• by Steve Smith  @popeyesm, May 6, 2013

Barnes & Noble is trying to come at the tablet market yet again this week with two barrels blazing -- price and compatibility. Late last week, the bookseller upgraded its 7-inch Nook HD and 9-inch Nook HD + models to host the full Google Play app store.

Until now, the Android underpinnings of the reading/tablet device was a forked and closed version of the operating system that only ran apps approved and posted by B&N. With the addition of Google Play, the company is expanding the compatibility of the devices from about 10,000 apps to the full Google catalog of 700,000.

By incorporating Google Play, B&N also opens the device up to a rival platform for selling books and digital magazines, which will reside within the Play app, along with any music purchases. Stand-alone apps like games, however, will reside on the Nook home page.

The other barrel B&N is aiming at the tablet market is price. It announced over the weekend significant Mother’s Day promotions for its two top models. The Nook HD is reduced from $199 to $149 for a week, and the Nook HD+ is starting at $179, down from $269. This bargain basement pricing puts a very powerful and hi-res 9-inch tablet at a new low for this form factor.

All of this speaks to B&N’s general failure to make a significant mark on the tablet scene. Despite a full court press at retail, the bookseller admitted earlier this year that holiday Nook sales were disappointing. In most measures of tablet market share, the B&N devices rarely if ever appear.

For Google, the move may have the positive effect of consolidating at least incrementally its Android tablet market. The most popular device running Android in tablet form is Amazon's Kindle line, which like the former Nook HDs uses a forked version that requires some user tweaking in order to accomodate the full range of Android apps.