According to the LA TIMES, Barnes & Noble will announce a new eReader soon. This is significant in several respects.

One, they already have the very popular NOOK Color eReader, which has helped grown their eBook business along with its plain jane cousin NOOK.

Two, this demonstrates an investment by B&N that leaves no doubt about the road they see ahead as being paved not with paper, but with electrons.

Third, it puts pressure on the industry's 800 pound gorilla, Amazon, to push its Kindle eReader toward new capabilities, and, I expect, even lower prices.

This new eReader from B&N will likely seem more iPad than Kindle, with capabilities beyond the NOOK Color. And all this is wonderful. Competition in this arena is fantastic, and can only help the end consumer--readers--who will be presented with more choice.

I think it may also signal something down the road, especially from the likes of Amazon: a two-tier eReader offering. The Kindle (which I can only imagine will someday be free with the purchase of a dozen eBooks or so) and a more full featured tablet that can be reader and so much more.

None of this should surprise anyone. The rapid growth of eBooks, beyond what most 'experts' would have dreamed even last year, is just a part now of an appetite for devices that serve as readers, and, in many cases, laptop replacements.

This new offering from B&N may be their signal that they want to get to this new future before Amazon, and broaden their business beyond eBooks. In response, will Amazon soon fire back with their own new offering? I can't wait to see.