Before the Apple iPad stole the ebook media limelight with its iBookstore, the Barnes & Noble nook was the most eye-catching e-reader on the market thanks to its second color LCD screen. Although out of stock over the crucial Christmas period, Barnes & Noble has now caught up with demand and is offering the nook in stores as well as online.

As a rumor, the Apple tablet can be anything to anyone. We’ve all latched on to the idea that it’s a symbol of hope for the struggling print media industry. We’ve also taken the lack of substantiation as free reign to imagine a device capable of the impossible

Twitter began a rollout of a new Local Trends feature last week, and now the company reports Local Trends is live to all . Once you set your location, Local Trends allows you to see what conversational trends are popular nearby. The cities list is still limited for now, but the selection area indicates Twitter is “working on it” to expand the number of supported localities

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here

This post is part of Mashable’s Fab Five series with Jalen Rose , which highlights trends in the social media space. Jalen Rose is a former 13-year NBA star and current ESPN basketball analyst but may be best known for being a member of the famous University of Michigan Fab Five

Google’s been investing heavily in its future over the past quarter, both in the form of major acquisitions and new product launches . Today, the company is out with its most recent earnings report, with the results indicating that the economy may indeed be recovering, and the company’s CEO Eric Schmidt painting a bullish picture on Google’s future prospects

Geoff Livingston co-founded Zoetica to focus on cause-related work, and released an award-winning book on new media Now is Gone in 2007.