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Barnes & Noble has announced the launch of its own ebookstore and it will make content available on a variety of devices including the iPhone and iPod touch, BlackBerry, as well as most laptops and desktop computers.

The company said it will offer more than 700,000 titles with new releases available for $9.99. In addition, Barnes & Noble said it will be the exclusive provider of digital books on the Plastic Logic e-reader, a device that will compete with Amazon's Kindle and is slated to launch early next year.

The company says it expects it selection will increase to well over a million titles within the next year and will include every available eBook from every book publisher. Users will also have access to more than a half-million public domain books from Google, which can be downloaded for free.

William J. Lynch

Barnes & Noble's offerings will not be compatible with the Kindle or Sony's eBook reader.

"Today marks the first phase of our digital strategy, which is rooted in the belief that readers should have access to the books in their digital library from any device, from anywhere, at any time," said William J. Lynch, President of BN.com.

"Our goal at Barnes & Noble is to build a service that revolves around the customer, enabling them to have access to hundreds of thousands of titles and read on their smartphone, PC, and many other existing and future devices."