Barnes & Noble has added access to the Google Play store on its 7-inch Nook HD and 9-inch Nook HD+ devices, along with all of Google's other Android services, in an effort to gain more of a foothold on the busy tablet market,

Launched at the end of last year, the two tablets came with B&N's own app store, with executives telling Pocket-lint that "there may not be many apps, but there are the right apps". It seems that the company has had a rethink. Adding Google Play to the tablets takes them away from being direct (and less successful) rivals to Amazon's Kindle devices and puts them more in the Nexus 7 camp.

READ: Barnes & Noble Nook HD review

In addition, Barnes & Noble dramatically dropped the prices of the Nook HD and HD+ tablets a couple of days ago in the UK for a limited period, in celebration of the Get London Reading campaign. You can now pick up the 7-inch Nook HD for £129 and the HD+ for £179. Considering they have decent specifications and excellent screens, with access to the tens of thousands of apps and other content offered by Google Play they now represent very good value.

READ: Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ pictures and hands-on

"By adding Google Play to Nook HD and Nook HD+ we are offering our customers even more great entertainment on our award-winning tablets," said William Lynch, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble. "Now with access to more than 700,000 apps and the best reading experience available, both are must-see products for entertainment lovers looking for high-quality tablets at incredibly low prices."

Google Search will now be on the tablets too.