The color ebook reader tablet market is getting very crowded this fall. Amazon’s Kindle Fire looks like the ebook reader tablet to beat at $199 and launched today. There’s also Barnes and Noble’s Nook Tablet at a slightly pricer $249 (it has more hardware resources). And then, there’s the Kobo Vox eReader that has its launch event tomorrow (Nov. 16) and priced at $199.99. It has a 7-inch multi-touch color display that, Kobo claims, is optimized for outdoor reading. This Android based eReader tablet (like both the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet) also has a web browser, email client, 8GB memory, a 7-hour battery life and its own app store.
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When Barnes & Noble launched the first generation Nook ebook reader (November 2009) with the color LCD strip at the bottom, it did not get a lot of positive reviews and was generally considerd a failed attempt to compete with Amazon’s Kindle. The Nook Color launched last year, it received better reviews and and became a favorite of people who wanted it as an inexpensive starting point to create an Android tablet with just an unauthorized firmware upgrade. With the release of their third model, the Nook Simple Touch Reader, Barnes & Noble has a winner on their hands according to Consumer Reports.