Samsung teams up with Barnes & Noble for new Nook tablets

Popular electronics maker Samsung will team up with Barnes & Noble to create co-branded Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook tablets. The Samsung tablets will come pre-loaded with Nook software, so users will have full-featured devices as Barnes & Noble pulls the plug on trying to develop its own hardware. The Galaxy Tab 4 7" model will be available in early August.

This is a strong partnership for Barnes & Noble, the last remaining major book retailer in the United States, as the company tries to revamp its struggling e-reader. Barnes & Noble will continue to provide customer support for previous e-reader versions,

"Samsung has had a strong relationship with Barnes & Noble, offering the company's award-winning reading experience to users of Galaxy Tab products," said Tim Baxter, Samsung Electronics America President, in a statement. "Samsung is dedicated to providing consumers with choices that best fit their lifestyle. So, we are excited to be taking this next step with Barnes & Noble to offer Galaxy Tab 4 devices that are tailored to the needs of their customers and enhance the Nook reading experience."

As part of the deal, the Nook team will stay in Silicon Valley, but re-locate from Palo Alto to new locations in Mountain View and Santa Clara.