(WIRED) -- Barnes & Noble's Kindle competitor may have been the worst-kept secret since balloon boy's disastrous appearance on CNN last week. Barnes & Noble has unveiled an e-reader called "Nook," which will sell for $260 in November. But the advance hype doesn't seem to have hurt the launch of the Nook, an impressive-looking $260 device that will go head-to-head with Amazon.com's Kindle, currently the most successful product in a small but growing market for e-book readers. Basic details of the Nook were published by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday following leaked images that appeared on Gizmodo last week. And Barnes & Noble leaked product details hours before reporters filed into Pier 60 in Manhattan for the announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
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Barnes & Noble unviles an e-reader called "Nook," which ships in November
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The reader will cost $260, which is comparable to Amazon's Kindle
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The Kindle has been the dominant e-reader, but "Nook" has some new features
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Nook lets friends to "lend" e-books to each other; and features color navigation
The Nook, with color icons, a wide selection of designer cases and color-customizable back panel, looks like a fashionista compared to the more bookish @placeholder.