Barnes & Noble Color eBook Reader Leaks [Barnes & Noble to Announce eBook on October 20 in New York City]

Just last week we were talking about Barnes & Noble’s upcoming eBook readers. Now we know that the company will launch an eBook reader next week on October 20 at a special event hosted in New York City.

But this is where things become more interesting! In our recent article we talked about two potential Barnes & Noble readers, both created by Plastic Logic. One was supposed to be available in regular gray by the end of the year while the color version was rumored to arrive at some point next year. In the mean time we heard that Barnes & Noble has denied the existence of a color eBook reader. The regular grayscale version is however on track and should be unveiled next week. Barnes & Noble has even sent out invites for a “major event in our company’s history” scheduled for October 20 in NYC.

So do you really think that the color version is out of the question? Well then how can the picture above be explained? Gizmodo has unveiled what looks to be the official picture of a color eBook reader that’s supposed to be available in Barnes & Noble stores soon.

The device in the picture comes apparently with an 800 x 600 6-inch gray e-ink display and a multitouch 480 x 144 color LCD screen placed under it. So there you have it folks, that is supposed to be Barnes & Noble’s color eBook reader. The color LCD could work as a book cover browser and as a virtual keyboard, but it will probably have other features too.

Will this reader be cheaper or more expansive that the Kindle 2? It’s rumored that the Barnes & Noble reader will come with 3G support which means that carriers could offer it for a subsidized price. Unfortunately we don’t have any pricing details at this point and no carrier has mentioned any eBook plans for now. What are your thoughts on this rumored Barnes & Noble eBook reader?