There’s a war brewing in the e-reader world. There are currently three major players vying to gain consumer attention. Those major players include Apple, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. Until today, Barnes and Noble had a decent e-reader that didn’t gain too much attention thanks to overshadowing by Apple and Amazon – two amazing powerhouses that are tough to compete with. On the Microsoft side of things, the massive computer company has been want to put more emphasis on its tablets, though this has been tough since Amazon and Apple corner the content market. Today, Barnes and Noble announced that the company will be teaming up with Microsoft.

This is big news within the e-book world. Microsoft has invested $300 million in Barnes and Noble, and that money will be used to create an all-new line of e-book and, presumably, e-book devices. While Apple and Amazon aren’t too afraid of the new partnership quite yet, it looks like you’ll be hearing a lot more from Barnes and Noble within the near future. Here’s what Microsoft and Barnes and Noble plan to do when working together.

A Good Way to Offer Content

Microsoft has slowly been creating tablets for some time now. Even though these tablets don’t gain as much attention as Apple’s or Amazon’s offerings, Microsoft tablets are still decently built and priced. The only problem here is that Microsoft didn’t have a lot of content to offer consumers, since most content comes from Apple and Amazon. Now, however, Microsoft will have access to all the content that Barnes and Noble has, which provides a very decent way for Microsoft to sneak into the tablet market with a lot more power.

The brand name, Newco, has been developed by the two companies in order to mark the beginning of a new branched-out company. The partnership formed by Barnes and Noble and Microsoft will leave all kinds of doors open for both companies to expand. Barnes and Noble will be able to offer both Nook and educational books (College) to consumers. Microsoft will also be gaining lots of new apps and content that will be offered through both Microsoft mobile phones and tablets. Barnes and Noble announced this morning that the first product to come from the new Newco company would be an app for Windows 8.

The Weeks and Years Ahead

It will be interesting to see whether or not Microsoft and Barnes and Noble make a great team. The two companies have now joined forces and this can only mean that new things will come from both. If you though that Microsoft came too late to the mobile or tablet game, you might want to think again. It’s also worth considering that Microsoft is actually making some very decent products (Windows phones have gotten a decent amount of praise), and Microsoft might be stepping in where Android is fading out (according to recently released data).

Make no mistake though, Microsoft hasn’t purchased Barnes and Noble and the computer company only has a small stake in the company. However, it will greatly benefit both Barnes and Noble and Microsoft to work together in order to defeat Apple and Amazon.