Barnes & Noble and HP partner for e-book store

"We expect that there is going to be a lot of digital reading that is consumed on devices that aren't specifically targeted to e-reading, such as laptops and netbooks."
-Kevin Frain, B&N EVP of e-commerce

Barnes & Noble and Hewlett-Packard launched a co-branded eBookstore. And from our assessment it looks like a nice partnership to help both defend against changes in the digital marketplace.
HP is providing:
-link to the store on new HP computers
-some preloaded Barnes & Noble reading applications on some devices

Barnes & Noble is providing:
-its e-commerce platform
-flexibility to HP to tailor the site's content how they choose
-providing HP users that download the e-reader application, the LendMe technology that allows HP users to share e-books with friends for free for up to 14 days.

Barnes & Noble is obviously looking to reposition themselves as a provider of digital content to replace the lagging brick and mortar sales; and HP is looking to catch up to Apple's iPad as a provider of digital content as well.

HP doesn't have the sophisticated e-commerce infrastructure that a retailer like B&N has or even its rival Apple who benefits from iTunes store, so needs B&N for this technology. And B&N needs new channels that reach the digital reader to gain awareness about its eBookstore.