Samsung, Barnes & Noble to Co-brand New Custom Tablet
Korean mobile device kingpin Samsung will co-brand a custom 7-inch tablet for Barnes & Noble (BKS) based on the manufacturer’s Galaxy Tab 4 model and featuring the bookseller’s Nook software.
Korean mobile device kingpin Samsung will co-brand a custom 7-inch tablet for Barnes & Noble (BKS) based on the manufacturer’s Galaxy Tab 4 model and featuring the bookseller’s Nook software.
Barnes & Noble said it will sell the new tablet in conjunction with its current Nook e-readers, which means the company’s full-bodied Android-based Nook line likely is on the way out. The companies said they’ll unwrap the new tablet together in the United States in early August. Barnes & Noble said it will outfit its 700 retail and online bookstores with the tablet at that time.
“We are very excited and proud to partner with Samsung, a world-class technology and tablet leader, to create customized co-branded devices featuring our valuable NOOK reading experience and digital content catalog for Barnes & Noble customers nationwide,” said Michael P. Huseby, Barnes & Noble chief executive.
In February, Barnes & Noble cut jobs from its money-losing Nook unit in the wake of a 60 percent sales drop in hardware sales for the 2013 holiday season. At the time Huseby referenced the Samsung deal without naming names when he said the company planned to deliver new hardware in 2014.
The obvious win for Barnes & Noble is Samsung’s name branded on the new tablets, a factor that Huseby readily acknowledged. The company said the Samsung partnership enables it to lower hardware costs associated with producing the Nook tablet and gains it a much needed branding boost. The net net for Barnes & Noble, officials said, is the bookstore reseller can focus on building Nook content.
Huseby said Barnes & Noble will continue to support its existing Nook GlowLight tablet.
For Samsung, the deal brings the considerable heft of Barnes & Noble’s retail and online sales presence, particularly considering it's for a model the company already makes.
“We are excited to be taking this next step with Barnes & Noble to offer Galaxy Tab 4 devices that are tailored to the needs of their customers and enhance the NOOK reading experience,” said Tim Baxter, Samsung Electronics America president.
Earlier this year, troubled mobile device maker BlackBerry (BBRY) struck a similar manufacturing deal with Taiwan manufacturer Foxconn but the co-branding aspect of Barnes & Noble’s arrangement adds a different twist to this arrangement.
