The requirement to use in-app billing systems from app stores has come under heavy scrutiny over the past couple of years, and in that time Google has actually cracked down on some long-standing loopholes. Now, Amazon Audible and Barnes & Noble Nook have lost the ability to handle in-app purchases on Android over Google’s crackdown.
Expand Expanding Close
For its latest Nook device, Barnes & Noble partnered with Lenovo to create a branded Android tablet. The Nook 10-inch from Lenovo notably features Google Kids Space.
Expand Expanding Close
When tablets became the next big thing in 2010, every tech company jumped into the fray hoping to monopolize on the trend. There are definitely lessons to be learned from the dirt cheap Android tablets, Fusion Garage’s JooJoo, and the like—notably, how companies quickly stopped supporting them. However, some tablets, like the Nook Tablet, get reprieve thanks to CyanogenMod.
From 9to5toys.com (Twitter, Feed, Facebook):
Just days after Barnes & Noble reversed course and began allowing NOOK owners access to over 700,000 apps and games (and books?) from the Google Play Store, both the HD and HD+ versions have received heavy price cuts. For the next week, you can pickup a NOOK HD tablet starting at just $150 (25% savings) and a NOOK HD + for $179 (34% savings). These savings are also available online and in-store from Best Buy. As of right now Barnes & Noble are saying these price cuts are temporary but we’re getting the feeling that they could become the new norm.
There is a good chance these price drops are in response to the Kindle Fire HD sale Amazon launched over the weekend.
Barnes & Noble’s all-new Nook e-reader is now shipping. The company announced via a press release yesterday that the new Nooks have been shipped to those who pre-ordered them. New orders placed via their website will ship immediately, in time for Father’s Day. The device will also be in stock at Barnes & Noble locations. The e-reader features a six-inch display with the latest E-Ink Pearl display technology that responds to touch input. It also surprises with other noteworthy goodies…
Barnes & Noble’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that makes mention of “an announcement on May 24, 2011, regarding the launch of a new eReader device” has become official as the company has sent out press invites. The invitation sports clean design and reveals nothing beyond noting stating that “a special announcement” is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, 2011.