The Barnes and Nobles e-reader project, set to be revealed next week, has been under development for years, says Gizmodo, with several devices of varying size and capability in the pipeline.
The upcoming eBook apparently has a standard, 800×600 6-inch monochrome e-ink display, like the Kindle, with a multitouch display underneath. The multitouch 480×144-pixel color LCD is designed for browsing book covers and perhaps other content, according to Gizmodo. That second display also would transform into a virtual keyboard.
The device is said to have a wireless 3G connection, although no carrier or price has been announced. The new iRex DR 800SG ($399), also links wirelessly to Bares & Noble’s e-book site. The 8.1-inch, touch-screen eReader offers multi-mode 3G wireless capabilities and was introduced by B&N last month.
Forrester puts the size of the U.S. book market at around $25 billion, and over time a good chunk of that is going to move to electronic formats.
