Like all mobile eBook apps, nook for Android will sync bookmarks and last read pages with other instances of the app or your nook eBook reader.  Unlike the iOS version of Barnes & Noble, nook for Android is an actual nice-looking app.  It has eight choices for fonts, which is even more than is on the nook reader.  The standard to turn the page is a one finger flick, though that can be changed to a single press on either side of the screen.  Like the nook device, nook for Android comes complete with LendMe, so users can share eBooks with friends, giving their friends a copy of the book for up to 14 days (the eBook is then removed from the original owner’s library for that time). {Barnes & Noble}

With Barnes & Noble, that now means all the biggest eBook sellers are on Android.  Given the fact that many publishers are switching to an agency model, making eBooks cost the same across all platforms, it really comes down to which app you prefer.  Granted, those who own eBook reader devices would want to use the same app as the device they have, others are free to choose whichever app they like.  Aside from Amazon, Kobo/Borders and now Barnes & Noble’s nook there’s also Adiko which can access any free eBooks, or read ePub files bought from other virtual stores.

Borders has been selling e-book readers for a few months now, both the Kobo Reader and the Aluratek Reader which cost $150 and $120, respectively.  The chain has also had iOS apps out for a few weeks now, and along with the e-bookstore is launching apps for Android and BlackBerry devices. {Mashable}

Like Borders’ higher-end e-book reader, the e-bookstore is powered by Kobo.  The store already has 1.5 million books.  That puts it right int he middle of Barnes & Noble, which only has 1 million books available, and smaller than Amazon which boasts more free e-books (1.8 million) than either have in total.  Apple, on the other hand, advertises “tens of thousands” of books in the iBookstore (which excludes popular books like “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” by Steig Larsson).

Borders hopes to gain 17 percent of the e-book market by July 2011.  That might be possible given that Barnes & Noble was able to get 20 percent of the market in about a year’s time.  Borders is late to the game, however, with readers that look rather pricey given their feature set compared to the recent price slashing that has happened among their peers in the market.  Like Barnes & Noble, Borders does have a retail store to help promote the e-book readers, though the fact that the Kindle is available in Target stores now could put a damper on that.

Competition for eReading consumers†affection sizzled on Monday as Barnes and Noble dropped the price of its well received Nook e-book reader 23 percent to $199 and introduced the Nook WiFi at an even bigger bargain $149, though the latter device can only be used in a WiFi environment. Amazon, whose $259 price tag for their Kindle eReader (which comes with 3G technology by default) previously matched the Nookâ€s cost exactly, responded by dropping the price of the Kindle to $189, and they aren’t stopping their competitive advances there. Amazon.com plans to introduce a thinner Kindle with an upgraded screen this August. Sonyâ€s cheapest eReader is still $169. {Fortune}

Get yourself a price gun: the war for th eReader market is on

At this rate, eReaders will be cheaper than the actual books in their stores in no time.

In addition, Apple updated the iPhone and iPod Touch today to include available iBook software. The iPadâ€s price tag for the entry-level model remains near $500, though the additional tablet computer functionality give it an advantage over single purpose eReaders. It would be difficult to justify a $500 eReader purchase, but when that device doubles as a place to play games, browse the web and check on email, it’s a lot easier to rationalize.
“Their sales have obviously been impacted by the iPad,” Charlie Wolf, a senior analyst at Needham & Co. in New York, said. “These price cuts are almost an act of desperation.” {Bloomberg Businessweek}

Meanwhile, Kobo, the e-book retailer that offers eReading software for an array of devices, released free software on Monday that is available through the Android marketplace and allows eReaders to be used on Smartphones with the Android operating system. The e-book retailer already produces software for other Smartphones, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Palm WebOS and the newly released Kobo reading device.

Users who buy Kobo e-books with one device can read their purchase on any of the devices for which Kobo offers software.

“We’ve adapted the features our customers love and expect from Kobo to ensure that we provide the best reading experience for Android-enabled smartphones,” Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis said. {Publishers Weekly}

Borders is also holding steady with eReaders that began selling for $119.99-$149.99 in May. {Bloomberg Businessweek}

Need to catch your breath? We sure do! We canâ€t wait to see which devices prove most popular among consumers and how low the prices will need to go to woo customers who are interested in an e-reading device but not its expense.