Barnes and Noble

The venerable Barnes & Noble may have already thrown in the towel as far as its own NOOK-branded e-ink readers are concerned. Instead, it has partnered with Samsung to put out a NOOK by Samsung line of Android tablets that double as ebook readers as well, not unlike Amazon's Fire tablets, but, well, made by Samsung. The latest fruit of this partnership is a Galaxy Tab A NOOK, based on the more recent 7-inch model introduced by Samsung a few months ago. An entry-level, budget tablet by nature, what this tablet lacks in hardware features, it makes up for in the richness and diversity of content.

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Barnes & Noble has launched a new NOOK reading device, but it’s not the kind you might expect — rather than offering an e-ink display and dedicated reading functionality, the new NOOK comes from Samsung, and by all accounts is a sleek powerhouse of a tablet. It comes with a big price tag (relatively speaking) to match, but gives readers the option to browse magazines in full color and play with entertainment apps.

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After some troubling signs, Barnes and Noble has made it official: it’s going to be dropping many of its customers, namely those living outside of the United States and the United Kingdom. This concerns the Nook aspect of Barnes and Nobles’ business, and will be taking place early next month. It’s a somewhat surprising move, given that Barnes and Noble previously offered the Nook in 40 countries including most of Europe, Australia, and Canada. Now only those located in the US and the UK will get access beyond August 7.

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This week the folks at Barnes & Noble announced that they'd be buying back the shares of Nook they'd sold over the past several years. This began with an October 2012 investment by Microsoft of $300 million dollars to create Nook Media LLC. Two months later, British education and publishing company Pearson purchased a stake in Nook for $89.5 million. Both companies have now sold their shares back to Barnes & Noble, and Barnes & Noble once again owns 100% of the ereader brand they created in the first place.

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Microsoft and Barnes & Noble have officially parted ways on the Nook. The digital reader turned tablet saw an investment from Microsoft in 2012 to the tune of $300 million. At the time, the cash gave Microsoft an 18% stake in Nook. In an SEC filing, Barnes & Noble acknowledges they will buy back Microsoft’s interest in Nook, with the goal making it a standalone business, and likely wholly owned by Barnes & Noble. The book retailer has previously noted they would look to spin Nook off from the company.

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This morning Barnes & Noble's NOOK family expanded with an app that'll turn the audio on with books. The NOOK Audiobooks App is the first "no-commitment" app from Barnes & Noble to offer audiobooks for both Android smartphones and tablets - that means no subscription costs or anything - and it'll be released by the ned of this week. This release will not be limited to any one brand of Android smartphone or tablet, while Barnes & Noble will continue to offer their Samsung Galaxy Tab NOOK devices through the future.

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Samsung's latest Nook-branded iteration on its Android tablet line-up has been announced, with Barnes & Noble putting the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook 10.1 up for sale in-store. Following the existing 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, released back in August, the new version has - unsurprisingly - a bigger, 10.1-inch HD display, but also introduces a new Nook Software update which improves the UI, as well as promising a better overall shopping experience. Existing Samsung Nook tablet owners shouldn't worry, however, as Samsung has something for them, too.

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Barnes & Noble could quite keep its own secret about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, so all we needed to know was how much the ebook-centric tablet would cost and when we could buy it. That's all been confirmed this morning, with B&N announcing the Android slate will show up in stores today, priced at $179.

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Barnes & Noble wants you to know that the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook tablet is enough to get existing Nook owners excited; whether that's enough to turn the company's struggling ebook fortunes around remains to be seen. Samsung outed the new slate - which it designed itself, but which bears B&N's Nook branding - back in June, and now the bookseller is trying to build the prelaunch hype, taking a page out of Amazon's book in the process.

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If you live in one of three major metropolitan areas of the US, and just happen to be an avid reader, we’ve got great news for you. Google is partnering with Barnes & Noble to bring you same-day book delivery. Those of us in Manhattan, West Los Angeles, and San Francisco (all of SF, it seems) can now start reading minutes or hours after placing an order.

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Taking on once more that ereader market that is virtually dominated by Amazon's Kindle brand, Barnes & Noble is expanding the reach of its NOOK GlowLight device across the pond. Now digital book lovers in the UK will be able enjoy their favorite ebooks from a device that has been made lighter, brighter, and more spacious than other brands.

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In an unprecedented move by both parties, Samsung and Barnes & Noble have collaborated to create a tablet made for reading. While the tablet itself has not changed significantly from the rest of the Galaxy Tab 4 line, a Barnes & Noble-branded experience lies underneath.

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