Barnes & Noble enhances online presence

NEW YORK Barnes & Noble has launched a new online book store on Barnes & Noble.com. The company claims the new eBookstore is the world largest and will enable customers to buy eBooks and read them on a wide range of platforms, including the iPhone and iPod touch, BlackBerry smartphones, as well as most Windows and Mac laptops or full-sized desktop computers.

The eBookstore will offer more than 700,000 titles, and Barnes & Noble said it expects that number to increase to more than one million withing the next year. The site also will feature an upgraded version of the retailer's eReader application, which was part of the company's Fictionwise acquisition earlier this year. This device-agnostic eBook application supports both wireless and wired access to the new Barnes & Noble eBookstore. 

“Today marks the first phase of our digital strategy, which is rooted in the belief that readers should have access to the books in their digital library from any device, from anywhere, at any time,” said William Lynch, President of BN.com. “As America’s number one bookstore and newsstand, our goal at Barnes & Noble is to build a service that revolves around the customer, enabling them to have access to hundreds of thousands of titles and read on their smartphone, PC, and many other existing and future devices. We want to make eBooks simple, accessible, affordable and convenient for everyone.”