Microsoft has put forward an offer to buy complete control of Nook Media LLC, according to internal documents seen by TechCrunch. Redmond's joint venture with Barnes & Noble was set up last year to handle the Nook e-reader, tablet and college bookstore business. If the documents are accurate, Microsoft will dump the academic retail chain while retaining the digital arm of the partnership for $1 billion. The evidence also suggests that Nook Media will axe its Android tablets by the end of the 2014 financial year, concentrating instead on pushing the Nook store onto third-party devices including Windows 8 and/or Surface hardware. Simple Touch owners shouldn't be too worried, however, as the leaked documents state that Nook Media's e-reader division won't be killed off, as the technology is facing its own "natural decline." We've reached out to Barnes & Noble for something more official, and we're waiting to hear back.

Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

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Source: TechCrunch

As if bringing the Nook HD and HD+ access to Google Play this week wasn't already a sweet deal, Barnes & Noble is temporarily slashing the prices for its two reading-focused tablets. The reductions will last until the end of Mother's Day, putting the 7-inch Nook HD 8GB at $149 and the 16GB at $179 (a $50 discount), with the 9-inch HD+ set at $179 for 16GB and $209 for 32GB (with $90 off). Compared to other options like the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 tablets, the deal may be enough to make up for lack of cameras and UI shortcomings on the Nooks. If your interest is piqued, you check out our reviews of both the HD and HD+, and hit up the source link if you'd like to snag one.

Update: We'd also like to remind our UK readers that a similar limited-time offer was put in place a few days ago, dropping the price of the Nook HD from £159 to £129 and the Nook HD+ from £229 to £179.

Filed under: Tablets

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Source: Barnes & Noble

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Barnes & Noble's refusal to open its ecosystem has long been one of our primary complaints about the company's tablet offerings. The Nook HD and HD+ are extremely nice pieces of hardware that have been held back by their own walled software offerings -- having a fast device with a nice screen only gets you so far without the proper apps. The company line up to now has been that walling off content allows for a sort of quality control, assuring that apps are developed specifically for the unique form factor of its devices. And while there's perhaps something to be said for that sentiment in the sometimes-fragmented world of Android devices, it was hard to ignore the fact that offering up exclusive access to content through your own marketplace assures better cash flow. It also, unfortunately, means that without extensive developer outreach, there are sure to be plenty of popular apps that just never make it over to your side of the fence.

With its announcement tonight, B&N acknowledges that, in this case, open is better. The company has responded directly to user feedback and will be issuing a software update to its Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices (sorry Nook Tablet and Color owners) that brings Google Play directly to the desktop. The software will come pre-loaded on new devices and will be available as an over-the-air update. If you can't wait that long, you'll also be able to download it directly from the bookseller's site. The update also brings a few other tweaks to the system, but this is far and away the biggest news. The first question we asked upon getting a quick demo: will you be able to buy content like books, magazines and movies through Play? Yep, that's coming too.

Gallery: Google Play comes to Barnes & Noble's Nook HD and HD+

Filed under: Tablets, Software, Google

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Well, this process seems a bit counterintuitive, eh? This morning, Barnes & Noble introduced a new scheme for getting Nook customers to visit the company's retail stores. The promotion nets you one free e-book when you purchase another, but -- and this is where the offer tripped us up a bit -- you can only make your electronic purchase with a cashier in a physical store. The deal will be up for grabs every weekend, and titles are set to change. There are currently 20 books on offer (available this Saturday and Sunday only), including hits like Along Came a Spider by James Patterson and Bossypants by Tina Fey. Once you make your selections, you'll receive an email with access codes (assuming the rep managed to input your data correctly), at which point you'll need to visit a dedicated Barnes & Noble site to receive your books. Easy peasy.

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Via: ZDNet

Source: Barnes & Noble