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Barnes & Noble releases new Nook e-reader for $119

The Nook GlowLight has an electronic ink touchscreen, which has less glare than typical tablet screens.Mark Lennihan/Associated Press

NEW YORK — Barnes & Noble Inc. is releasing a new Nook e-book reader for the holidays, while it evaluates the future of tablet computers.

Nook tablets haven't sold well amid intense competition with Apple's iPad, Amazon's Kindle Fire, and others. Barnes & Noble had a slim 2 percent share of the worldwide tablet market in the fourth quarter of 2012, but fell off IDC's top 5 list this year.

The company said it isn't giving up on tablets, but it will focus on a new e-reader this year while still selling last year's tablets. The move comes as research firm IDC says the market for dedicated electronic-book readers is declining. Instead, consumers have been more interested in tablets.

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Barnes & Noble's new e-reader, Nook GlowLight, is available in its retail stores and online starting Wednesday for $119, the same as the standard model of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Paperwhite reader. At 6.2 ounces, the GlowLight is 15 percent lighter than the Paperwhite. It's also ad-free, while Amazon charges $20 more for a Paperwhite without ads on its screensaver or home screen.

Unlike Kindles, which are tied to Amazon's bookstore, Nook devices are compatible with books bought at other stores that use the EPub standard, including Apple's iBookstore.