Ever the king of Keystone Kops shenanigans, Barnes & Noble sent out a press release today with the news that they had a new Nook app for Android. According to the press release:
The NOOK Reading App 4.0 for Android supports a “read everywhere” strategy by bringing a unified NOOK experience to Android smartphones and tablets. The app combines customer-favorite features found on the Company’s line of NOOK tablets and eReaders, with new content types such as enhanced kids’ eBooks to give Android users the immersive experience that owning a dedicated NOOK device provides.
That sounds nice, but unfortunately I am unable to verify the report. You see, B&N hasn’t actually released that app. The version available in Google Play was released yesterday, but it still shows v3.5.3 and not v4.0.
I would like to try the app and see what is new, but at the moment I’m stuck. If someone gets the app, do me a favor and send me a copy.
Thanks!
Update: The app is now available.
On iTunes, it says “New in version 4.0.0,” but the date on the app is last December.
Perhaps it took several months to get the press release released? 😉
Android, not iOS.
And the app did finally show up in Google Play.
Their tweet about it implied it was for both platforms, as did the site it linked to:
“New & Improved NOOK® App
Bring what you love about NOOK to any phone or tablet. Enjoy it now free on your iPhone, iPad, or Android.”
I didn’t see the tweet, thanks. Sheesh, talk about Keystone Kops.
I was wondering if the new app would download books using their new drm, but apparently their old app now downloads with the new drm. I downloaded a book to use with Mantano and it asked for the key. I tried a book that I previously downloaded with the Nook app and it opened fine with Mantano so I know Mantano is setup with the old B&N key.
What new DRM? I’m just hearing about this for the first time.
The sole change in the new & improved app: the version number
[…] a new report that the retailer has changed how it is implementing its DRM. A reader has informed me, and other sources confirm, that Barnes & Noble has changed how it generates its encryption […]