Microsoft gets into Nook

[rockymtnhigh]

Microsoft + Nook: It Just Got (More) Interesting ... | Epicenter | Wired.com

You think markets are efficient? Check this out: Barnes & Noble stock opened 2012 at $14.75 per share and falling fast; by January 5, the opening price was just $9.50. At that price, the entire company was worth just $550 million, and there was a very real fear that the entire company could go to zero, following in the footsteps of Blockbuster and other real-world retailers selling content more easily bought online.

Today, of course, all that has changed. Barnes & Noble has sold a 17.6% stake in its digital and college businesses to Microsoft, for $300 million — a deal which values B&N's remaining 82.4% stake at $1.4 billion. And while the $300 million is staying in the new joint venture and therefore not available to help the bookstore chain with cashflow issues, the news does mean that Barnes & Noble won't need to constantly find enormous amounts of money to keep up in the arms race with Amazon. That's largely Microsoft's job, now.

And more: Microsoft deal allows B&N to go toe-to-toe with Amazon and Apple | Internet & Media - CNET News

In the last couple of years Barnes & Noble has made some big inroads into the e-book market, cutting into Amazon's huge lead. As it stands, Amazon still has about 60 percent of the e-book pie, Barnes & Noble has around 25 percent, and Apple sits at around 15 percent, with smaller players like Sony and Kobo left to fight over the crumbs. Of course, those numbers are just estimates, and depending on who you talk to, Amazon's share might actually be closer to 65 percent.

While a strong second place is not a bad position to be in, the problem for Barnes & Noble has been how much it cost to get there and how much it's going to cost to pick up more market share from Amazon and Apple, which has steadily ramped up its iBooks digital reading platform and recently launched a major digital textbook initiative. Both Amazon and Apple, needless to say, have huge cash reserves to dip into for marketing, engineering, and R&D, while Barnes & Noble has appeared at times as if it's simply battling for survival. Enter Microsoft and its $300 million investment in what amounts to a spinoff of Barnes & Noble's Nook digital media business, which includes e-books, textbooks, and all those digital newspapers and magazines its been selling on Nook devices

 

[Ilya]

That's an interesting move. I bet we will see a Windows 8 powered Nook in the near future.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Had not thought of that - but makes total sense. Yet until they add video content like Amazon has or Apple has with iTunes, they will still be at a disadvantage.

 

[Ronnie-]

Had not thought of that - but makes total sense. Yet until they add video content like Amazon has or Apple has with iTunes, they will still be at a disadvantage.

Zune compares quite well in that regard.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[John Kotches]

Zune compares quite well in that regard.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

I thought Zune was dead.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

 

[John Kotches]

That's an interesting move. I bet we will see a Windows 8 powered Nook in the near future.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

It depends, as the nook is highly skinned, so unless they have a change of design (skinning) from either side I'm not so sure this will happen.

Nook and Kindle try lock users into their ecosystem so that they can get as much revenue as possible. The old nook color sold a slight loss hoping to make it up with purchases through the store.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I thought Zune was dead.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

Me too..

 

[Ronnie-]

I thought Zune was dead.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

The "Zune " is dead.

The content is still alive and well, even with the name , on the 360 with the Zune store and there is Zune content on wp.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[yourbeliefs]

Bn and the Nook won't be able to compete with Amazon in my opinion until they fix their ATROCIOUS online store. Seriously, I've never been to a website where I had to go to the Help section to learn how to apply a gift card, and then wasn't even told at checkout how much money I had left on it!! And who thought it was a good idea to not tell you your discounted price and instead just say, "if you don't have enough credits we'll just charge your credit card?"

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Bn and the Nook won't be able to compete with Amazon in my opinion until they fix their ATROCIOUS online store. Seriously, I've never been to a website where I had to go to the Help section to learn how to apply a gift card, and then wasn't even told at checkout how much money I had left on it!! And who thought it was a good idea to not tell you your discounted price and instead just say, "if you don't have enough credits we'll just charge your credit card?"

I only buy books from amazon. Excellent service and I know I can use them on my iPad, Mac, and Kindle. Don't buy books from Apple because I can't even red them on my Mac, although I am intrigued by the interactive iBook for texts.

Sent from my iPad using SatelliteGuys