Microsoft and Barnes and Noble have announced that Microsoft will invest $300 million in the Nook and it will be spun off as a separate joint venture.

It may seem,  just as Microsoft is on the cusp of releasing Windows 8, strange of them to invest in a rival platform that’s based on a forked version of Google’s Android platform. Aren’t they helping a competitor?

I see a few points here:

This is primarily about content. Supporting the Nook means gaining access to ebook content and controlling that access. It means Windows 8 tablet users will be able to read e-books without having to rely on Amazon.

Bolstering Nook also bolsters a competitor against Amazon; reducing if ever …