Barnes & Noble Nook Coming To Best Buy

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It’s been reported that the Barnes & Noble Nook is coming to Best Buy, and it was later confirmed via leaked images of the Best Buy internal inventory system. This comes out just days after it’s leaked that the Amazon Kindle is coming to brick-and-mortar retailers with Target. Why are these (formerly) online purchase-only gadgets coming to brick-and-mortar stores?

The Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook were previously the premier eReaders in that space before the iPad (I’ll give a slight acknowledgment to the Sony Reader here). The Kindle was previously only out on Amazon.com and while the Nook was getting a big push in Barnes and Noble retail stores, it also was being heavily advertised online.

It could be iPad pressure – since the iPad is on display at Best Buys with the mini Apple Stores inside. It’s possible that Barnes & Noble is trying to compete with attention with the iPad. It’s also likely they’re just trying to improve their market reach.

This could actually turn out well for the consumer. Retailers like Best Buy often put their products on sale, so you could actually end up getting a deal on a Nook – better than you’d get from Barnes and Noble.

To recap the Nook, it’s got a 6-inch ePaper screen and 2GB of internal storage. Current retail price is $259 and it’s set to go on sale at Best Buy on April 18th. Or, it’s currently out at Barnes & Noble’s website now.