Everyone has recently been buzzing with excitement about the Nook, the new e-reader coming from Barnes & Noble. The device features Google’s Android OS, a navigation LCD and an E-Ink display, and it looks to be a fierce competitor with Amazon’s Kindle.
Something that seemed a little odd to us, however, was the Nook’s close resemblance to Spring Design’s Alex e-reader. Both e-readers are dual screen E-Ink/LCD units, and both utilize Android. Apparently Spring Design found this odd as well, because they’re suing Barnes & Noble.
Spring Design claims that Barnes & Noble broke a non-disclosure agreement which centers around e-reader features. The “Alex” makers claim that the two companies were working together to create the device, and that there was never discussion of Barnes & Noble creating its own reader.
“We showed the Alex e-book design to Barnes & Noble in good faith with the intention of working together to provide a superior dual screen e-book to the market,” said Spring Design Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Eric Kmiec.
It is not yet clear how the lawsuit will affect the releases of either e-reader. The Nook is scheduled to start shipping this month, while a release date has not yet been set for Alex.
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