The tablet wars are not just about who has the prettiest screen or the fastest processor, but also about who offers the apps that consumers demand. Barnes & Noble announced the latest version of their Nook tablet today, and also announced that the new device will be pre-installed with a Netflix app.
Bill Holmes, Netflix vice president of business development, said the following about the partnership:
“We are thrilled to offer the Netflix service on the Barnes & Noble NOOK for the first time . . . We believe that many Netflix members are also NOOK users, and now they can use the device they embraced for reading to instantly watch movies and TV episodes streaming from Netflix.”
One of the Nook’s main competitors, Amazon’s Kindle Fire, utilizes Amazon’s own streaming service, so it makes sense for Barnes & Noble to feature the competition.
Do you think built in access to Netflix streaming will help the new Nook carve out a larger share of the hyper-competitive tablet marketplace?
(via GigaOM and the Sacramento Bee)
While I do understand that Amazon will feature its streaming service, I do hope that they will offer Netflix. Despite the craziness that Netflix has done, I still think they hold the upper hand.