English: A Picture of a eBook Español: Foto de eBook Беларуская: Фотаздымак электроннай кнігі Русский: Фотография электронной книги (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Barnes & Noble's Nook Sales Down 34%

The battle of the e-Readers rages on, with a clearer picture of how the market is likely to stand in years to come. While Amazon and Apple seem to be benefitting greatly from the new market, industry giant Barnes & Noble is taking a tumble.

Nook sales themselves are down 34%, with Barnes & Noble digital sales dropping over eight percent in the same year. While the Nook has never been the most successful e-Reader, its overall losses are severe - over a million dollars more for the fiscal year than previously seen. This leaves Barnes & Noble in the precarious position of owning not only the third-place e-Reader on the market, but one that seems to be rapidly decreasing in both value and popularity.

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Amazon Announces Virtual Currency, Amazon Coins

Earlier this week, Amazon announced their new service, Amazon Coins, which is a virtual currency used to buy apps, games and other in-app purchases. 

They kicked off the launch by giving all Kindle Fire owners $5 worth of Coins, equal to 500 coins.  Users can buy more Coins, and they can save up to 10 percent for buying high quantities at a time. 

Cover via Amazon

Recently, there has been a buzz about different types of tablets from the iPad to the Samsung Galaxy tablet.  However, a similar product that is often overlooked is the Amazon Kindle.

The Kindle was a revolutionary product when Amazon first introduced it in 2007.  The Kindle is to books what the iPod is to music.  It allows consumers to shop for, read, and download books, magazines, newspapers, etc and was developed several years before the current tablet trend.

Cover via Amazon

If you think technology is leaving you behind, take a look at these five, top-selling must-have gadgets that have entered the market since 2000. You don't have to be a technogeek to appreciate any of these nifty devices, and you don't have to be a millionaire to own one, either!

Fastest Selling Electronic Device Of All Time

This one goes to the Apple iPad. First introduced in 2010, the Apple iPad has taken the gadget world by storm. Earlier this year, Apple announced that the iPad had become the fastest-selling electronic device of all time, and the company expects to sell more than 100,000,000 units by the end of 2012. The device has already undergone one major redesign in its scant 15 months on the market, and analysts are already talking about an iPad 3 release that could happen as early as the fourth quarter of 2011. Rumors abound regarding what the iPad 3 might potentially offer, and range from retinal scanning to HD displays to the e-commerce darling, near-field communications.

Amazon Wants Android Users as Readers

Amazon today released a Kindle App for Android owners to allow them to access the 600,000+ digital content pieces (e-books) available from Amazon, without owning a Kindle. And the new mobile app provides a feature to sync your Kindle with your Android so you do not lose your place in a book when you switch reading devices. Books are available at discount prices compared to hardcover new releases, often times in the $10 range and free chapters are provided while you make a purchase decision.