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One of the latest gadgets that have shown up with an FCC appearance is the ebook reader from Barnes & Noble.  The FCC listings are nice to see because they tend to give us a hint as to what we can expect to see in a gadget, but sadly this one is pretty closed.  In fact, the external and internal photos have a confidentiality agreement for 180 days.  So, the filing, or at least the confidentiality agreement was dated as of September 3, which means that we can expect to see those images sometime around early March.

Otherwise, a few details that were dug up from the listing include that the reader will have Wi-Fi as well as 3G support.  In other words it sounds like it will have a book store similar to what we have with the Amazon Kindle.  Of course, that would make sense given the recent activity that Barnes & Noble has been doing in regards to their Fictionwise purchase as well as their iPhone apps.  It seems that signs have already pointing to a device and digital store.

Additionally, given that Barnes & Noble has previously partnered with Plastic Logic, we could logically assume that this yet unknown reader is a Plastic Logic Device, but I guess we will find that out for sure in a few months.

Hopefully, Barnes & Noble will add something unique to their reader and not just take the path that Amazon took with the Kindle. Don’t get me wrong, I love what the Kindle offers, but would like to see innovation as opposed to just matching features and hoping to attract customers.  And by innovation, that does not even have to be lots of extra features, it could be as simple as a better price tag.

Read [FCC]  Via [engadget]