Microsoft invests $30mln in Barnes and Noble's Nook e-reader

Washington, May 1 (ANI): Software giant Microsoft has announced that it has invested 300 million dollars in American firm Barnes and Noble's e-reader and tablet business.

With its 17.6 percent stake in Barnes and Noble's Nook business, Microsoft gains access to a vast library of book titles and direct contact with the bookseller's hundreds of university bookstores.

According to The Washington Post, this is the latest effort by Microsoft to reestablish itself as a leading tech titan.

"Our complementary assets will accelerate e-reading innovation across a broad range of Windows devices, enabling people to not just read stories but to be part of them. We're at the cusp of a revolution in reading," the paper quoted Andy Lees, a president at Microsoft, as saying.

Now, a Nook app will be featured on any smartphone or tablet that runs Windows 8 after the new software is released this fall, the paper said.

The companies will combine research and development, which has analysts speculating about a more ambitious tablet.

Such a device could feature Xbox games and Office software, the preferred professional software of businesses, schools and government agencies. (ANI)