Excellent Consideration of B&N and eBooks

Note Lydia Dishman's insightful analysis of B&N's position/strategy in the eBook universe. This comes from bnet:

Perhaps it’s a calculated management sleight of hand, but while Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (APPL) duke it out for the e-book crown, Barnes & Noble (BKS) is working in the background, making moves to position itself as the biggest player in the market.

What’s interesting is how a series of small moves can add up to a big impact.

Take the latest promotion: get free coffee with the download of the B&N eReader app. As part of an overall Nook promotion (which runs through June27) store customers can download the app, then show the B&N Café barista show an open eBook on a Nook or the eReader software on their iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, HTC HD2, or a Windows PC or Mac and snag a free tall coffee. Nook owners can also get the freebie just for bringing their device into any store.

Sure a cup of joe doesn’t seem like much of a perk (except to your sluggish system), but it shows that in crafting an overall digital strategy, the world’s largest bookseller isn’t forgetting that its bricks need to be tended alongside clicks.

Also encouraging the brick/click crossover is B&N’s other freebie promotion. Nook and eReader users can come in the store, flash their device, and download an e-book from a bestselling author at no cost. It’s not just a one-shot either. New titles are offered each week ...

Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble are anticipating apps for Android to launch this summer. Meanwhile, through ereader.com , B&N is offering a beta version for Droid as well as a plethora of other devices that Amazon currently isn't serving.

What remains to be seen how well B&N will leverage its new digital self-publishing platform. If it manages to negotiate competitive royalty rates for authors and independent publishers on PubIt!, the world’s largest bookstore may indeed become the smartest as well, bypassing the trade publishers and snapping up thousands of exclusive new e-books.