How the NOOK Tablet might work running Windows 8

[gb18]

Here's some speculation for you.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/20119/how_the_nook_tablet_might_work_running_windows_8

[PeterDe]

I'm not sure this would be good in the long run. Replacing what is essentially a royalty free operating system, to one that is not means higher prices in the long run.

[robotecture]

That article seems to expect a windows 8 powered nook to work alot like a windows 8 tablet with the nook aspect as more of an aside... I dont see that happening... Just as the nook is a reader centric device with a backdrop of abdroid which has been highly customized to a reader focused interface, I see any new nook continuing to be reading focused with app functionality built in as well... It will be a tailored windows metro interface that is "nook"... Your reading material will still be the dominant focus of the experience, as that is what differentiates the nook from more generic tablets...

[mogulman]

Microsoft is very focused on getting updates to the OS on your device.  They do this with Windows Phone.  That is one key area were Android is different from Windows.  That will not change.  Therefore, vendors using Windows 8 will not be able to heavily customize the UI since this will break updates.  The Nook app will just be another tile.  Maybe there could be a way to launch that tile on startup so the user thinks it is a customized Nook tablet.  The UI will still need to follow Windows 8 Metro conventions.

[mogulman]

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PeterDe wrote:
I'm not sure this would be good in the long run. Replacing what is essentially a royalty free operating system, to one that is not means higher prices in the long run.

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Android is not free.  Most vendors have patent licensing deals with Microsoft.  It may be less expensive to use Windows 8 than Android.

[TelSC]

Android is open source software and in any case in any type of long term time frame, anything with the name "Windows" in it won't be cheaper.

[BruceMcF]

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PeterDe wrote:
I'm not sure this would be good in the long run. Replacing what is essentially a royalty free operating system, to one that is not means higher prices in the long run.

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Only if Windows 8 succeeds in driving iOS and Android out of the tablet market. As long as its in direct competition with Android, it will have to price match Android.

As the review notes, switching to Windows 8 will mean live tiles instead of icons, but if hitting the Nook n button brings up a quickstart menu, and your Nook library is on the quickstart menu, the main difference could well be that the inability to display covers correctly on books unless the epub is laid out exactly as Nook books are laid out ought to go away.

One thing to note is that access to Zune/XboxLive for media may not require waiting until Windows8 comes to the Nook Tablet: there's no reason that an Android based Zune app could not be developed for the Nook Tablet (and Nook Color, for that matter). That would provide the ability to purchase downloadable content for when the device is off the web, which the Netflix plus HuluPlus combination does not cover.