Barnes & Noble Expands Nook Distribution With Best Buy Deal

The move marks the first time the Nook has been sold anywhere other than in Barnes & Noble stores and through the book retailer's Web site.

The alliance could be seen as an effort by Barnes and Noble to expand distribution of its e-reader in the wake of the debut of the Apple iPad which is expected to compete with the Nook and Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader.

Starting April 18 " this Sunday " consumers can purchase the Nook and its accessories in 1,070 Best Buy stores and through Bestbuy.com under what Barnes & Noble and Best Buy described as an "exclusive" partnership.

Best Buy will also distribute the free BN eReader software that runs on PCs, smartphones and other mobile devices and will support the software through its Geek Squad service operations.

"We have enormous respect for the Best Buy organization and its focus on providing technology solutions for millions of customers," said Kevin Frain, BarnesandNoble.com executive vice president of e-commerce, in a statement. "Through this partnership, Best Buy customers will now have new and easy ways to access our expansive digital library on a variety of computing and mobile devices through BN eReader software and the Barnes & Noble e-bookstore."

Best Buy also sells the Apple iPad, which launched earlier this month with a lot of fanfare, and the Sony Reader. Best Buy will sell the Nook for $259.99.

Amazon.com remains the exclusive seller of its Kindle device, but there have been reports that a deal with a major retailer such as Target might be in the works.