With Microsoft’s $300 million investment, they’ll own a 17.6 percent stake in the new business (valuing the new company at $1.7 billion), while Barnes & Noble will own the remaining 82.4 percent.

The first thing on the agenda so far is a Windows 8 Nook app, as well as working on spreading and popularizing the Nook Study software on Microsoft’s platforms. Just from these two things alone, Microsoft desperately wants content on their platforms. It seems they want their own answer to Apple’s iBooks and to offer Windows users an alternative to Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

However, this could end up being a bitter mistake for both Microsoft and Barnes & Noble if things don’t go even remotely well. Microsoft has a recent history of catching up to established markets by siding with mediocre companies (their partnership with Nokia, for instance). Microsoft’s partnership with B&N, who – let’s face it – is a lesser-performing company in the e-reading market, could become a complete flop if not done right, especially when going up against powerhouses like iBooks and Amazon’s established ecosystem.

Then again, Microsoft lacks any real strategy to compete in the e-reader business in the first place, so this partnership with Barnes & Noble is certainly a good first step if they really want to compete. It will allow them to get more content onto their platform — especially Windows 8 tablets.

In any case, it’ll be interesting to see what consumers will get out of this once the competition is in full swing.

Image Credit: George Kelly

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The 8GB Nook Tablet still has the microSD slot that can be found on the 16GB version, but B&N decided to cut the RAM in half to 512MB, which matches the Kindle Fire.

B&N’s new version of their Nook Tablet makes the battle with the Kindle Fire much more of a fair fight, and it might turn the tables on which tablet looks the most tempting to buy. Both slates are now almost identical, but you have to admit that the SD card slot on the Nook Tablet is something that can’t be overlooked. With the prices of memory cards so low, 32GB of added storage space would be a great upgrade to any tablet. However, Amazon’s ecosystem is something that B&N will have a hard time replicating, especially with Amazon Prime being the forefront of that ecosystem.

The original $250 16GB (with 1GB of RAM) Nook Tablet will still be available if you’re wanting to spend $50 more to get B&N’s top tiered tablet. The original Nook Color is now selling for just $169. Although, just an extra $30 will bump you up to the new 8GB Nook Tablet.

If you had to choose between Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet and Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which one would get your $200?

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Just like any successor device, the Nook Tablet picks up where the Nook Color left off. Underneath the 7-inch LG 1024×600 IPS display is a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP4 processor and 1GB of RAM, as well as 16GB of built-in memory with a microSD slot for more space if desired. The whole package weighs less than a pound and can last for 11.5 hours on battery.

The Nook Tablet runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but just like the Kindle Fire, it uses a custom UI. This means that it’s not an all-purpose tablet that can run any app from the Android Market, but rather a tablet that’s geared towards specific functions such as books, magazines, email, web browsing, video, etc. However, B&N has partnered with a handful developers to create specialized apps and games for the device.

The company says that millions of books and over 250 magazines will be available at launch through Nook Books and Nook Newsstand services, as well as a large selection of Marvel comics and graphic novels. The device will also have Netflix, Hulu and Pandora integration.

You’ll also get free cloud storage service with the Nook Tablet, which will store your purchases and downloads. This way, you’ll be able to delete and re-download content whenever you want, if you have a WiFi connection.

Barnes and Noble claims that their new tablet has a better screen, more RAM and storage, and is lighter than the Kindle Fire. However, all that comes with a higher price. The Nook Tablet will cost $249, which is $50 more than the Kindle Fire.

Pre-orders are starting now, with the device actually shipping out to customers on November 17th. The Nook Color has been discounted to $199.

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