It looks like Plastic Logic won’t be only company taking advantage of Barnes & Noble’s online book store. iRex Technologies has announced that their upcoming device will also be able to download Barnes & Noble books over 3G wireless.
This is big news for both iRex and Barnes & Noble. News of the new iRex reader has been taken with a grain of salt, due to the company’s so-so track record. By gaining a huge library of books to back up their 3G capabilities, the new iRex reader gains some extra credence. But Barnes & Noble is an even bigger winner in this case. Their store is set up to more or less mimic the Kindle platform. Up until now, Barnes & Noble was betting on the Plastic Logic Reader to help them compete with Amazon. With the iRex reader, things are different now. Barnes & Noble is still competing with the Kindle, but instead of manufacturing their own device they are letting their customers choose from a handful of eReaders from competing companies.
If more readers are added to Barnes & Noble’s platform, they could prove successful in luring customers away from Amazon. Right now, however, I don’t think Amazon needs to be too worried. With both the Kindle and the Kindle DX, Amazon is offering just as wide an array of devices as Barnes & Noble is.