Microsoft Invests $300 Million in Nook to Take on Amazon and Apple in E-Book Market

[KnightWRX]

"let's use our money to buy into the market that apple is getting into instead of being innovative and building it from the ground up!". This is why I hate Microsoft. Lol

So...

NeXT -> Mac OS X, iOS
Astarte-DVD -> iDVD
SoundJam -> iTunes
NothingReal -> Shake, Final Cut
P.A. Semi -> A4, A5, A5X SoCs
Siri -> Siri

The list is of course longer : List of mergers and acquisitions by Apple

Even Apple "doesn't build it from the ground up!", do you hate them ?

 

[Exhale]

The list is of course longer

Not to mention all of the daily "Apple should just buy XXX". Like Steam.

 

[ericinboston]

Most of the folks on this thread are missing the main point...this new product is really aiming to be an e-reader...something that will battle Kindle and if Apple ever sells a single iBook, then the iPad.

There is a gigantic world market for e-books. Kindle owns that market. iPad owns zip in that market...partly because of the screens, partly because of the size, and partly because the iPad IS NOT FOCUSED TO BE AN E-BOOK READER.

Now...will the e-book reader ever compete with the iPad? Who knows. It'll be years I'm sure. Right now Apple owns the tablet market and there are many competitors out there trying very hard to beat Apple...it won't happen over night...it won't happen in 1 year. But Apple's iPad marketshare will likely fall and I would argue is already starting to. There are quite a few things the iPad doesn't do well (printing, security, closed-environment, iTunes handcuffed, lack of standard ports, etc) and thus room for tablet competition.

The iPod was/is a single-focused product...an mp3 player...that's the main reason Apple was able to be the market leader...it did 1 thing and Apple had an awesome device. The iPad is a tablet...meant to do tons of things. It will be almost impossible for Apple to own the marketshare for such a device.

And before anyone writes back "but Microsoft owns the PC market so why can't Apple own the tablet market?!"....um....no....nobody owns the PC market. Microsoft owns a piece of the PC market which is called the Operating System.

 

[Rocketman]

As one poster in the other thread pointed out, the government does not object to monopolies. They object to price fixing and collusion. So if Amazon regains a near 100% share by "dumping" that's just fine with the government. Dumping is only illegal by foreign companies.

BTW is Amazon "foreign" due to the same tax strategies all the other big tech companies use?

Just askin'.

 

[*LTD*]

There is a gigantic world market for e-books. Kindle owns that market. iPad owns zip in that market...partly because of the screens, partly because of the size, and partly because the iPad IS NOT FOCUSED TO BE AN E-BOOK READER.

The biggest mistake is dividing the tablet market into "tablet" vs. "e-reader."

There is no appreciable e-reader market anymore. The iPad is eating into it on the order of over at at least 10 million units per quarter. Which will only grow.

 

[phillipduran]

Hope Apple is not as smug as many here are. Pride goeth before the fall as they say...

MS has $$$$ and can make some noise in this market if aligned with B&n. Good competition to keep Apple, Amazon and others on their toes.

Pssh. Apple users have earned the right to be smug after all the years of Apple bashing they have endured.

 

[Dr McKay]

Instead of innovating, just throw your money at somebody else's product. That's what Microsoft is good at.

Apple innovates, the others copy.

Yea because Apple never buys companies with good ideas and slaps their name on it. 🙄

They made some noise with the Zune.

And have you noticed improvements to the iPod line have dried up since Zune was scrapped?

 

[pmau]

Too late

As always. Don't get me wrong. I bet there are a lot of smart people working at MS, the company is just to slow to react to changing markets.

Why would I need something like Nook?
Even on Apple's iPad I still use the Kindle App instead of iBooks...

Search = Google
Apps = Apple
eBooks = Kindle
TV = Netflix
Social = Facebook

I don't say I like it, but that's how I see it...

EDIT:

New Stuff = Amazon
Old Stuff = E-Bay

 

[markyr17]

I would not exactly say Apple (or anyone really) has been "innovative" when it comes to eBooks.

Nor is simply creating a new store of their own "innovative".

This article is talking about the product that the eBook is delivered on.

(iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone vs. nook)

Microsoft is investing in Nook.

 

[musorah]

Think globally

Is B & N expanding to the rest of the world? I thought it was a solely stateside operation?

 

[markyr17]

Hope Apple is not as smug as many here are. Pride goeth before the fall as they say...

MS has $$$$ and can make some noise in this market if aligned with B&n. Good competition to keep Apple, Amazon and others on their toes.

I'm not saying there is a problem with Microsoft entering the market - it would just be nice if they could be a little innovative instead of just throwing money around.

 

[Konrad9]

Instead of innovating, just throw your money at somebody else's product. That's what Microsoft is good at.

Apple innovates, the others copy.

...you mean like how someone put Siri on the app store, Apple bought the company, pulled the app, and made it 4S exclusive? That kind of innovating?

 

[PracticalMac]

"let's use our money to buy into the market that Amazon is getting into instead of being innovative and building it from the ground up!". This is why I hate Apple. Lol

Jeff Bezos, pre-iBooks.

IMHO, Apple had everything ready for eBooks long before Amazon with the iTunes store. It was a baby step to simply sign up the publishers and make the iBooks section.

Audio Books on iTunes, for example, predates Amazon eBooks.

 

[Rogifan]

So...

NeXT -> Mac OS X, iOS
Astarte-DVD -> iDVD
SoundJam -> iTunes
NothingReal -> Shake, Final Cut
P.A. Semi -> A4, A5, A5X SoCs
Siri -> Siri

The list is of course longer : List of mergers and acquisitions by Apple

Even Apple "doesn't build it from the ground up!", do you hate them ?

Let's not forget Fingerworks -> multi touch

 

[jonnysods]

Guys save the money. Hire a bunch of engineers and industrial designers and try something new, not now that there is a third generation of iPad.

 

[camnchar]

I don't ever plan on buying a Nook, but its presence can only be good for the market.

 

[rdowns]

Instead of innovating, just throw your money at somebody else's product. That's what Microsoft is good at.

Apple innovates, the others copy.

How misinformed can one be. Yeah, Apple would never throw money at technology they need to compete.

 

[michaelsviews]

Barnes & Noble is doomed

Hey B&N make sure you have a good back up plan. 🙄

Micro$oft 😱 ROFLMAO, they still can't build a solid OS


I seriously cannot stop laughing at this, Barnes and Noble your screwed

 

[Torrijos]

I would not exactly say Apple (or anyone really) has been "innovative" when it comes to eBooks.

Except for Apple's latest push to get real interactive books rather than pdf-like files on your mobile device.

This is the battle of the future for books, interactivity and more visual content in the digital space. This evolution could have been foreseen for years, but nobody in the publishing business did anything about it, the epub format hasn't evolved fast enough, and the main force in the branch (Amazon) hasn't pushed anything forward (in the tools department or the file format).

What is going to happen, to all those e-readers, when the iPhone generation gets to the right age and wants more than simple text books?
In the Kindle device family only the Fire might be able to run interactive books while all generation of iPads are capable of it.

Interactive iBooks ( 😉 ) are a revolution.

 

[Josheh]

I'm not saying there is a problem with Microsoft entering the market - it would just be nice if they could be a little innovative instead of just throwing money around.

Microsoft is a pretty big company. They do a decent amount of innovation. There's a lot of tech they work on too that doesn't quite make it to market. Some of it is pretty cool, even if people are to caught in their own delusional apple world to admit for a second that other companies can actually think up some cool ideas. You have to remember too, Apple has bought a lot of tech themselves to fold into their products or product lineup.

I don't see why everyone is hating on Microsoft for investing in the Nook. They probably could have created their own ebook reader, and probably have something cooked up in their labs. I think it'd be better for them to invest in the ebook market though rather than trying to launch another ebook reader. The Nook is a product that is out there, that is currently being used, that has market share. It's better for consumers too I imagine, because instead of just stuffing another reader in the market they're working to improve one of the existing ones.

 

[Rogifan]

Someone thinks this partnership could challenge Apple as the stock is down over 2% in early trading.

 

[Thunderhawks]

Newco must be the most generic company name I've heard to date, haha.. feels like names used as examples/defaults on forms..

They can call it "Microsoft, Barnes, and Noble"; sounds like a reputable accounting agency or law firm 🙂

I still like:

Dewey, Cheetin and Howe

best for law firms

 

[Flitzy]

Will they call it MS:Barnes and Noble? 😉

Honestly, I hope this lets the Nook take off if only because I love going to Brick and Mortar B&N stores - I don't want to see them go the way of Borders.

 

[forty2j]

The Nook isn't a great device, it's over priced, and the bookstore is under-welming. I guess it makes logical sense for MS to put their money there instead of, say, doing it right and build a decent product. Sometimes they amaze me on their moves. I had already thought the nook was dead; now I'm sure of it.

iPad or Kindle for book reading, those are the standards.

I couldn't disagree with you more.

The Nook SimpleTouch is the finest eReader on the market. I use mine daily.

The Nook Tablet is actually good for a 7" tablet; I got my father one for Christmas. It's sturdier and more reliable than the Fire. All its really missing is Amazon's deals with content distributors; the MS deal means the Zune Marketplace will come over and some form of video rental/purchase will now be available.

Using the iPad for reading is rather like using a 16qt soup pot to boil water for tea. It can do it, but it's rather unwieldy, and there are lots of ways it won't turn out well.

----------

The biggest mistake is dividing the tablet market into "tablet" vs. "e-reader."

There is no appreciable e-reader market anymore. The iPad is eating into it on the order of over at at least 10 million units per quarter. Which will only grow.

Until someone perfects the screen that can switch from eInk to LED, or is superior to both for each of their intended purposes, dividing the market it still appropriate.

 

[ScoobyMcDoo]

So...

NeXT -> Mac OS X, iOS
Astarte-DVD -> iDVD
SoundJam -> iTunes
NothingReal -> Shake, Final Cut
P.A. Semi -> A4, A5, A5X SoCs
Siri -> Siri

The list is of course longer : List of mergers and acquisitions by Apple

Even Apple "doesn't build it from the ground up!", do you hate them ?

I find that on this site, you just have to ignore the mindless fanboys. There is some good stuff here if you can.

As things are right now, I would choose B&N or Amazon over Apple - just because they don't limit you to what you can use to read them. With Apple, I can read it on an iPad (which I don't own) or a uhmmm... Well I suppose I could read it on my iPhone, but not an ideal piece of equipment for reading books. Hell, Apple won't even let me read their ibooks on my mac - both B&N and Amazon offer reading on the mac.