New Nook to get ‘revolutionary’ screen, current gets $50 gift card

Following a report of an upcoming Nook that may have “revolutionary� screen technology, Barnes & Noble has begun offering a $50 gift card along with its current e-reader.

The book retailer began offering the current $249 Nook with a $50 gift card Wednesday. The card can be applied toward e-book purchases as well as apps, accessories and other items, but the sale ends July 29.

The 7-inch e-reader is offering the gift card following the launch of the Google Nexus 7 tablet, which also has a 7-inch screen but is more powerful, costs less and also offers $25 in Google Play credit in addition to a bundle of pre-packaged digital goodies that includes the movie “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.�

The Nook offer also comes just a day after a CNET report came out saying a new Nook is expected to launch in late September or October complete with a “revolutionary screen technology� never before seen on any other product.

CNET, which attributes its information to a source that it says has proved reliable in the past, says Barnes & Noble is developing the technology in-house along with another company.

The new Nook is expected to be lighter, but it will still focus on users’ reading experience. However, the report also says the Nook Store will receive more media options in conjunction with the new e-reader, including some that have never before been seen on a tablet.

Despite Microsoft’s recent investment in Barnes & Noble, the new Nook is still expected to run on a skinned Android rather than Windows 8. As far as pricing, the report says Barnes & Noble will match the next Kindle Fire, which Amazon will probably offer for about $200.

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