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Topic: Mobility

Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

Summary: Barnes and Noble took more than body shots at its closest rival, as it unveiled the next-generation Nook Tablet.

Zack Whittaker

By for Between the Lines |

NEW YORK -- Barnes & Noble only a short time ago announced its latest Android-powered tablet: the Nook Tablet, designed to command the upcoming holiday season, and to take on Amazon, its closest competitor.

The Nook Tablet has an improved dual-core 1Ghz processor with 1GB RAM, and will retail at $249. Weighing under a pound, the company claims the tablet will have the lowest reflection and glare of any tablet on the market.

The device will be the same shape as the Nook Color, with a 7-inch screen, and will last on battery for 11.5 hours of reading.

It also boasts 9 hours of video playback, supports 1080p video, and will offer Netflix, Pandora and Hulu Plus as preloaded applications, according to William Lynch, the company's chief executive officer.

(Source: CNET, CBS Interactive)

The tablet, though has "safe and dependable" Nook Cloud storage offered by the company, will offer 16GB internal memory, with an expandable storage slot for 32GB more. Compared directly to Amazon's competitor, the Kindle Fire "only has 8GB and is not upgradable", whereas the Nook Tablet has a potential capacity of 45GB storage.

But can it appeal to those hell-bent on buying a $199 priced Kindle Fire?

Though only $50 more, the Kindle brand alone will hold more weight, even though Barnes & Noble may have the larger selection of books. Plus, specification wise, the Nook Tablet has greater hardware, making the device somewhat more enticing for those with a higher budget.

In other, but related news, the Nook Color will go on sale at $199, while the Nook SimpleTouch will feature a new e-ink display in the update, and will be 25 percent faster than other e-ink products on the market. Claiming that it will last twice as long on battery, there will also be "no annoying ads".

It will go on sale at $99, rivalling the Kindle Touch directly in price and feature specification.

The devices are available for pre-order today, and will be in stores beginning next week.

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Topic: Mobility

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43 comments
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  • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

    The NOOK branding is pretty strong and Amazon let them get a foothold in the market so I wouldn't consider this Tablet bet by any stretch of the imagination!
    slickjim
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

    The extra onboard storage + microSD card expandability is worth the extra $50.00 all by itself. If you're taking a long trip it's nice to be able to preload the device with a dozen movies (to watch on the plane and other places where there's no WiFi). You're not going to do that in the limited space that the Amazon Fire offers. The cloud is a great idea, but the wireless infrastructure just isn't robust enough to rely on it for all your storage needs. And B&N is smart to ally with Netflix and Hulu. It gives them a wealth of video content to compete with Amazon. Pandora was already on the original Nook Color, and after trying the service I've got to say: I'm hooked.<br><br>Now B&N needs to rectify the App situation. B&N needs thousands of apps in its store, not just a hundred or so.

    All in all, I continue to be impressed by Barnes and Noble's digital strategy. they're making all the rights moves. It's still an uphill battle for them. There's no guarantee they won't end up like Borders, but they've got the right ideas and the right attitude. I hope they survive. I'd hate to live ina world where you're forced to choose between just Apple and Amazon.
    dsf3g
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

      @dsf3g

      Yeah, the no SD slot in the Fire just kills the device for me. I will most likely just go ahead and pickup a Nook instead.
      alceste007
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

        @alceste007

        Two reasons I didn't buy an iPad:

        (1) No SD card slot
        (2) Apple's in-app purchase policy.

        Both decisions were evil enough for me to stay away.
        dsf3g
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

      @dsf3g thousands of apps? Why? There can't be more than a few useful ones.
      Romas27
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

        @Romas27 <br>Da! We have good products on shelves for you. We know what is best - now go wait in that line - today it is shoes - extra large.
        bdowey
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

    Some of the zdnet articles say the new Nook has a 1.2Ghz processor, this one says it's 1Ghz. Which is correct?
    Admin71
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

      @Bookmark71 Leaked specs said 1.2Ghz, it was today announced it would be only 1Ghz.
      zwhittaker
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

    1.2
    dankasnitzel
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

      @dankasnitzel Not according to the B&N site. "1GHz TI OMAP4 (dual-core) processor with 1GB RAM"
      jwmckay
      Reply Vote

  • Differentiators between the new Nook and Fire

    Some of these are still open questions, but differentiators I see:<br><br>- Output options -- will the new Nook support HDMI out? DNLA out? Any other options? The Kindle Fire is basically a cul-de-sac - no output options. With Hulu+ and NetFlix support, if the new Nook has any way to output to big screens, it'll really sweeten the pot.<br><br>- Amazon Prime streaming supported? THAT'd really tweak Amazon's nose, and dilute the value-add of the Fire for Prime subscribers!<br><br>- Does B&N have any book lending options, like Amazon just announced for Kindle owners?<br><br>- Front-facing camera and Skype-or-equiv support?<br><br>This could be one of those situations where quite possibly no one feature sways everyone, but a "preponderance of features", properly marketed, would win over almost everyone.<br><br>Just curious, did they lighten their stance on modding, with this rev? They officially don't allow it, with the previous Nook (i called and asked them explicitly).
    daboochmeister
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

      @daboochmeister

      $300 buys you an HTC Flyer with all those things, plus bluetooth, a GPS and access to the full Android Market. A bit more expensive than either the Nook or the Fire, yes...but a much better machine.
      dsf3g
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

        @dsf3g The flyer is great but the deal breaker was messing up the Wiimote support!
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

    Will the new Nook still boot from SD if a bootable card is in the slot? I use this to boot a Cyanogen Mod on my current NC instead of rooting the device.
    sullivanjc
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

      @sullivanjc We all the know thats the real deal breaker if it cant boot from SD then its not as functional as the original Nook. If we can get ICS on it then its a steal....
      jacjar1
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

    i just got a asus 32gb transformers tablet instead :) for 389!
    Viper589
    Reply Vote

  • Sounds great except

    B&N seems -- like Amazon -- to only sell to the American market. Tough luck if you're an expat living/working overseas! Then again, has anyone yet incurred the cost of battery replacement? They won't last more than about 400-500 recharges (supposedly) or 3-3.5 years. I'm wondering whether or not all these Tablet & Ebook reader device manufacturers are going to have repair/replacement procedures set up for when they're needed. Or are they figuring the buyers will just go out and plunk down another $150-200 for the newest products. Landfills, here they come...
    dlmohn
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

      @dlmohn Tough luck if you're European living/working in Europe too. And when things do finally arrive the price is converted at USD1 becomes GBP1, sales are lower as a result of a 50% price hike, and the misguided conclusion is that Europe is a tough market and it's better to stay at home. If B&N sold this device for GBP 155 (or EUR 180) it would make a killing and leap ahead of Amazon in ROW. Instead, when it finally gets to Europe, it will probably try GBP 219 / EUR 249 price points and wonder why people don't want to buy it, plus not understand why so many people with European accents are buying the product in NYC and other popular tourist spots.
      robertwaters
      Reply Vote

    • Battery

      @dlmohn
      That's the way things have been going for the battery replacement in most of the devices lately. Apple and now a few other manufacturers lock those areas down and when the times is right the next new item comes out. Why get a battery replaced when the next fastest and coolest thing is out. I am afraid that more companies are going that route and its just something we will have to live with.
      rocky2341
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

    I think this is the volley B&N needed to send back. The only problem is that they must, must, must market this. When I log onto Amazon I'm bombarded with the Fire. Every email from Amazon is trying to get me to buy the Fire.

    I agree with most that the SD card slot is what will send a person over or not. I understand where Jason Perlow is coming from in his article on the Nookopalypse. I have xfinity but it's not everywhere. But my Nook Color running Cyanogenmod off the SD card does have Terminator Salvation, Star Trek (the recent movie), Sinbad Where You Been? plus most of my music. If they market the ability to do similar to what I do with my NC, they can steal "some" sales from Amazon.

    The only reason I'd get a Kindle Fire (which I considered strongly before buying my NC) is if I was willing to dump more money into AT&T's lap just so I could tether. Then again, if I had that I'd just stay with the NC anyway. The knife in the chest for BN tho is not having a serious app store.
    tallbruva
    Reply Vote
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