Barnes & Noble’s 8GB Nook Tablet matches Amazon’s Kindle Fire at $199, 512 MB of RAM

The Nook

Barnes & Noble just confirmed that it’s releasing an 8GB Nook Tablet, and the price may sound familiar: $199, the same as Amazon.com charges for its rival Kindle Fire tablet. Also notable: In addition to reducing the storage, Barnes & Noble cut the RAM to 512 MB on the 8GB Nook Tablet. The 16GB Nook… Read More…

Report: Barnes & Noble plans 8GB Nook Tablet, trying to douse Amazon’s Kindle Fire

The Nook

Barnes & Noble’s CEO previously criticized the 8GB of storage available on Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire as “deficient for a media tablet” — seeking to justify the additional $50 for Barnes & Noble’s 16GB Nook Tablet. Well, it looks like the bookseller may be changing its approach. The Verge has documentation from Wal-Mart showing that Barnes… Read More…

Judge: Microsoft’s Android tactics were ‘hard bargaining,’ not patent misuse

The Nook

We learned a couple weeks ago that Barnes & Noble lost a key preliminary decision to Microsoft in their patent dispute. A new court filing explains the judge’s reasoning, and sheds light on some of the legal issues behind Microsoft’s effort to collect patent royalties from Android device makers. Theodore Essex, administrative law judge for the International Trade… Read More…

If Amazon.com opens physical retail stores, this would be a great place to start

University Village. Photo via U Village

Could this be the year that Amazon.com opens brick-and-mortar retail stores? Well, if the Seattle online retailer were to buck tradition and give that a shot, something that The New York Times recently speculated about, here’s the perfect location for them: the former Barnes & Noble at the University Village shopping mall. Barnes & Noble… Read More…

Microsoft vs. Barnes & Noble: Here are the 3 patents they’ll be fighting over this week

barnestablet

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble will go to trial this week at the International Trade Commission in a closely watched test of Microsoft’s claims that Google’s Android operating system violates its patents. At issue are technologies used in Barnes & Noble’s Android-based Nook Color, Simple Touch Reader and Nook Tablet devices. Barring a settlement, the… Read More…

Barnes & Noble won’t sell Amazon books in stores, says rival undermines industry

barnesandnoble

The rivalry between Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com escalated sharply this afternoon as B&N lashed out against Amazon’s push for exclusive digital book deals with publishers and authors — saying that the practice undermines the industry — and said that its physical retail stores won’t stock books published by Amazon.com’s fledgling publishing division. Barnes &… Read More…

From e-book to bookstore: Amazon and Houghton Mifflin strike new distribution deal

amazonlogo

Amazon.com is increasingly expanding into the business of book publishing, and it has some formidable distribution mechanisms in the form of its own e-commerce site and Kindle devices. But what about people who prefer to pick up the ink-and-pulp versions in the local bookstore? Amazon Publishing’s East Coast Group this week announced a new licensing agreement with… Read More…

Say, what? Seattle M&A expert says Microsoft should buy Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble in Bellevue, just a few miles from Microsoft's HQ

We’ve heard a lot of wild M&A chatter to start off the new year, including Amazon.com’s reported interest in RIM. But here’s one of the more unusual head-scratchers. Nat Burgess, president of Seattle area M&A shop Corum Group, recently appeared on CNBC and suggested that Microsoft should consider buying Barnes & Noble. Now, forget for a… Read More…

Free Nook? B&N cuts prices with purchase of NYT or People subscription

nooktabletpeople

Posting from Las Vegas: Barnes & Noble this morning rolled out a new promotion that brings the price of its Nook e-readers and tablets more in line with those of Amazon.com’s Kindle lineup, but the lower prices will require the additional purchase of a New York Times or People magazine digital subscription. The company says… Read More…

Barnes & Noble ponders spinning off Nook e-reader business

The Nook

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Barnes & Noble was looking to sell its book publishing arm. Today, the company announced that it was exploring the possible spin off of its popular Nook electronic reader business. “In order to capitalize on the rapid growth of the Nook digital business, and its favorable leadership position in… Read More…