And the Name of BN.Com's E-Book Reader Is...(the Envelope Please)

THE NOOK!

As in Book Nook.

As rumored, the E-Ink text is gray and white like the Kindle's, but there is a color feature for the display of cover and other images. The $259 price matches the current price for the Kindle. The Nook will carry over 1 million titles, about half of which are currently not available on the Kindle.

The device does not appear to be manufactured by Plastic Logic as speculated on a number of blogs. So we still await the disclosure of the name of Plastic Logic's reader scheduled for release in 2010. "The Nook" is taken, so Plastic Logic will have to dig deep into its pool of titles to come up with something more ingenious. Until it's official, we're calling it The Teasle.

A significant difference between Nook and Kindle is the Nook's e-book-lending feature, details of which will be described in future postings.

Though the name and features of the device were not to be disclosed until later today at a press conference, the New York Times used a clever ploy to scoop most other journalists: it peeked at at an advertisement BN.Com will be running in the newspaper's book review section next Sunday. The Times's own ombudsman Clark Hoyt, who writes a weekly column commenting on the ethical (or otherwise) conduct of its writers and executives, might have a few things to say about a newspaper that uses its own advertising department as a source of breaking news. Whether the name and nature of BN.Com's device was embargoed until Sunday is not known. Still, there are some tricky ethical issues at play here.

Any comment, Mr. Hoyt?

Richard Curtis

Every Blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers and magazines. This posting relies on original research and reporting - AND ADVERTISING! - performed by the New York Times.