Barnes & Noble bringing Google Play to Nook HD and Nook HD+
Barnes & Noble’s Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets are about to gain access to a boat load of apps, games, music, videos, and books courtesy of the Google Play Store. The retailer is adding support Google’s content store to the pair of slates as well as a suite of mobile apps including Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Chrome.
The deeper Google integration seems to be at odds with Barnes & Noble’s broader content strategy, but VP of ebooks Jim Hil is “confident that when people pick up a Nook device, they’re going to use the Nook shopping experience.” At the same time, the addition of Google Play could be appealing to consumers searching out a new Android tablet, so it’s a bit of a give and take situation.
Google Play will come as part of an over-the-air update for existing owners. It should ship out of the box with the Nook HD and HD+ in the future.