Microsoft and Barnes & Noble have tweaked their partnership to allow the Nook maker to ditch work on e-reading apps for Windows in favor of something called the Microsoft Consumer Reader.
According to a regulatory filing published this week, Nook Media "would be permitted to discontinue distributing the Nook Windows app [and] cease efforts with respect to a Windows phone app."
Nook Media will instead "cooperate in good faith with Microsoft to transition users to the Microsoft Consumer Reader." The filing did not elaborate on what this consumer reader entails. It noted that portions of the filing were redacted because of confidential information, so we'll likely get more details at a later date.
Sources told ZDNet that the Microsoft Consumer Reader will not be a physical e-reader like the Nook or Kindle. A Microsoft spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that Redmond is "always looking for ways to evolve and innovate on our app experiences for customers."
The partnership between Microsoft and Barnes & Noble dates back to 2012, when the duo signed a $300 million deal that gave Redmond a 17.6 percent stake in the Nook business and dismissed the two companies' patent dispute.
The deal closed in October of that year, forming a new subsidiary known as Nook Media. Its first order of business was to develop a Nook app for Windows 8 tablets—a venture that has now been cancelled.
Barnes & Noble did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but told the Journal that the company looks "forward to continuing our partnership and expanding the availability of Nook content."
With the explosion of tablets, e-readers have struggled to compete with the iPad and Android slates (with the exception of the Amazon Kindle, perhaps). Last month, for example, Sony announced plans to hand its struggling e-reader business off to Kobo, allowing U.S. and Canadian customers access to Kobo's content catalogue.