"Second, B&N is missing a huge opportunity. It's not like they're losing money on Nook Color sales (the hardware cost is probably in the $150 range, or lower). As long as you're making some money per unit, I think it makes sense to grab as many customers as you can now, while you have a structural advantage in the market.
The ultimate payoff for an ebook distributor like B&N is to displace the publishers and start selling ebooks (and other content) directly to the public. To get to that goal, B&N should be trying to grow the e-reader installed base as quickly as possible. Instead of restricting Nook Color to people who already want ebooks, B&N should sell it to everyone and then entice them into becoming e-reading users."
A thoughtful piece on the e-readers vs. tablets debate using the Nook Color as a test case. Essentially E-ink devices are a beast unto itself and LCD readers can compete if they are sold cheap and bound to sales of e-books. This will succeed if the middleman (publishers) are cut out so that book prices can be set to attract and keep more e-book readers.
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