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Barnes & Noble: Major Nook firmware update coming soon

In November, Barnes & Noble will be offering a major firmware update--version 1.5--for its Nook e-reader that offers feature and performance enhancements.

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
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David Carnoy
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B&N is set to deliver version 1.5 firmware in late November. Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble announced today that it will be rolling out a major firmware update for its Nook e-Book readers in late November, calling it the biggest update yet since the Nook was launched a year ago. The company says that version 1.5 of the firmware "will dramatically increase" the page-turn speeds of the Nook 3G and Nook Wi-Fi and deliver additional feature and performance enhancements.

While Barnes & Noble didn't give much in the way of details, it did say that search on the device would be improved, and new features such as customizable library organization and password protection would be added. Also, the update will finally allow you to read continuously (sync from your last page read) across your Nook and any device enabled with the Nook app. Like with the Kindle, you can now pick up and read where you left off as you switch from one device to another.

As part of the same announcement, Barnes & Noble is also alerting Nook for Android users that an update is set to go live later this week (v2.3) that includes "the ability to 'go to' a specific page number, search within a book, view highlights and notes, delete books from the library, plus an updated home screen and enhancements to make reading and managing side-loaded content easier."

For those keeping track of release dates, the Nook was launched on October 20, 2009. While Amazon waited well over a year to bring out a successor to the Kindle 2, we're waiting to see whether Barnes & Noble has any new hardware announcements heading into the holiday season.