The Barnes & Noble Nook Color Reader has repositioned itself as a strong competitor in the tablet market, just in time for the holiday season. A new well-timed software update gives consumers access to new applications, and increases ways users can interact with the device.

The Nook’s “biggest ever update” offers access to Netflix’s streaming service, allowing users to access popular movies and TV shows directly on the device.

The update also made various improvements to usability. The Nook Color now offers the flexibility to read books in portrait or landscape mode, adjust the text with additional font sizes and directly look up words in its internal dictionary.

Barnes & Noble currently commands 27% of the digital content market, they face strong competition from Amazon and Apple.

In order to grow their influence in in the tablet and e-reader markets, Barnes & Noble will need to continue to update software, adapt to users needs, and implement innovative uses for the Nook Color.

Will the updates give the Nook Color a new advantage over the competition or is it still playing catch up?

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