Barnes & Noble is likely to be very well served by this report (perhaps even helping it’s creation), as it will help push consumers on the fence between the two book readers to go with the Nook as opposed to the Kindle.

While not identical to the HD media format war (Bluray vs. HD-DVD, where those who purchased HD-DVD now have a nice paper weight), nonetheless, the consumer ultimately wants to pick the technological item that will *win*. Not only to help reinforce their choice, making them look like they made a smart purchase, but also to help ensure long-term viability.

Can the market bear both e-readers? I suspect yes, as I would imagine the costs to produce e-content for one, and then port it to the other is minimal. But nonetheless, again, the consumer tends to want to back the winner, and if the consumer is being told the Nook has dominated “shipments”, they will likely believe that means that the Kindle is old-hat and the Nook is the new winner.