Barnes & Noble, the largest retail book seller in the U.S., this week introduced its new inexpensive electronic book reader with E Ink screen. The device costs $139 and features improved battery as well as easy-to-use touch-screen.

“We set out to design the easiest-to-use, most optimized, dedicated reading device ever created and accomplished it with the all-new Nook,” said William Lynch, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble.

The new B&N Nook sports 6" E-Ink screen with 800*600 resolution with 50% higher contrast than on the first edition of Nook thanks to the so-called Pearl technology. The novelty is equipped with 2GB of flash memory, has microSD card slot for further expansion of capacity and features Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n wireless Internet connectivity. Thanks to new batter, the new e-book reader can last up to months, according to the manufacturer, with Wi-Fi off. The second-generation Nook supports ePub, PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG and BMP formats. The device does not seem to have audio/headphones output or support audio files.

B&N's second-generation E-Ink-based Nook is 35% lighter, 6% thinner and over an inch shorter than Nook 1st Edition, which means that it is overall 21% more compact. Unfortunately, unlike the original device, the novelty does not have an auxilary colour screen. The Nook 2 will cost $139, which is a little less than the price of the original Nook after a major price-slash ($149), but is higher than the current price of the first edition Nook ($119).

“Touch makes it simple to use, and the beautifully compact design makes it the most portable eReader in its class. Add to that an unmatched battery life, the most advanced paper-like touch display on the market and wireless access to the world’s largest digital bookstore, and we believe that for readers of all ages, the All-New NOOK is the best eReader on the market, and a great value at $139," added Mr. Lynch.

Based on the success of the Nook product line, combined with focus on the absolute best reading experience, Barnes & Noble now claims more than 25% of the digital book market – just 18 months after launching the original Nook, the company said.

The new Nook will begin shipping on or about June 10 and is available for pre-order now.

Tags: Barnes & Noble, Nook, E-Book