Barnes & Noble's New Touchscreen NOOK Shipping Now

Just last week, Barnes & Nobles unveiled an all-new NOOK e-reader featuring a 6-inch touch-enabled E-ink display that replaced all navigation controls except for one simple home button. The new e-reader was touted to be lighter, smaller, and possess at least double the battery life when compared to Amazon's Kindle.

Pre-orders for the device had kicked off immediately, but an actual ship date was set for June 10th. However, now it looks like Barnes & Nobles is shipping out the device much earlier than expected. In fact, the giant book retailer started shipping the device yesterday, fulfilling the pre-orders ahead of schedule.

New online orders for the Simple Touch Reader NOOK will also ship immediately, to be delivered in time for Father's Day. You can also demo the new NOOK at one of Barnes & Noble's more than 700 stores starting this Thursday. The product will be in-stock at stores starting this weekend and is priced at $139.

Press Release:

Barnes & Noble Now Shipping The All-New NOOKTM,

The Simple Touch ReaderTM

Pre-Ordered Devices Arriving to Customers Ahead of Schedule

New Orders at www.nook.com Will Ship Immediately, in Time for Father's Day

Experience the Easy-to-Use Touchscreen eReader for Everyone in Barnes & Noble Stores Beginning Tomorrow; In-stock This Weekend

New York, New York – June 1, 2011 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, announced that it began shipping its All-New NOOK yesterday, getting pre-ordered devices to customers well ahead of schedule. New online orders for The Simple Touch Reader are now shipping immediately for delivery in time for Father's Day and summer reading. Customers visiting one of Barnes & Noble's more than 700 stores will be able to try live NOOK demonstration units beginning Thursday, and will find product in-stock in stores beginning this weekend.

The All-New NOOK, introduced by Barnes & Noble just last week, is the easiest-to-use, most intuitive eReader available, with best-in-class battery performance of up to 2 months on a single charge. The device is ultra-light and portable and features a 6-inch full touchscreen with the most advanced E Ink Pearl display for crisp, clear reading even in bright sunlight. NOOK customers can access the world's largest bookstore of more than 2 million books, magazines and newspapers, available via Wi-Fi®. The All-New NOOK is $139 in Barnes & Noble stores and online at www.nook.com.

"We're excited with pre-order demand for the All-New NOOK to date and are very pleased to deliver this easy-to-use device to our customers earlier than committed," said William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble. "We welcome customers to visit their neighborhood Barnes & Noble store to learn more about NOOK and experience our new light, portable, touch eReader."