre-order the device as a gift, with a promise to send an “elegant Nook holiday certificate” arriving on Dec. 24. This customer can gift as a placeholder till the real device, the Nook, arrives.
Analystspeak
According to market analysts, this mis-fire from B&N’s side could boost the sale of its rival Amazon’s Kindle.
"Amazon can reap the benefit of Sony and Barnes & Noble's failures here," said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps, adding that consumers wanting the wireless eReader for Christmas now have to settle for the Kindle.
Industry experts were already expecting high sales for these devices offered by Amazon, Sony and Barnes and Noble. Though it’s not clear by how many numbers the demand has gone up since none of the manufacturers are ready to release sales figures.
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