Barnes and Noble reinvigorates Nooks with access to Google Play store

The Nook HD and Nook HD+ e-readers now have access to the full Google Play store, according to a press release Friday from Barnes and Noble. The move knocks down a major wall between Barnes and Noble’s products and their status as real, fully formed Android tablets, putting them a step ahead of competitor Amazon’s Kindle Fires.

The Nook HD and HD+ were released last fall as 7-inch and 9-inch devices, respectively, running a heavily modified, forked version of Android 4.0.