The Nook eReader has started to become a serious competitor to Amazon's Kindle device. Today Barnes and Noble announced that for the company's last fiscal quarter that ended on July 30 its combined Nook business, which includes sales of the eReader along with sales of digital content for the Nook and accessories, had a 140 percent sales increase and brought in revenues of $277 million. Barnes and Noble did not mention specific unit sales numbers of the Nook eReader in its press release.
William Lynch, Barnes and Noble's chief executive officer, said of its Nook division, "The company is encouraged by the progress achieved against our strategy and believes in our plan to continue to appropriately invest in the massive digital opportunity ... " The company predicted that for its current fiscal year, revenues from its overall Nook business will increase to $1.8 billion compared to $880 million from the year before and just $123 million two years ago.
Barnes and Noble currently sells the Nook Color, based on Google's Android operating system, for $249. Its regular black and white eInk Nook sells for $139. Both products have apparently made inroads in Amazon's Kindle business. IDC reported back in July that the Nook device outsold the Kindle in the first quarter of 2011. However, Amazon may be planning to strike back later this fall when it is expected to launch new versions of the Kindle eReader alongside the launch of its long awaited Android based tablet device.
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