14 DAY TRIAL // On Monday, Microsoft and Barnes & Noble announced the signing of a new agreement, aimed at accelerating the advancement in the e-reading area.
In the press release announcing the new deal, the two companies also mentioned the creation of a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary, as well as plans for coming up with a Windows 8 NOOK application.
What was also included in the deal, but was not publicly presented in said press release, was Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley unveils.
Following the announcement on this agreement, rumors on the possible availability of an e-reader running under the upcoming Windows 8 have also emerged, yet confirmation on this is still pending.
However, it should be mentioned that the B&N commercial agreement filing does make reference to a possible Microsoft Reader, which could be linked to B&N’s store.
“If Microsoft creates a reader, Microsoft may include an interface to the NewCo Store in that reader and may surface in that reader all Content purchased by customers from the NewCo Store,” the filing reportedly reads.
What’s of higher interest in said filing is the mentioning of Windows Phone, Microsoft’s mobile OS. In fact, the document also makes reference to Apollo, the next version of the platform.
“‘Windows Phone Software’ means (a) the successor to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 operating system software for mobile phones that is currently code-named “Apollo,” and (b) any future versions and successors, including any bug fixes, service packs, upgrades and updates,” the doc reads.
This reference, complemented by a recent mentioning of some sort of a Windows Phone 8 device that packs a screen resolution of 768 x 768 pixels, could suggest that a reader running under the mobile OS is in the works.
Microsoft has been long speculated to plan putting its Windows Phone OS on more devices, beyond smartphones, and these mentions could be considered proof of that.
A new Barnes & Noble reader could be easly powered by either Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8, since they are closely related, as previous rumors suggested. If any of these is meant to pan out, specific details should emerge closer to the platforms’ launches, supposedly set for this fall.