• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, February 9, 2010

  With the announcement the Nook will hit most Barnes & Noble stores by midweek, the bookselling giant is finally pressing its advantage in the e-reader market. Now the world will get to see what happens when a national book chain puts its brick-and-mortar muscle behind an e-reader.

Release of the Nook in stores was pushed back from December and has only been available through its Web site. Barnes & Noble sold out its initial supply of the device before the holiday season because of higher-than-expected demand. But the company isn't taking chances its arrival in stores alone will touch off a consumer stampede, throwing in incentives like 10% off with a Nook purchase.

The device got some tough reviews at launch from the likes of gadget gurus like New York Times consumer tech columnist David Pogue and The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg. They found it slower, buggier and suffering from shorter battery life than the Kindle.

In connection with the Nook rollout to stores, Barnes & Noble has released another software upgrade for the device. It promises better overall performance, including improved battery life, and in-store connection to free Wi-Fi.

Certainly, the Nook is likely to get an initial sales surge after hitting store shelves this week. And as long as the software upgrade delivers on said improvements, then the Nook should also have a long-term advantage over the Kindle through in-store sales. The ability to demo the device and buy it on the spot, as well as use in Barnes & Noble stores and cafes, clearly sets it apart from the Kindle. And it should help the Nook close the gap with its rival's sales.