Barnes & Noble (B&N) and Microsoft announced the completion of a strategic partnership on Oct. 4, forming NOOK Media LLC.

Nook Media contains B&N's Nook Digital brand of software, content, and devices as well as the company's college business. The partnership includes a $300 million investment from Microsoft in NOOK Media.

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The joint venture is aimed at getting B&N's Nook content onto Windows 8 devices. This partnership will enable Nook Media to establish a strong foothold in the expanding educational market and offer Microsoft an opportunity to take a portion of the e-reader market.

"NOOK Media is a leader in developing the next generation of digital reading and we look forward to the company bringing one of the world's largest digital libraries to Windows 8 devices via their upcoming Windows 8 app," said Andy Lees, President at Microsoft. Lees further added "We are also excited by NOOK Media's product roadmap and expansion into markets around the world as demonstrated by their recent launches in the United Kingdom."

With rivals like Amazon rolling out new e-readers like Kindle Paperwhite, and Google launching the 7-inch Nexus 7, there is no doubt that the market for smaller tablets is growing.

"As demand for digital content continues to increase, we are focused on bringing ground-breaking reading and learning content and technologies to more people in more formats than ever before, including the imminent launch of our exceptional NOOK reading application for Windows 8," said William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble.

"We look forward to working closely with our new partner Microsoft to add value to their innovative new platform by bringing great reading experiences and one of the world's preeminent digital bookstores to millions of Windows 8 users," added Lynch.

The tech market has seen a few partnerships recently, like the Google and Motorola, Microsoft and Nokia, and now Microsoft and B&N. Time will tell if mergers, partnerships, and takeovers of tech giants will be beneficial for consumers in the long term.

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