Microsoft Invests in Barnes and Noble Nook Division So It Appears a Windows 8 Tablet Is In the Works Or Will It Be the Windows Phone OS?

This is a good move probably from both sides and the Nook has been doing well and this might be the tablet jolt that Microsoft needs. I have been a tablet owner since day one and 5 years ago people used to think I was a Goober as I said one day all will be using tablets, and look where we are today. On my current Windows Tablet I have the Nook Reader.
Will it also function as a Windows e-reader too? I would guess Office Apps would be a natural and could there maybe even be a Windows Phone operating system tossed in here too? This big move will compete with Apple and Amazon in the tablet area and by the way you can subscribe to the Quack on the Kindle if you follow down on the right hand side of the page. At any rate this development will be interesting to follow and I can bet it will move pretty quickly. BD

Microsoft agreed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Barnes & Noble’s Nook division on Monday, giving the bookstore chain stronger footing in the hotly contested electronic book market and creating an alliance that could intensify the fight over the future of digital reading.

The announcement was the latest surprise in an unpredictable and rapidly shifting e-book market, which is crowded with technology giants trying to chip away at Amazon.com’s dominance. Amazon once had close to 90 percent of the e-book market, but since then, a handful of players, including Apple, Google and now Microsoft, have edged in.

As part of the deal announced Monday, the two companies will settle their disputes over an array of technology patents. Barnes & Noble will also produce a Nook app for the forthcoming Windows 8, a revamping of the Microsoft operating system that will take advantage of touch screens. While Windows 8 will have an app store, analysts expect it will need to be more tightly coupled with a service for buying books and other forms of entertainment to better match the offerings from rivals.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/microsoft-deal-adds-to-battle-over-e-books/?smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&seid=auto