That's what CNet are reporting:
According to the tipster, who wishes to remain anonymous but has proven reliable in the past, Barnes & Noble's new ereader will be called the Nook Color, have a 7-inch screen, and retail for $249.
The tipster said the entire company has been focused on this product and that "it's a big step ahead, instead of chasing Amazon." While the new ereader is Android-based, the source indicated it wouldn't have the same functionality as the iPad--but it would be half the price of Apple's entry-level tablet.
My problem with this is that they already had a 7" Android tablet; that was the Pandigital Novel. It didn't work out to well.
I’d agree, if the $139 Kindle is still just slightly above the real mass-market’s cost target, then this thing has no chance at all as an e-reader.
If it’s a decent Android tablet then that might be a selling point, but presumably the “quirky tablet” market is much smaller than the e-reader one!
The Novel’s no disaster as a product, but I can’t imagine anyone’s made money off it.
I think their is a great opportunity for a color e reader if it is well made. The Nook (after the firmware updates from the initial rollout) is a very well made E Reader. Barnes and Noble did not sell the Pandigital Novel in their stores so I would not blame BnN . They only licensed their bookstore.
Perhaps it won’t if they made the right choices for the hardware.