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Barnes & Noble builds Nook Color ecosystem

Barnes & Noble is expanding the content available for its new Nook Color tablet, including a Cowboys & Aliens application that lets users unlock free exclusive material when they are connected to Wi-Fi in any of the company?s locations.

Barnes & Noble introduced the Nook Color tablet reader in April as an answer to the growing popularity of tablets, with Apple, Samsung, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and others introducing tablets in the past year.
At launch, more than 125 apps were available for Nook Color.

The Cowboys & Aliens app is one of several new apps being made available for Nook Color as Barnes & Noble continues build out the Nook Color ecosystem in recognition of the important role that Apps play in defining a platform.

Barnes & Noble operates 705 bookstores in 50 states.

Staying connected
By adding more ways for adults and children to enjoy content with apps, the book retailer is hoping to reach consumers who enjoy staying connected and using the latest popular apps.

While the Nook Color tablet is optimized for reading, it also enables users to look at email and surf the Web, two popular activities on mobile devices. With a $249 price, it comes at a significantly lower price tag than many other tablets.

The Cowboys & Aliens app is based on the sci-fi film currently in movie theaters. Customers who download the app can gain access to exclusive free content such as a prologue video, sketchbook, character bios and a secret alien language translator when they are connected to free Wi-Fi in any Barnes & Noble Store.

Nook Colors users can access a growing selection of apps offered by third-party developers and content providers, including titles such as Ms. Pac-Man, Text Twist 2, Let?s Golf! 2 and Mazes as well as several apps made just for kids.

According to Barnes & Noble, the top paid Nook Color apps are Angry Birds and Angry Birds Rio, Ms. Pac-Man, Solitaire and Blast Monkeys. The top free apps include Float HD, Fliq Calendar, Tikatok StorySpark, Fandango Movies and BibleReader.

Barnes & Noble has also added tens of thousands of new Nook ebooks to its offering of more than two million titles.

Movie tie-ins play a role for children?s ebooks as well, with new ebooks recently added featuring characters from Disney?s Cars 2, Transformers, Winnie the Pooh, Thor and Captain America.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York