Microsoft aims for Windows 8 e-reader dominance
Microsoft has ramped up its plans for its Windows 8 tablets and future Windows 8 e-readers by investing $300 million in e-book supplier Barnes & Noble Inc’s Nook e-Book business. Is this the start of the fightback against Apple and iPad dominance? Read on and find out more about the Microsoft and Barnes & Noble super-deal!
The deal between the two powerhouse firms means that Microsoft will have access to thousands of e-books at the launch of its forthcoming Windows 8 tablets, as Microsoft hopes to put a dent in Amazon and Apple’s hold on the tablet market.
By tying up the deal, Microsoft has become a big player in the digital books market, just in time for the build up to its Windows 8 operating system, and those incoming Windows 8 tablets gadget fans have heard so much about, also delivering a direct threat to the Apple iPad and in the US, Amazon’s Kindle Fire e-reader and multimedia tablet.
Microsoft boasts of 32 Windows tablets to take on iPad
The deal will see the NOOK e-reader business go global. A joint statement by the two companies reveals one of the benefits to come out of the deal will be a NOOK application for Windows 8, tapping into Barnes & noble’s digital bookstore – one of the world’s largest digital catalogues of e-Books, magazines and newspapers in the US and internationally.
“The shift to digital is putting the world’s libraries and newsstands in the palm of every person’s hand, and is the beginning of a journey that will impact how people read, interact with, and enjoy new forms of content,” said Andy Lees, President at Microsoft.
The aim is to bring e-reading to multiple Windows devices.
“Our complementary assets will accelerate e-reading innovation across a broad range of Windows devices, enabling people to not just read stories, but to be part of them. We’re at the cusp of a revolution in reading.”
And if that means more choice for gadget fans, then all the better. Amazon’s Kindle Fire has yet to launch in the UK, but any Windows 8 e-reader will still be in direct competition with the Amazon Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G. And with talk that Microsoft could bundle Skype video calling and instant messaging into any e-book tablet or e-reader, competition will be fierce.
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