Barnes & Noble Nook Color (photos)

Previous Nook e-book readers utilized black-and-white e-ink screens, but the Nook Color boasts a 7-inch color LCD.

B&N is making a bigger push into kids' content with its new Nook Kids brand that features 130 "digital picture books" designed to take advantage of such color devices as the Nook Color and the iPad.

Note-taking and highlighting are supported.

The Nook Color makes it easy to share excerpts via e-mail or social networks, such as Facebook or Twitter.

The Nook Color will support games, such as crossword puzzles.

The Nook Color offers customizable homescreens that you can swipe between--just like with an Android smartphone.

There's no app store, but B&N will add select media functions to the reader, such as Pandora, and a media player.

A built-in Web browser lets you surf the Internet. There's no support for Flash right now, but Barnes & Noble says it's coming via a 2011 firmware upgrade.

Here's another look at a children's book on the Nook Color.

Selection is a big attraction when choosing an e-book reader. Barnes & Noble claims to have more than 2 million titles in its store.

A standard Micro-USB port handles charging and syncing media from a PC.

The Nook Color has a rubberized backside. The battery is sealed, iPad-style.

The Nook Color has 8GB of on-board storage, plus it offers expansion via a microSD slot.

Previous E-ink Nook models remain available, but Barnes & Noble is hoping the leap to color will distinguish the Nook Color from Amazon's E-ink-only offerings.

The Nook Color is scheduled to ship November 19, but preorders are being accepted now.