A new business model is springing up right under our noses. The big players like Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Google (GOOG) have put together a one-stop shop in their app stores.

First off, an app store is just that, a place where you can pick and choose the apps you want to download. The app store is also a place where entrepreneurs can develop an app and with permission place it on the iPhone, iPad or Android device.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) has been hoping to find a potential buyer, but it appears as though its search will end with no buyer.

The book seller has been searching for months for a potential buyer, and the search will likely continue for a couple more weeks, but people close to the bidding process have stated that it looks unlikely that the company will be able to find a buyer.

The publishing industry is experiencing an new and booming business in e-books. According to Forrester Research, consumers spent $1 billion on e-books in 2010. That number is expected to triple by 2015. In the US there were about 10 million e-readers in circulation in 2010, triple that of 2009.

The two leading players in the e-reader market are Amazon (AMZN) with its Kindle and Barnes and Noble's (BKS) Nook. With these readers a single reader can use the reader or a friend can be added as long as they know each other's email, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon (AMZN) is a leading online retail player selling a variety of products including electronics, apparel, books, DVDs and music. It competes with eBay (EBAY), Walmart (WMT), Costco (COST), Best Buy (BBY) and Overstock.com (OSTK) in this market. Amazon recently launched an unlimited video streaming service for Amazon Prime customers that will rival that of Netflix
(NFLX).

We've oft heard the saying: "We must reinvent ourselves." This is the new mantra at eBay. According to chief executive John Donahoe: "Clearly, I hope you see that we are starting to play offense."

EBay (EBAY) has long been a dominant player in the e-commerce industry. Started in 1995, it has brought together buyers and sellers in an auction format. Now, 16 years later and highly successful, the company finds a new competitor in Amazon.com (AMZN), which is grabbing market share. In the meantime, eBay has acquired Paypal, as a wholly owned subsidiary. Paypal, an online payment service, helped to propel eBay's business transactions.

"While the past decade has been tough on investors, some stocks have stood out and managed to soar," notes growth stock specialist Stephen Leeb, adding "Indeed, both Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) -- which are both holdings in our growth portfolio -- recently hit all-time highs."

The editor of The Complete Investor explains, "These two stocks don't say much about tech itself, which, is a slow-growth area. Rather they demonstrate the power of a franchise.

"Further, these are not just any franchises, they're ones that uniquely affect consumer productivity and enjoyment.

There are definitely a lot of happy Beatles fans out there today, as Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced that it would finally be selling Beatles material through its iTunes store.

Fans have been waiting, not-so-patiently, for this to happen for years now, and today it has finally arrived. Apple wrote on its website that "In 1964, the band that changed everything came to America. Now they're on iTunes."

Amazon's (AMZN) 52-week low is $91.70 and its 52-week high is $166.13. It closed yesterday's regular session at $164.97. It ran into some trouble during the after-hours period that followed, falling 4% at one point to $158.30. Is it time to panic and send in the sell order?

I don't think so. Quite frankly, I've learned that this online retailer has the kind of brand equity that will allow it to generate growth for years to come. Consumers love and trust the experience they get from using the site. Not only is this company useful for the long-term, it's also been a pretty good bet for traders as well.

"Each week, we assess the technical strength of the market's leading stocks -- highlighting the ten that we consider most favorably situated," explains Mike Cintolo.

The editor of Cabot Top Ten Weekly says, "We continue to see technical strength in both Amazon.com (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL), ranking both stocks in our weekly top ten.

"The truly big idea with Amazon.com is both powerful and easy to understand. This company is quickly becoming the Walmart of e-commerce, offering items in many categories and, importantly, also selling wares from other, smaller merchants.

Best Buy Inc. (BBY), the nation's largest consumer electronics outlet, is scheduled to discuss its second-quarter fiscal 2011 financial results Tuesday, September 14, in a conference call beginning at 10:00 AM (ET). You can catch a live webcast of the call at the company's website.

During the three months that ended in August, Best Buy named a chief design officer and increased its quarterly dividend. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the company to post earnings of 46 cents per share, which is a 19.6% increase from a year ago. Its revenue is expected to have grown 5.7% to $11.7 billion.

When there's uncertainty to a thesis, I'm not inclined to buy. That might seem obvious on the surface, but I know there are a lot of individual speculators out there who would disagree with me. Take a roll of the dice, they might say. Uncertainty can lead to huge gains, they might counter. Well, it depends on the situation, I suppose. In the case of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS), I think I'll take my chances elsewhere.

At the time of this writing, shares of the bookseller were off by more than 4% in the afternoon session, coming in at $14.36. Volume wasn't yet above average, however.

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) was down earlier this afternoon by over 4% to a price of $115.15, which is well below the 52-week high of $151.09. That might make the stock look unappealing in some sense, but I'll tell you what: the latest earnings report shows that the company is doing very well with its operational strategies.

The following chart illustrates the stock's recent struggles. After peaking in April, the bias has been toward the downside. But is this pullback attractive for those who were considering adding the name to a portfolio?