Talk about blowing the competition out of the water !

Looks like the Nook has all the features we’ve been begging for in the Kindle. I won’t go into detail about the features, Engadget sums it all up very nicely below.

My only questions are how large the book selection will be, what will the books cost and will it be available in South Africa ?

Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader leaks a bit early: $259, pre-orders are live (video): “

Looks like all those whispers were true — the ‘Android-based’ nook is alive and well, and it’s calling itself the planet’s ‘most advanced e-book reader.’ Measuring 7.7- x 4.9- x 0.5-inches and weighing 11.2 ounces, the device includes a top e-ink display from Vizplex and a color touchscreen (3.5-inches) below, which supports one-touch control and swipe-to-browse books with full-color covers. The rechargeable battery takes 3.5 hours to go from zero to full if using a wall outlet, and B&N claims that itll last for up to ten days if you flick the wireless to ‘off.’ Speaking of which, inbuilt WiFi (802.11b/g) and AT&T 3G is included, not to mention 2GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, MP3 player, built-in mono speaker, 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, a micro USB port and support for EPUB, PDF and MP3. The nook also supports bookmarking, making notes, and highlighting passages, and the LendMe feature allows users to lend books for up to a fortnight at a time to other e-readers, cellphones or computers.

B&N also tells us that you can pick up where you left off (with markings and highlights in tact) on your iPhone or BlackBerry using its free eReader software, which just so happens to be the same app that allows sharing to iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC or Mac. As expected, the company will also let you sample ebooks before you buy, and youll enjoy free WiFi each and every time you sashay into a Barnes & Noble retail location. Its available to pre-order as we speak for $259, with initial shipments expected to happen at the end of November. Introductory video is after the break, along with a few highlights about accessories and features.

Update: Aw snap, B&N just yanked everything related to nook from its website. Thankfully for you, everything youd ever need to know is right here.

Update 2: Looks like it’s back! Though, the landing page itself still seems down. Hurray for backdoors!

(Via Engadget.)

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