Barnes & Noble’s New Nook e-Reader Will Be Made by Samsung

Barnes & Noble will develop a tablet with Samsung as it tries to revive its money-losing Nook digital business.

The tablets will combine Samsung’s hardware with Nook’s software and give access to Barnes & Noble’s digital collection of more than 3 million books, magazines, and newspapers, the companies said in a statement.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook tablets are expected to be launched in a 7-inch version in the United States in early August. They will be sold in Barnes & Noble’s nearly 700 stores and on its website, bn.com.

Barnes & Noble has agreed to buy 1 million tablets in the first 12 months after launch. This will be extended to 15 months if the devices do not meet sales targets, the company said in a filing.

Barnes & Noble Chief Executive Michael Huseby said the partnership was a major milestone in its efforts to rationalize the Nook business.

“Working with Samsung on co-branded tablets will allow the company to reduce its exposure to the substantial cost structure and other financial commitments that accompany ownership of the hardware production aspects of the Nook tablet business,” he said.

Barnes & Noble said last year that it would stop producing Nook tablets until it found a partner, after losing hundreds of millions of dollars over the years trying to compete with the likes of Amazon and its Kindle, Apple and its iPad, and Google and its various Android tablets.

However, Barnes & Noble said Thursday that it would continue to offer its Nook GlowLight ebook reader, launched in October.