Barnes & Noble will provide a free e-reader application for Apple 's iPad in time for the tablet's launch on April 3, the bookseller said in a blog.
The B&N eReader for iPad will follow the company's pattern of providing access to its eBookstore from computing and mobile devices, including PCs, Macs, iPhones and BlackBerries.
The bookseller also indicated that its eReader software will also be updated soon for many supported devices for "an enhanced on-the-go reading experience," although it didn't indicate which devices.
The eReader for iPad application will compete with Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader , now sold in bookstores, but the company sees a greater advantage in selling printed books and e-books than focusing on sales of a single e-reader. To that point, the blog notes that the eReader for iPad continues "to fulfill our promise of providing consumers any book, any time, any where."
The bookseller hasn't said how the Nook is selling, but its introduction over the December holidays was delayed and many users and reviewers found the device navigation slow.
In fact, a comment on the latest Barnes & Noble blog from sub_rosa urged the bookseller to fix problems with the Nook instead of focusing on the iPad, while another commenter, jrp, praised the iPad support and plans to buy an iPad in addition to jrp's Nook, calling the ability to use both devices "a huge plus."
The company's support for iPad is also a confirmation of iPad's value as an e-reader device under the more general heading of a multimedia tablet device. Already, a ChangeWave Research survey of 3,100 consumers has given a strong preference to the iPad , by 40%, over other e-readers.
Apple began taking orders for the iPad today, although the device won't be available in stores until April 3 .
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld . Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed . His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com .
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