Microsoft takes a smart step into the ebook business. Let's hope it doesn't trip.
I was startled this morning when I read the intro of a Los Angeles Times article titled, "Barnes & Noble, Microsoft team up on Nook, college businesses." The opening line reads, "An infusion of money from Microsoft Corp. sent Barnes & Noble Inc.'s stock zooming Monday, as the software giant established a way to get back into the e-books business."
What? Microsoft was in the ebook business? Where? On Neptune?
Well, I suppose Microsoft was in a rudimentary ebook business using computers and CD-ROM disks. Then there was the so-called Microsoft Reader, which was discontinued this year.
I think at one point it must have coincided with its efforts to scan books in competition with Google. It also bailed out of that and passed the millions of scanned books to archive.org, where they remain as piles of data. When Microsoft owned the scans, you could use the Microsoft search engine to find cool citations. This was a dynamite resource for students and thesis writers, as well as general researchers and the media. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't see the value and dropped the idea.
This is the problem. Microsoft is fickle and short-sighted. The evidence of this is everywhere, from the animatronic Barney doll (now an amazing collectible) to its encyclopedia, travel service, early online magazines, and on, and on. The company just seems to lose interest at the drop of a hat. It's weird to witness this and at this point in history, a list of these dead-end projects and investments could fill a book.
So, now Microsoft is doing this deal with Barnes & Noble. What should we make of it? First of all, this is not about Microsoft wanting to get back into the ebook business. It's about Microsoft looking for partners for Windows 8 on a tablet. Why not the Nook? Nobody else seems interested. The way Microsoft did the deal with Nokia, there is no reason it cannot work with Barnes & Noble. But this time the effort may actually pay off.
With Nokia, Microsoft jumped into an ecosystem that was at the top of its game but having a heart attack. It tried to revive the victim with flawed technology that was too little too late. I'll be surprised if it is ever successful with the phone software.
With Windows 8, there will be a moment when there is actual and usable buzz that can be exploited and adding the Nook to the mix could actually work and boost the fortunes of the device. It has no competitive advantage being an Android device. The Android OS is not doing well on the tablets. In fact, it is poised to fail. This is indeed an opportunity for Microsoft to move in on the platform and it may as well start with the Nook.
The only weird aspect to this is that the Nook is more of an ebook reader rather than a tablet. The Kindle is a pure ebook reader and the Kindle Fire is straddling the ebook and tablet worlds. In the end, a Windows 8 Nook would be competing with the Kindle Fire.
I think this is exciting for a number of reasons. First, I like Barnes & Noble and this gives the company a deep-pocket partner. Second, it creates positive buzz, unlike the negative buzz created by the Nokia arrangement.
My only fear is that Microsoft will lose interest in a couple of years and walk away from the deal, oblivious to the lost potential. Another project abandoned on Neptune.
If nothing else, this is very good news for Barnes & Noble and that can't be bad.
You can Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter @therealdvorak.
More John C. Dvorak:
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Go off-topic with John C. Dvorak.
