Barnes & Noble Makes Google Play Available On Its Nook HD and Nook HD+devices

Barnes & Noble has made Google Play available on its Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices, giving its users access to more than 750,000 apps.

Barnes & Noble has been struggling with sales of its Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices as people turn to other tablets and eReaders. In an attempt to make the Nook HD and Nook HD+ series more appealing and attractive to customers, the company announced the inclusion of Google Play on their devices.

With Google Play now available on Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices, users have access to over 750,000 apps, a large jump from the 10,000 available before Google Play was introduced on the device.

The company said in a statement that the drop in sales of its NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ last season was probably because of the lack of apps available to users on this tablet.

"This deal is about plugging that gap. Consumers told us they wanted more apps," Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch told Reuters.

Starting Friday, all Nook HD and Nook HD+ devices sold in stores will have Google Play pre installed on them. For users who already have a NOOK device, the software can be downloaded from NOOK's website or through an over-the-air update.

Barnes & Noble also revealed that henceforth, the tablet will also feature other Google services like Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube and Google Chrome.

"It's a positive product enhancement- adding the android features is a great step. It makes this device competitive," said Sarah Rotman Epps, a senior analyst with Forrester Research. She clarifies that this recent move by the company is not to gain more visibility in the market where large tech giants already are more noticeable but to cater to the needs of their users.

Since its launch in 2009, the NOOK has constantly been compared with Amazon's Kindle device and according to the figures of last year's sale has lost the battle by a huge margin. Barnes & Noble hopes to improve sales and loyalty of its customers by introducing Google Play on its devices. The NOOK HD is available for $200 and NOOK HD+ for $279.