Barnes & Noble Places Nook E-Book Reader Up for Pre-Order

Barnes & Noble has placed their long rumored Nook ebook reader up for pre-order ahead of a scheduled debut later at 4PM Eastern right at the close of the NYSE.

The Nook is an e-reader with two screens, a 6-inch E ink main display for displaying book text and a 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD below for navigation.

Connectivity consists of free AT&T 3G access as well as Wi-Fi, while including 2GB of internal memory, as well as a microSD expansion slot. Barnes & Noble claims a charge time of 3.5 hours via the microUSB port and 10 days of use.

The one feature expected to resonate with most users apprehensive of the Kindle is book sharing, with most books in its library being able to be shared amongst other Nook readers, cell phones, or computers for up to 14 days, much like a library book.

Barnes & Noble is also offering extended warranties: a $70 protection plan extends the stock warranty to two years, and throws in accidental damage coverage. While pre-orders are live for $259.99, shipping information will not be known until later today.