Report: Barnes & Noble e-book reader ships next month

The device will run Google's Android operating system

Barnes & Noble plans to announce its own brand of e-book reader which will run the Android operating system, according to media reports.

The bookseller may start selling the device as early as November, in time for the holiday shopping in the U.S., according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, which attributed the information to "people briefed on the matter".

The move to introduce its own branded reader will pit the bookseller against Amazon which is already offering the Kindle, and other vendors like Sony.

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Barnes & Noble plans to announce its own brand of e-book reader which will run the Android operating system, according to media reports.

The bookseller may start selling the device as early as November, in time for the holiday shopping in the U.S., according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, which attributed the information to "people briefed on the matter".

The move to introduce its own branded reader will pit the bookseller against Amazon which is already offering the Kindle, and other vendors like Sony.

Kindle 2 e-book reader is thinner than the iPhone

Barnes & Noble set up a digital bookstore  in July to offer e-books that could be downloaded and read on reader software designed for PCs, Apple's Mac, and iPhone and iPod devices, and Research In Motion's BlackBerry handset.

The company also said in July that it will power the e-book store for an e-book reader from Plastic Logic slated for early 2010

The new stand alone reader from Barnes & Noble will run the Android operating system, said Gizmodo in a report on Thursday. The report quoted an unnamed person who claims to work for Barnes & Noble developing mobile applications.

The Barnes & Noble device will have a six-inch screen from digital-paper maker E-Ink, with a touch input and a virtual keyboard, according to the WSJ. It will also have a wireless connection to download books.Pricing information for the device was not available.

Amazon cut prices earlier this week on its basic 6-inch display Kindle reader to $259 from $299, and also said it will ship the Kindle to over 100 countries and territories outside the U.S. from Oct 19.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.