Barnes & Noble plans new e-book reader

CALIFORNIA, USA: Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc plans to make an announcement on the launch of a new electronic book reader on May 24, according to a regulatory filing released after the close of trading on Wednesday.

The company disclosed the news of the launch in a meeting with analysts and investors, the filing said. It did not provide details.

Shares of the company rose more than 17 per cent in regular trading on Wednesday and closed at $12.01 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The announcement comes weeks after the company introduced new features to its Nook Color e-reader to make the device more competitive with Apple Inc's iPad and offer more functions than Amazon.com Inc's Kindle.

Barnes & Noble has invested heavily in the Nook to grab more of the growing e-books market while sales of traditional paper books fall.