Roundup: Barnes & Noble up for sale, Amazon corners e-book market, and more

Here’s the latest action:

Barnes & Noble up for sale — ZDNet takes a look at how the potential sale of Barnes & Noble — maker of the Nook e-reader — may impact the company’s competition with Amazon.com and its Kindle.

The demographics of who gets funded — A new report from CB Insights breaks down where capital is flowing, analyzing the factors influencing which companies get funding and which don’t. Get the full details at ReadWriteWeb.

Sony Ericsson gets visual voicemail — Sony Ericsson has licensed visual voicemail software from a customer called Silent Communication, making voicemail messages accessible and manageable even when customers are out of range.

Nexon drafts former Outspark CEO — Korean online game publisher Nexon has recruited Owen Mahoney to be its new CFO. Mahoney most recently served as CEO for online game publisher Outspark.

Amazon.com corners the e-reader market — The major online retailer says that its Kindle e-reader accounts for about 70 to 80 percent of the e-book market, crushing competition from Sony and Barnes & Noble.

Solar growth slows — A new report by iSuppli says that the solar market remains large and rife with opportunity, but isn’t growing as fast this year as it did last. Earth2Tech has the details.

Sharp to launch 3D smartphone — The major electronics company says it will launch a smartphone with a 3D display that can be viewed without special glasses. The new product is being positioned as an iPhone killer.