Will Microsoft Buy NOOK® from Barnes & Noble?

[le Roi-Soleil]

"Reports today that Microsoft has made a $1 billion bid to buy the NOOK® device and digital content business from Barnes & Noble make sense in light of rumors from February that B&N was considering changing its digital strategy, including shuttering the NOOK® device business following a disastrous holiday quarter..."

Link (Forbes): http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremygreenfield/2013/05/09/commentary-microsoft-to-buy-nook-what-it-could-mean/​

What could this mean for B&N?
Do you have a NOOK®?
How will this affect you?



Personally, I am open to this change, but I am concerned with what Microsoft would do to the NOOK®'s interface. They will, most certainly, get rid of the Android software, but what would they replace it with? Perhaps there will be a Windows 10 by 2014.

While I am open to the change, I am hoping that it will not occur. I adore B&N (as much as I hate corporate empires)!



Discuss!

 

[Juliacoolo]

This would be a dumb move by Microsoft. They are perfectly capable of creating their own tablets. They would be running their own OS on "Nook" tablets that they created. Essentially, they are just buying the name "Nook".

Personally, I don't see why anybody would buy a nook in the first place. The kindle is far superior, and even at that, might as well just get a real tablet and download the kindle app.

The only thing that makes moderate sense to me is if they're trying to buy out some of their competition. A billion dollars isn't really a bad price, but beating competitors by owning them is a rather hasty move.

 

[Rally]

Personally, I don't see why anybody would buy a nook in the first place. The kindle is far superior, and even at that, might as well just get a real tablet and download the kindle app.

I feel that is probably why they want to buy the Nook, for the name, but also to compete with Amazons Kindle. And like it said on the site, B&N needs a big partnering company after major losses.

Microsoft has wanted to get into the eBook business, and this might be the way to do it. They could come up with a completely new and reformed tablet OS to compete with both Apple and Amazon. This could completely change the outlook on it, with better customer service, and low prices on the new OS.

 

[le Roi-Soleil]

Personally, I don't see why anybody would buy a nook in the first place. The kindle is far superior, and even at that, might as well just get a real tablet and download the kindle app.

I beg to differ.

Here is the NOOK® HD competing against the Kindle Fire HD.

NOOK® HD:
"Screen
7" Fully Laminated Screen
1440x900
243 pixels per inch
Displays HD @ 720p

Specs
11.1 oz (315 g)1
1.3 GHz Dual-Core Processor OMAP 4470
Expandable Memory2
Battery lasts up to 10.5 hours of reading or 9 hours of video3
Dual Stereo Speakers

Content
Books
Magazines
Newspapers
Movies
TV Shows
Apps
Catalogs
Google Play

Other Features
Email & Web Browsing with Chrome
Seamless access to YouTube™, Google Maps™ & Gmail™
Personal profiles for each family member
Ad Free Experience
Scrapbooking
In-Store Support
Free Wi Fi in B&N Stores
Read NOOK Books Free in B&N Stores
Sample Books for Free
Supports Microsoft Office Suite
Parental Controls
Free Cloud Storage
Book Lending & Borrowing"

As compared to the Kindle Fire HD:
"7" Screen
1280 x 800
216 pixels per inch
Displays HD @ 720p

13.9 oz (395 g)
1.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor OMAP 4460
Battery lasts up to 11 hours of continuous use
Dual Stereo Speakers

Books
Magazines
Newspapers
Movies
TV Shows
Apps

Sample Books for Free
Email & Web Browsing
Supports Microsoft Office Suite
Parental Controls
Free Cloud Storage
Book Lending & Borrowing"

Personally, I have used both, and I LOVE the NOOK® HD twice as much as the Kindle Fire HD, but hey, that's just my opinion.

Aesthetically speaking, the Kindle Fire HD is a bit hefty, but has a nice, sleek design, while the NOOK® HD has a cute, quirky design (which is what I love).

 

[omahanime]

Personally, I don't see why anybody would buy a nook in the first place. The kindle is far superior, and even at that, might as well just get a real tablet and download the kindle app.

I prefer an an Android tablet and just download the apps. I have not looked at a Kindle recently, but when they first came out I did not see a USB port or SD card slot.

 

[Breakfast Cereal]

In the Kindle vs Nook argument, I don't like either of the two. The Nook HD (finally) has Google Play and slightly better specs, but the Kindle has the better bookstore. However, they can both run Cyanogenmod 10.1, (granted, an alpha version, but still) which is all that would matter to me in terms of software.
A Nexus 7 or 10 would have much more to offer in terms of media consumption, specs, and general features/software in a tablet. Even the lower-end Tegra 3 in the Nexus 7 decimates the dual-core OMAP chips in the Kindle and Nook in both benchmarks and everyday use.
/endrant

On the topic of Microsoft buying Nook, I think it would be an okay decision, for Microsoft at least. They would be taking out one of the major competitors in the e-book market while putting out their own e-book library for phones and tablets (if that's what the deal entails).
No idea what they'd do to the Nook's software, though. Knowing Microsoft, I bet they'd keep it the same but just take out the recently added Google Play Store.