If you've taken advantage of the great sale on the Nook HD (ending today), or if you've had one for awhile and recently upgraded to add the Google Play Store, you might be wondering what apps to add. Here's my list of must-have apps, not available in the Nook App store. 1. Feedly With Google Reader going away this July, you'll need another way to keep track of your feeds. I've been using Feedly for awhile now, and it's an excellent Google Reader replacement. In some ways, I've grown to like it better. For example, I've found its integration with Pocket to...

What news organizations are learning from their e-book efforts (Poynter Online) What's left if B&N sells the Nook division to Microsoft? (The Passive Voice) A 'novel' idea for spreading literature in Africa: The cellphone (Christian Science Monitor) The e-book piracy debate, revisited (NYTimes.com) The fascinating stories behind classic book titles (Flavorwire) Kindle Daily Deals: Subterranean by James Rollins (and 3 others)...

Yesterday, I wrote about the Nook HD mostly from a stock OS perspective. But I know the question you really wanted to have answered was this: "Does it work as an Android tablet?" After three days of using it, my answer is a cautious "yes." Because I still don't have a tablet case for it, I haven't run it through a typical work day. However, from my use in the house over the weekend, I can tell you that it's got potential. Let's start with what it can and can't do. Loading apps from Google Play is a breeze. When you install the...

All right! Barnes & Noble has finally listened to its customer base, and the tech bloggers. They recently announced that they'll be rolling out a software update that adds the Google Play Store to the Nook HD and HD+ tablets. This is excellent news. The Nook HD tablets have consistently received great hardware reviews, but the Nook App Store lags so far behind other app stores that there's no point in drawing comparisons. Good hardware plus crappy app selection does not equal a winning combination. I confess to being surprised by the news. While it's what I've been writing about for a...

Did you miss out on last month’s Barnes & Noble deal bundling every purchased Nook HD+ tablet with a free Nook Simple Touch e-reader? Well, I wouldn’t sweat it too much, seeing as Walmart is now offering the same Nook HD+ as part of an equally as lucrative promotional offer. Every 9-incher purchased via the retailer’s website gets you a free $70 eGift Card that you can then use at Walmart.com, Samsclub.com or in Walmart and Sam’s Club brick and mortar stores. The gift card doesn’t have an expiration date and it can be used towards the purchase of any product, but of...

Canada's Digital Divide Likely to Widen Due to Access and Adoption Failures (Michael Geist) Coursera Begins to Make Money (Inside Higher Ed) Can Indie Bookstores be Saved? (Digital Book World) B&N Upgrades Pubit! to Nook Press (Publisher's Weekly) Kindle Daily Deals: Sucker's Portfolio by Kurt Vonnegut (and 3 others)...

Contrary to a comment on a previous post, I do not have an axe to grind with Barnes & Noble. As I've said before, I want them to succeed because competition is good in the book space, especially the e-book space. Therefore, I want to point out a good Barnes & Noble idea. Apparently every March for the last nine years, they have run a "Tournament of Books." I saw a press release about it today and went to check it out. Lots of companies run bracket-style competitions this time of year, often with a user voting element involved. B&N does theirs...

Book retailer Barnes & Noble has reportedly reduced the amount of titles it stocks by Simon & Schuster authors and lowered the number of S&S books on display as it continues to be embroiled in a debate with the publisher. Neither the chain nor Simon & Schuster would specify exactly what is being negotiated, but sources cited  by The New York Times told the newspaper that Barnes & Noble wanted more funds for displaying S&S titles in coveted spots in the store and to pay lower costs for the books themselves. The bookstore chain also wants more money for events promoting Simon...

By Christina Jones Barnes & Noble just launched a Nook Free Fridays program for its customers. If you own a Nook tablet, you can download an otherwise paid app for free every Friday. The first free app B&N offered, for instance, was OfficeSuite Professional 7, a $15 value. If you’re a Nook user, this is a really cool opportunity. “We are thrilled to offer NOOK customers a variety of exciting apps from top developers for free every week,” said Claudia Romanini, VP of Nook Apps, in a release. “NOOK Free Fridays is the perfect way to highlight our vast offering of exciting content,...

*This article originally appeared on the website of Book Business, a TeleRead sister publication. While predicting doom for Nook, as Book Business columnist Michael Weinstein put it, has become the favored pastime of the book and tech press of late, it’s hard not to read the news of B&N Chairman Leonard S. Riggio’s bid to purchase the chain’s retail stores and take them private—leaving the company’s foundering Nook Media division to fend for itself—as the beginning of the end for the little e-reader that could. (Or maybe it’s the end of the end for the little e-reader that couldn’t quite.) It’s not without a little sadness...

Will eBook adoption Flatten out at 30%  of the Market? (Dear Author) Ann Patchett on books' future: "I think we'll be just fine." (Palm Beach Post) Three e-reading tools I wish existed (Paid Content) German Book Retailers Team Up Against Amazon with New eReader (Reuters) The Three Most Important Lessons We Can Learn From B&N's Nook Setback (Eoin Purcell) Kindle Daily Deals: The Fifth Knight by E.M. Powell...

Engadget recently reported on a Nook Bluetooth speaker making its way through the FCC. Considering all the rumors and other news about Barnes & Noble lately, it’s nice to see that the Nook line isn’t being ignored. However, we’ll have to see about pricing. Bluetooth speakers are common. For B&N to sell these in any quantity, there’d better be either an awesome feature or a super price. There is a blank listing on the B&N site, with no pricing or availability information yet.  ...