12 replies to this topic

[LilBambi]

Why Microsoft's Barnes & Noble Nook Nab Makes Sense - PCMag

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Barnes & Noble has been trying to figure out what to do with its digital book business for months now. The Nook platform has managed to attract a wide and diverse user base with some compelling software and some nice hardware. But while its digital business flourished, Barnes & Noble’s struggling retail business dragged on the cash-starved company. Now, thanks to a well-timed investment from Microsoft, it looks like it will become the official ebook and digital magazine platform for Windows.

This morning Microsoft wrote a check for $300 million for a 17.6 percent stake in Barnes & Noble’s Digital Division, which will be spun off.

More in the article.

Working company name, Newco

Blech! I hate that name.

I am not going to start calling my Nook Newco. Period.

And Nook for the software version ... what's wrong with that?!

Edited by LilBambi, 30 April 2012 - 02:38 PM.

[LilBambi]

Oh, great...

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When Windows 8 tablets hit the market, Barnes & Noble Digital—aka Newco—will be waiting with prime, potentially exclusive content relationships.

Exclusivity again...

That'll leave my Nook in the dust, right?

[ross549]

Too soon to know for sure. I bet you will still be able to get B&N content on your Nook.

Adam

[LilBambi]

I sure hope so. I bought stuff from both B&N Nook and Amazon Kindle. And don't want to lose either of them. I even bought one of three of a trilogy on B&N and the other on Kindle. Sale pricing on B&N for the first one of course.

[Corrine]

As much as I'm certain I would enjoy an e-book reader, I read too much so stick with trips to the local public library (today I started the 4th book since last Wednesday, which means I read three books in five days).

[LilBambi]

You are worse than me Corrine! I always have 3-5 books going at any one time. Usually read at least 1-2 a week in text form (book or ebook) and at at least 1-2 in audiobook format; often on the road. It's great to have an FM Transmitter for my iPod Touch that goes straight to a station on my FM Radio in the car. Very nice indeed. Especially with the length of time I spend on the road.

[crp]

I don't think "NewCo" is anything more than a placeholder. The company will be called something like "MBN Mobile"

[goretsky]

Hello,

Glad to see the lawsuit between the two parties ended in such a good fashion.  I am really looking forward to seeing Nook apps on Windows Phone and Windows 8 and future Nook tablets running Windows RT (or some derivative of Windows Phone).  I do hope software will continue for Android-based devices, though.

The Nook Color—and the newer Nook Color—have both received a lot of praise as being the strongest competitor to the Kindle Fire, which is the most successful Android tablet to date.

It will be interesting to see how this evolves.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

[LilBambi]

Yes gives both B&N and Microsoft something they want. I just hope it doesn't cost us existing Nook customers (I have a Nook Classic, and also read using the Nook app on the Mac and iPod Touch, and on my Windows computers). I do not want to lose any of that.

Aryeh, just read your Blog posting, It is not every day that you have an epiphany…
Enjoyed it. Added your blog to my RSS feeds.

Edited by LilBambi, 01 May 2012 - 07:19 AM.

[goretsky]

Hello,

Please keep in mind it's not updated that frequently.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

[LilBambi]

Mine are not updated that frequently either.

[Corrine]

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Now that we’re all speculated out about the possibility of a Windows-based Nook (a Wook?), it’s time to start ruminating on what’s cooking between Microsoft and Barnes & Noble on the Windows Phone front.

A B&N commercial agreement filing from earlier this week (which I found via a link in a New York Times story) ended up being well worth poring through, and not just because of a mention of a “Microsoft Reader.”

{Snip}

As B&N and Microsoft announced at the start of this week, B&N is building a Windows 8 Nook app (which this document says will be downloadable from the Windows 8 app store, and which will be free to consumers).

{Snip}

But… and this is just wild and crazy speculation on my part… what if there will be devices running the Windows Phone 8 operating system (Apollo) which are not like the current Windows Phone devices. What if Microsoft is planning to allow OEMs to put the Windows Phone OS on something bigger… like a Microsoft reader.

Snips from Mary Jo's article at Here's the part of the Microsoft and Barnes & Noble agreement everyone's ignoring | ZDNet which presents a different slant.

[LilBambi]

Are we thinking a rival to Amazon's Kindle Fire? Based on this article:


Will Barnes & Noble and Nook usher in a $199 Windows Metro tablet? ZDNet
By Jason Perlow | April 30, 2012, 2:23pm PDT

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Part of the nature of this spin-off, currently called “NewCo” is to produce an e-reader application written for the Windows 8 Metro interface, which will be used on new tablets and PCs running on the x86 and ARM architectures.
But what about e-reader and Nook Tablet devices themselves, running on a Metro-enabled version of Windows?

More in the article.