Barnes & Noble's eReader Might Come October 20 and Have Person-to-Person Lending

The NYT piles on the B&N eReader rumors with a proposed launch date of October 20, based on a planned event in NY for that day. What's interesting, besides its rumored Android OS, is the device's lending feature.

The new consumption model grands book purchasers (you) the right to lend a book to their friend—all digitally—but it's still being discussed as far as how many lends people can have and to how many people. Publishers want the number low, and B&N want the number high.

There's also talk of in-store try-outs when you bring your B&N eReader in, but might suggest that the device will only have Wi-Fi and not 3G, like the Kindle. [NYT]