Hasta La Gadget!

It wasn’t long ago that Microsoft and Barnes & Noble announced a new digital book agreement. One of the first things to come out of that agreement are Nook apps available for Windows 8 and Windows RT devices. Both of those apps are now available at the Windows Store.

Previously Barnes & Noble’s CEO had promised that the Windows 8 app was “imminent” but didn’t offer an exact launch date for the app when Windows 8 launch last month. Other than Barnes & Noble offering a Nook app for Windows 8 and Windows RT, Microsoft also invested $300 million in Barnes & Noble to purchase a 17.6% stake in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary.

The purpose of that subsidiary was to focus on the Nook digital and college businesses. The investment also guaranteed Microsoft that Barnes & Noble would offer its Nook digital bookstore via Windows 8. The new apps that are now available for both versions of Windows allowing users to read digital books.

This is a big deal for Microsoft when many tablets that are purchased by consumers are increasingly used to read digital books. The reading of digital books is one of the most common things that tablet users do with their devices. This means that Windows Surface tablets have a native digital reading application and a large number of digital books for buyers to choose from rather than Microsoft having to whip something up on its own.

[via CNET]

Barnes & Noble Nook app hits Windows Store is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Barnes & Noble knows where it stands in the tablet race. Sure, the company has been plugging away at the space since the day the Nook Color made its transformation into a full-fledged tablet, but the Nook, it seems, is rarely mentioned in the same breath as the Kindle Fire or Nexus 7, when discussing low-cost tablets. As such, the company seems to rarely mention its devices without discussing the competition — Amazon in particular. In fact, at the launch event for the Nook HD and HD+, reps trotted out Kindle Fire HDs at every possible opportunity.

Seeing the two devices side by side, there’s no question that Nook trumps the Fire in a number of categories, and the bookseller has gone a ways toward making the Nook HD stand out in a field full of bigger players. For one thing, the device is far more focused on the reading experience than the competition, a fact reflected in both hardware and UI decisions. The company has also taken a more aggressive approach toward marketing the device toward families. The question, then, is whether these features are enough to capture marketshare from the more prominent devices. See how the Nook HD stacks up after the break.

Continue reading Nook HD review: a high-def tablet with the heart of a reader

Filed under: Tablets

Nook HD review: a high-def tablet with the heart of a reader originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the device may be old news for those living in the states, Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Simple Touch is now available for those who live across the pond in the UK. The regular model, as well as the Glowlight model, are now available to purchase. Plus, the UK can now also pre-order the NOOK HD and the NOOK HD+, which is set to arrive late next month.

Retailers such as John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, and if course Barnes & Noble‘s own Nook.co.uk site are now officially stocked up on NOOK Simple Touch ereaders. The regular model is priced at £79, while the Glowlight model (which has a front-lit display) will cost you £109. Those who purchase the device will have access to Barnes & Noble’s 2.5 million ebooks.

The company is also bringing their NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ over to the UK starting in late-November, but they’re available to pre-order online right now. The NOOK HD is a 7-inch tablet, while the NOOK HD+ comes with two more inches of screen real estate for those who want a bigger display. The NOOK HD will cost £159, and £229 will get you the NOOK HD+.

If you’re looking for a cheap, simple ereader, the NOOK Simple Touch is about as basic as it gets. We really like the Glowlight model, but the regular $99 model is a steal. It can store around 1,000 ebooks, but the microSD card slot makes it easy to upgrade storage space. Plus, the battery can last for up to two months.

NOOK Simple Touch released in UK, NOOK HD and HD+ available for pre-order is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Raise the alarms! Hackers have successfully nicked credit card information that belonged to customers who shopped as recently as last month at 63 Barnes & Noble stores throughout the US, where some of the more notable stores include those in New York City, San Diego, Miami and Chicago. Sad to say, this credit card data theft was discovered by Barnes & Noble sometime in the middle of September, but they decided to keep quiet about it so that the F.B.I. were able to determine, or at least investigate further as to the culprits behind this digital theft.

Basically, hackers who broke into the keypads in front of registers which were used by customers to swipe their credit cards followed by entering their personal identification numbers (PINs) managed to scoot away with such information, and Barnes & Noble has alerted customers who shopped at any of the 63 Barnes & Noble using their credit card to change their PINs, while making sure their accounts do not have any unauthorized transactions. Makes you wish we were back in the days when the barter trade flourished, no?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: One more reason to root the NOOKcolor: Bluetooth, World of Warcraft hack suspected in turning cities into deathtraps,

Over 60 Barnes & Noble stores have been used by hackers to gain the credit card data, including the PINs, of customers. The security breach was discovered in the middle of September, but was not revealed per request by government agencies so that the hackers could be identified. The data was gathered via compromised keypads, which recorded each swiped card’s information.

A total of 63 stores had the compromised keypads, and were located around the country, including Chicago, San Diego, New York City, and Miami. Barnes & Noble issued a statement saying that customers who shopped at any of the 63 stores should change their PINs as a precaution, as well as check out their recent bank statements for anything out of the ordinary.

As can be imagined, some customers aren’t terribly happy that they weren’t informed about the security breach. Barnes & Noble says that its decision to withhold the info from customers was due to “the direction of the U.S. government,” which instructed the company to keep quiet. Barnes & Noble says that it notified credit card companies of the breach, however.

It continued to say that the company received two letters from the South District of New York’s attorney’s office stating that it wasn’t obligated to share the security breach with customers while the investigation was ongoing. Barnes & Noble, in an effort to identify and eradicate the compromised hardware, sent all 7,000 of its keypads from every store to a company that checked them out. The result was that one keypad was compromised per store, for a total of 63 hacked devices.

[via New York Times]

Barnes & Noble hackers gain customers’ credit card information is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.