Barnes & Noble Nook discussion

What do you think of this news? Microsoft is considering buying the nook. What does this mean for us? I noticed this morning that the new nooks now have android content.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/08/micr...

I would like to hear the responses as well. I am hoping that it would be a seamless transfer that adds bonus's to our existing nooks. Hoping......

The thing is, Microsoft is a control freak. That means a lot of the things that might be GOOD could very well be VERY VERY BAD. For example. I have a Zune. It is no longer being made, there are no software updates. I spent a huge amount of money for the Zune, but there is no replacement, no upgrade. Just "too bad, so sad! no more goodies for you!"

So, would Nook be better? Or, would the Nook be taken apart and sold off in pieces? Would their obsessive control over software mean that we are then limited to one type of download from one single source instead of being able to download books from various sources? I download from a lot of different places. Would that capability go away?

A lot of bad things start flowing through my head . . .

Good points. I suspect B&N did not anticipate how fast the tablet business would change and how hard it would be to keep up. I don't know if they make most of their money from the sale of the readers or from the books themselves (hardware or software?). If they make most of their money from the ebooks then they'll keep making it because there will be more and more devices that people can read them on. For my part I just want to read my ebooks on something, sure it will change every 5 years or so.

very good point Leiah which is one of the main reasons I didn't want a kindle. that is what happens when one company controls things - I like choice.

meanwhile my Sony reads epubs like my nook and also has expandable memory and library app - but it is a reader and not a tablet.

A friend already has a Nook HD, and it updated with Android. She did not get an announcement before it happened, but she must have gotten a message when it did. Now she and Kindle on her Nook without having to buy that card.

Pat wrote: "very good point Leiah which is one of the main reasons I didn't want a kindle. that is what happens when one company controls things - I like choice.

meanwhile my Sony reads epubs like my nook a..."

My Nook and Kindle are both just readers and I love them but if I had to choose, I would stick with my Nook.

I have both. A Nook Tablet and a KindleFire. I know, rampant consumerism, but I got a kickin' deal on the KF and with all the Kindle freebies out there, I couldn't resist. Especially as much as I read.

There are pluses and minuses to both of the units, IMO. I posted some of my ideas about what makes them different from one another (digging....digging.... digging.... now where did I post that? Aww, it's around here SOMEWHERE but I will find it later and post it here.)

The thing with the KF of course is it's proprietary formats AZW or AZW1, TXT, MOBI or PRC. There is that word: proprietary. As in, “if you want to read a book, go to Amazon and get it or do without.” Of course, with all the smart people out there, there are ways to convert incompatible Kindle e-book formats in order to read them on the Nook. Once the file is converted, you can transfer it to the Nook. Backwards compatibility is also available, i.e. Nook to Kindle. Sometimes it comes down to ease of conversion and how badly you want to read a particular book on your device.

I have a Nook app on my KindleFire. When I click on the app, a screen comes up that looks just like the startup screen for the Nook. My personal Nook library is synched to the KindleFire and I can then read my Nook books and magazines on the KF. It's pretty cool. However, if I want to read something else on the KF, say a pdf file, things are different.

For example, my knitting patterns. I download patterns from interweave.com for a lot of my knitting projects. I downloaded Circus Socks and Heather Hoodie. Circus Socks works fine. Heather Hoodie, however, only works if I pull it up on my Nook. If I try to pull it up on the KF it says “this item is protected with DRM and cannot be read on your Kindle. . .purchase a copy from the Kindle Store.” See? What a pain. I own the darn thing, but they want me to buy ANOTHER copy so I can use it on my Kindle? Pfffttt on that! I simply downloaded it to my Nook and I was off to the local knit shop to sit and visit and knit. Easy peasy!

I use Calibre to translate and store my e-book library. If you aren't familiar with it, check it out at:

http://calibre-ebook.com/

Some books are, of couse, DRM protected, or won't translate to other formats, but most of my library is fine. I am, however, very very uneasy about the whole Microsoft thing. Their purchase of Nook may very well spell the end for open sourced book access if we don't keep an eye on things.

I found the following interesting:

http://paidcontent.org/2012/10/10/boo...

From their startup summary, “Startup BookShout lets users import their Kindle and Nook books into its iOS, Android and web-based social reading platform. But the function doesn’t work very well yet, and it seems as if it’s only a matter of time before Barnes & Noble or Amazon shuts it down.”

That was October 10, 2012. And, of course, what should happen next but:

“Dallas-based book startup BookShout has raised $6 million in its second funding round. When the company launched, it allowed users to import their Nook and Kindle books onto the platform, but that function has been turned off.”

“That hasn’t stopped Ambassador Enterprises, a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based venture firm, from investing again. “By serving authors and publishers in a process-oriented, measurable way, BookShout is eliminating the guesswork and building tools that let content creators take control of their audience,” Ambassador CEO Daryle Doden said in a statement.”

And I think that comment, “let content creators take control. . .” is going to be the biggest problem going forward...........

I found this today... a reply from microsoft. I think tech crunch got a little over excited with an unverified comment.

http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/mic...

Glad I am not one of those who ran out and bought B&N stock. I see that it went from a high of $23.57 yesterday to $20.67 at the bell today.

It is a shame B&N didn't have better management from the start on the Nook. It is a great product, but marketing and development haven't exactly been brilliant. And their website for reviews is terrible - anyone can post anonymously and just click a number of stars. I never go there for input on books I am considering.

They need to throw out the Overseers and bring in some of "the young and the brilliant" to revamp how the product is being handled. It is a shame to see such a good platform go to waste.

I totally agree with you Leiah I purchased the Nook because I love B&N - I want to see them continue with it and be successful, like I know that they can. I am sure there are a lot of "young and brilliant" talent out there who would be happy to work on the Nook. I just hope they don't throw in the towel and sell it away.

I know, it would. I love my Nook, even though the Kindle sometimes works better for what I am doing at any particular moment.

It is a lot like the publishing industry - I am reading for review today, just took a moment for a break to check my mail - I reposted from another site regarding publishing and the changes that need to be made. You might check it out if you get a minute.

I would love to, where do I need to go???