Barnes & Noble Nook E-Reader

With a vast catalog of titles, instant over-the-air downloads, and a nifty second touch-screen color display, the Nook gives the Amazon Kindle a serious run for its money. And a newly added $149 Wi-Fi only model only helps to narrow that divide.

Below the primary e-ink display is a small, 144-by-480-pixels capacitive touch screen that displays menu options.

The Nook’s 6-inch electronic ink display features 16 levels of grey.

The Nook charges via the built-in micro USB port and included cable.

The Barnes & Noble eBook Store has more than more than one million titles, a number that includes the 500,000 or so copyright-free books in ePub format available through Google Books.

The secondary touch screen can display small thumbnails of book covers.

Most of your interaction with the Nook will take place on the secondary display.

In addition to the book catalog, B&N is actively signing content partners to publish on the Nook, and already has heavy hitters like the New York Times, The Washington Post, and, of course, PC Magazine.

The Kindle has 52 buttons on its face, including a four way directional toggle and a full QWERTY keyboard. The Nook has a mere five.

The Nook is a bit smaller and a tad thicker than the 10.3-ounce Amazon device

Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader will be hard to find on store shelves this holiday season, but with a clever touch control panel and support for the ePub standard, it's well positioned to make a run at the Kindle in 2010.