Should Barnes & Noble leave Android to make a Windows 8 Nook tablet?

• Edgar Cervantes
• 12 years ago

Rumors of a new tablet from Barnes & Noble are starting to circle the internet, with an announcement said to come by late September. This is no surprise, as we are getting close to a year since the NOOK Tablet’s release. Speculations seem to favor the probability of this new tablet being a Windows 8 device, though, which is much more shocking.

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble have been getting very cozy since the first-mentioned company decided to invest $605 million to step into the e-reader and college business. After the fact, it would not surprise us one bit if something like this took place.

Barnes & Noble has been a relatively important player in the Android ecosystem since the release of the NOOK Color. The book retailer more recently released the NOOK Tablet, which competed directly with the original Kindle Fire. But the 7-inch Android tablet market is getting fierce – could switching the whole focus of their devices be Barnes & Noble’s best bet?

We now have devices like the Nexus 7 competing with other affordable tablets. Odds are Apple will also be launching that rumored iPad Mini. With these on the table, even Amazon and its new Kindle Fire HD tablets are seeing a bit of a rough road ahead.

Arguably, Barnes and Noble could be making a smart move by shifting their focus and aiming to a whole other audience in order to compete. The rumored NOOK device would be released around October, meaning there would be very few other Windows 8 competitors. Most probably with higher prices, making this affordable device stand out.

We have taken Android to a whole new level, where it is much harder for any smaller company to compete. We have grown as Android enthusiasts, and so have our demands. This leaves Barnes & Noble with very few options; this tablet could be dirt cheap or it could be substantially superior to the competition. Both options being very hard to accomplish.

As an Android fan, it would be sad to see any company leave the platform, but can we blame them? After all, these businesses have to look out for their interest and the continuation of their brands. Especially for a business like Barnes & Noble, which has been suffering with the hit physical book purchases have taken. The company is simply not in a position to risk too much.

Remember, though, nothing is official just yet. We will have to wait until an announcement to say for sure. This is simply a topic that could be interesting to bring to the table and discuss with our readers. And it doesn’t only relate to Barnes & Noble, many companies are finding themselves in equally challenging situations lately. The larger Android manufacturers have simply become too strong.

Without further ado, we would like to see what you guys think of this. Would you be upset if Barnes & Noble switched sides? Am I simply crazy and you think the company still has much room to expand in this market?

[Via: Digital Trends]