E-Readers Hold Up In Year of Tablet

Amazon.com isn’t the only one crowing about the popularity of its e-reader.

Competitor Barnes & Noble is saying roughly the same thing about its own version. As the Consumer Electronic Show gets under way in Las Vegas with a focus on the year of the tablet computer, it may seem easy to forget about the humble e-reader. After all, Apple has moved some 7.46 million iPads, a staggering number, since the devices debut last spring.

But the nation’s biggest book sellers are saying their own portable electronic devices are hot, even if they aren’t as duded up as an iPad.

Barnes & Noble today said sales of its Nook e-reader led an overall jump of 9.7 percent in same-store sales at its U.S. superstores during the holiday season. They need the sales to keep up with their chief online competitor.

Amazon.com was on track to sell about 6 million to 8 million Kindles in 2010, and the company claimed more of the devices were activated December 25 than at any previous time.

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