Maybe Barnes & Noble’s Making an E-Reader, and Maybe It’s Android

You’ve got to love when two rumors combine to make a better story, as they have with Barnes & Noble’s alleged Android-based e-reader. The Wall Street Journal broke the original news, quoting a source who says B&N’s reader will be a six-inch touch screen model with an E-Ink display and some sort of wireless capability, be it Wi-Fi or 3G. The device would also have a virtual keyboard, allowing you to search books by name or jot down notes with ease. Not to be outdone, Gizmodo dug up its own anonymous source, who said the reader will run on Google’s Android mobile platform.

At the very least, a Barnes & Noble e-reader sounds about right. The bookstore has partnered with iRex (e-reader pictured above) and Plastic Logic to provide reading material on their devices, but seemed to be holding out on putting its name on either device. And as Gizmodo points out, an Android e-reader would be logical, as it’s flexible enough to focus on just a few tasks and capable of running with an E-Ink display. And compared to the operating systems from Amazon, Sony and others, Android would be pretty great. For now, file this one under “possibly true” until next month, when the e-reader will reportedly be released. [Wall Street Journal and Gizmodo via Electronista]