Barnes and Noble introduces the Nook HD family.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Barnes and Noble introduces the Nook HD family.

US book retailing giant Barnes & Noble has refreshed its e-reader and tablet lines in attempt to keep pace with market-leaders Amazon and Apple.

The firm today unveiled the 7-inch NOOK HD e-reader and the 9-inch Android-based NOOK HD+ (pictured), with prices starting at US$199 and US$269, respectively. It notes that the latter is nearly half the cost of “the leading large-format tablet” – Apple’s iPad.

“We designed our larger format tablet NOOK HD+ because we think there’s big demand from customers for a super-light, extremely high quality 9-inch tablet, at half the price of the iPad,” said CEO William J. Lynch.

The NOOK HD – touted as rival to Amazon’s Kindle - claims to offer “the highest-resolution display ever” on a 7-inch tablet at 1440 x 900. It is powered by a dual-core 1.3GHz processor. The HD+ boasts a 1920 x 1280 display and uses a 1.5GHz dual-core processor.

In terms of content, Barnes & Noble says the NOOK Store now offers more than 3 million books and “significant new additions and advancements to the NOOK content ecosystem.”

Among the new features is a service called Profile enabling a “personalised experience,” allowing the devices to be safely shared between family members - for example by blocking certain content from child profiles.

Both devices will be available in the US and UK later this year.

New NOOK HD and HD +. Videos.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

New NOOK HD and HD +. Videos.

Barnes and Nobles today introduced the NOOK HD and HD plus e-readers. Videos promotional and 360º views below:

Microsoft joint venture with Barnes&Nobles investing $300 million. To ditch Android for Windows 8 ?

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Microsoft joint venture with Barnes&Nobles investing $300 million. To ditch Android for Windows  8 ?

The plan is to spin out the "Nook" e-reader business from Barnes & Noble, along with its College business.

Microsoft's $300 million investment is worth a 17% stake in the new company, which means it's valued at $1.7 billion.

Amusingly, Barnes & Noble's entire market cap was $792 million at the time of the investment.

Barnes & Noble's stock is up 80% in pre-market trading

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Barnes & Noble will own the rest of the company, and the new tablet focused company will still have a relationship with Barnes & Noble bookstores.

In January Barnes & Noble announced that it was exploring options to spin out its Nook business. At the time it appeared as though the Nook business was unprofitable. Barnes & Noble said sales of the Nook Touch were worse than expected and investment in the Nook business is dragging on earnings.

There's a lot to unpack here. Here are some of the things to think about:

Microsoft now has a stake in a company that is on a path to become a rival. The Nook Tablet, much like the Kindle Fire, is an entry level tablet. We doubt this new company is going to settle for making just Nook e-readers and entry level tablets. Eventually it will have a full blown tablet that rivals Windows 8 tablets.

Nook has forked Android for its tablet operating system. Again, this means Microsoft is investing in a rival platform, unless the new Nook company plans to ditch Android and use Windows 8 for its tablets. That seems unlikely. We assume it would take a lot of work to rebuild the code from scratch.

However nothing on that way, is impossible.

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble were in patent lawsuits until recently. They've settle their patent disputes and are now partners.

This is Microsoft's mode of operation lately. It is really into partnering with companies. Look at its deals with Facebook, Nokia, and now Barnes & Noble. It's much better than trying to build out an e-book business.

Microsoft saves Barnes & Noble's Nook business.

B&N NOOK Simple Touch™ with GlowLight™ $139 available for pre-order.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

B&N NOOK Simple Touch™ with GlowLight™  $139 available for pre-order.

World’s #1 Reader now with breakthrough GlowLight™:

• First & Only Reader designed for perfect bedtime reading
• Breakthrough technology creates a soft glow optimized for low light reading
• Warm light illuminates entire screen evenly
• End bedtime reading debate-when you want to read & your partner wants to sleep
• GlowLight turns on instantly and adjusts easily with a touch
• Revolutionary built-in anti-glare screen protector delivers just-like-paper experience – great in bright sun
• Exclusive Best-Text™ & adjustable fonts make words crisp & clear
• Fastest, most advanced E Ink® display for seamless page turns
• Lightest NOOK ever – perfect for long reading sessions and carrying everywhere
• Unbeatable value: "2 Readers in 1" - Best of E Ink & Lit Display' -Amazing in bed and at the beach.

Specifications:

Source: barnesnobles