Microsoft buys stake in Nook, college textbook business(arstechnica.com)
arstechnica.com
Microsoft buys stake in Nook, college textbook business
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/04/microsoft-buys-stake-in-nook-college-textbook-business.ars
10 comments
Getting B&N to drop their very effective invalidity claims against MSFT's "license for linux" mystery patents couldn't have hurt either, and was probably the main motivator.
I hadn't thought about the fragmentation angle here. That's downright fiendish. Good old Microsoft.
Microsoft just paid B&N $300M to ensure that Android continues to fragment. B&N now has the resources to really take Android forward in whatever direction it wants.
And how does that "fragment" Android? I am seriously curious because honestly your comment is so astonishingly bizarre that I cannot even fathom how you tried to make that batch of lemonade.
The fact that the Nook has Android under it is perfectly irrelevant (even less so than the Kindle Fire). B&N can go off and do whatever they want (including switching to Windows 8, BeOS, or WebOS), but it has absolutely zero impact on Android.
EDIT: Really? Sorry I'm not going to temper the language because the parent's "Yeah, we win!" argument is so asinine that it beggars belief. Microsoft brutally lost their assault on B&N, and now is paying them (very, very handsomely). To try to spin this as some master stroke of genius is total absurdist theater.
And how does that "fragment" Android? I am seriously curious because honestly your comment is so astonishingly bizarre that I cannot even fathom how you tried to make that batch of lemonade.
The fact that the Nook has Android under it is perfectly irrelevant (even less so than the Kindle Fire). B&N can go off and do whatever they want (including switching to Windows 8, BeOS, or WebOS), but it has absolutely zero impact on Android.
EDIT: Really? Sorry I'm not going to temper the language because the parent's "Yeah, we win!" argument is so asinine that it beggars belief. Microsoft brutally lost their assault on B&N, and now is paying them (very, very handsomely). To try to spin this as some master stroke of genius is total absurdist theater.
Here's the logic, huggy:
Android is fragmented across multiple axis (UI, Device form factor, OS/API, Marketplace, Services).
Nook is based on Android. It is not, today, a fork of Android as the Kindel Fire is, but it is also not the latest.
B&N, so far has only diverged in a few places (mostly UI).
With a $300M lease on life, B&N can borrow from the Amazon playbook (which appears to be working for Amazon) and further control their destiny by investing in
* a significantly better UI for Nook than ICS provides today.
* Device differentiation that is off the beaten path (apps already need to test screen size / cameras etc...).
* OS/APIs (less likely in B&N's case than others, but still possible).
* Marketplace - This is where B&N will likely follow AMZN's lead... Use some of that $300M to build their own app/book/music/video marketplace that competes with Google Play (and AMZN).
I scratched my head as to why MS made this investment. My 21 years there tell me that whenever an investment is non-obvious there's likely either some deep paranoia or a chance to disrupt a competitor. I think there's some of both here.
There is no doubt (in Microsoft's eyes) that part of the GOOG strategy with Android was to disrupt Windows (and it has been very successful). I have no doubt that 'getting even', just a little bit, was part of this decision.
Android is fragmented across multiple axis (UI, Device form factor, OS/API, Marketplace, Services).
Nook is based on Android. It is not, today, a fork of Android as the Kindel Fire is, but it is also not the latest.
B&N, so far has only diverged in a few places (mostly UI).
With a $300M lease on life, B&N can borrow from the Amazon playbook (which appears to be working for Amazon) and further control their destiny by investing in
* a significantly better UI for Nook than ICS provides today.
* Device differentiation that is off the beaten path (apps already need to test screen size / cameras etc...).
* OS/APIs (less likely in B&N's case than others, but still possible).
* Marketplace - This is where B&N will likely follow AMZN's lead... Use some of that $300M to build their own app/book/music/video marketplace that competes with Google Play (and AMZN).
I scratched my head as to why MS made this investment. My 21 years there tell me that whenever an investment is non-obvious there's likely either some deep paranoia or a chance to disrupt a competitor. I think there's some of both here.
There is no doubt (in Microsoft's eyes) that part of the GOOG strategy with Android was to disrupt Windows (and it has been very successful). I have no doubt that 'getting even', just a little bit, was part of this decision.
I have no doubt that 'getting even', just a little bit, was part of this decision.
You entire logical process is flawed because it rests on the argument that this device is competitive with "official" Android because it runs a heavily derived, gimped, old version of Android. That is terrible illogical, contrary to every historical example. In fact all it does is guarantee that they're always two steps behind, when they could as easily choose Windows 8, WebOS, or any alternative that will allow them to march ahead at their own discretion.
The Nook, like the Kindle Fire, competes on price and on media availability. The Kindle Fire takes some advantage of the Android app ecosystem (though again they're in the dangerous position of trailing Google), while the Nook takes almost none. Both of them compete with iPads and upcoming Windows 8 tablets as much if not more than with Android tablets.
There is nothing strategic in this.
You entire logical process is flawed because it rests on the argument that this device is competitive with "official" Android because it runs a heavily derived, gimped, old version of Android. That is terrible illogical, contrary to every historical example. In fact all it does is guarantee that they're always two steps behind, when they could as easily choose Windows 8, WebOS, or any alternative that will allow them to march ahead at their own discretion.
The Nook, like the Kindle Fire, competes on price and on media availability. The Kindle Fire takes some advantage of the Android app ecosystem (though again they're in the dangerous position of trailing Google), while the Nook takes almost none. Both of them compete with iPads and upcoming Windows 8 tablets as much if not more than with Android tablets.
There is nothing strategic in this.
It seems like Microsoft's patent lawsuit really paid off here: they've strong-armed their way into a share of the ownership of one of the most important Linux vendors for a derisory cash payment.
Or rather, the patent lawsuit backfired, to the point that they had to pay $300M to settle, because it would have been more costly overall for them to let B&N show that the patents infringed by Linux (which MS constantly tells about, but never shows) are actually worthless.
(That seems to me like a better explanation of the data, as it reflects through the media I read -- which of course might be biased)
(That seems to me like a better explanation of the data, as it reflects through the media I read -- which of course might be biased)
I love my nook. This makes me uncomfortable. Somehow MS buying into it makes me worry about its long term survivability.
I feel pain for the old Microsoft Reader team, and Bill Hill, who pioneered a bunch of e-reading stuff and were shut down last year. Sucks being a victim of Microsoft's not trusting its visionaries.
My second reaction:
Microsoft just paid B&N $300M to ensure that Android continues to fragment. B&N now has the resources to really take Android forward in whatever direction it wants.