Riding a wave of publicity about the creation of a digital bookstore with more than 700,000 books, Barnes & Noble now dominates the Top Free Apps category in the Apple App Store's book section.

This move into the App Store pits the bookseller directly against Amazon.com, Inc., and as the screenshot shows, Barnes & Noble now holds the tops spots in the category--rising above Amazon-owned Stanza and Kindle for iPhone applications. This new e-book storehouse at Barnes & Noble will contain 500,000 downloadable free public domain e-books via a partnership with Google Books, valuable leverage in the digital book market.

Nevertheless, the AP reports a "tepid" response from financial experts: "Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst David Schick said Barnes & Noble remains the leader in a difficult market and the e-book business is promising, but overall the move 'will not stem the tide of general pressure' on the retailer."