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Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet

By | November 7, 2011, 7:30am PST

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

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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Topics

Barnes & Noble Inc., E-books & E-Readers, Personal Technology, Zack Whittaker

Zack Whittaker, a criminologist who studied at the University of Kent, Canterbury, is a journalist, writer and broadcaster.

Disclosure

Zack Whittaker

I worked briefly with Microsoft UK in 2006 but no longer have any connection with the company. Regardless, I remain impartial and unbiased in my views.

I don't hold any stock or shares, investments or industrial secrets in any company, but have signed confidentiality agreements with a number of UK and U.S. organisations, whose names I am not at liberty to disclose.

I was involved with Kent Union, the University of Kent's student union, undertaking voluntary, non-salaried, elected positions between early 2009 and mid-2010.

No other company, body, government department, non-governmental organisation or third sector organisation employs me or pays me a salary in any capacity whatsoever.

As a freelance journalist, whenever expenses are given and taken by a company that is not CBS Interactive, these will be disclosed in each relevant post to ensure transparency.

I currently work with a UK law enforcement unit, but this is an entirely separate position which bears no connection to other work.

(Updated: 23rd October 2011)

Biography

Zack Whittaker

Zack Whittaker, criminologist who studied at the University of Kent, UK, is a journalist, writer and broadcaster.

After studying criminology at university, though still in his early-20's, he has already had a series unconventional work and voluntary positions. He has worked with researchers studying neurological illnesses like Tourette's syndrome (which he suffers from), has given lectures on the nature of disabilities in the public community, and occasionally ends up speaking on television and radio discussing the events of the day.

He first had academic work published at the age of 22, then still an undergraduate, and has been cited by a wide range of publications: from CNN, the Huffington Post, AllThingsDigital, The Atlantic Wire and CBS News.

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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
jerry@... 9th Nov
@PJL500 Do they pay you Apple people to follow forums to add how great the Apple products are? Just be happy and enjoy your Apple products if you can live with the fact of that megalomaniac founder who achieved his greatness at the expense of many people. I'll never buy an Apple product even if it is the best particular product for sale.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Peter Perry 7th Nov
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!
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
dsf3g Updated - 7th Nov
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.

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.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
alceste007 7th Nov
@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.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
dsf3g 7th Nov
@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.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Romas27 7th Nov
@dsf3g thousands of apps? Why? There can't be more than a few useful ones.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
bdowey Updated - 7th Nov
@Romas27
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.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Bookmark71 7th Nov
Some of the zdnet articles say the new Nook has a 1.2Ghz processor, this one says it's 1Ghz. Which is correct?
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Contributr
RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
zwhittaker 7th Nov
@Bookmark71 Leaked specs said 1.2Ghz, it was today announced it would be only 1Ghz.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
dankasnitzel 7th Nov
1.2
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
jwmckay Updated - 7th Nov
@dankasnitzel Not according to the B&N site. "1GHz TI OMAP4 (dual-core) processor with 1GB RAM"
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Differentiators between the new Nook and Fire
daboochmeister Updated - 7th Nov
Some of these are still open questions, but differentiators I see:

- 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.

- Amazon Prime streaming supported? THAT'd really tweak Amazon's nose, and dilute the value-add of the Fire for Prime subscribers!

- Does B&N have any book lending options, like Amazon just announced for Kindle owners?

- Front-facing camera and Skype-or-equiv support?

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.

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).
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
dsf3g 7th Nov
@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.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Peter Perry 7th Nov
@dsf3g The flyer is great but the deal breaker was messing up the Wiimote support!
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
sullivanjc 7th Nov
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.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
jacjar1 7th Nov
@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....
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Viper589 7th Nov
i just got a asus 32gb transformers tablet instead happy for 389!
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Sounds great except
dlmohn 7th Nov
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...
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
robertwaters Updated - 8th Nov
@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.
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Battery
rocky2341 8th Nov
@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.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
tallbruva 7th Nov
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.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Willnott 7th Nov
@tallbruva : That bombardment bothers ME as well - Can't honestly believe Amazon is making many new friends with that strategy. Have an "older gen Kindle" and do not plan to change or upgrade, espec not to the "fire". Add to that the fact that Amazon's "Prime" deals (non-media ones, I mean) have recently gotten a lot more expensive (less competetive than local stores, for a change...) will cause us to seriously reconsider Prime when it comes up for renewal. We initially "bought in" mostly because we could get Gluten Free products at excellent prices - now that is no longer true, so our personal justification for Prime has tanked. Since we're not "media consumers", the media stuff has no value for us - understand for others it can be a bigger deal.
I'd love to exerience the new Nook, but in our situation, it's only an intellectual exercise, not a practical one.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
tallbruva 7th Nov
Who would have ever thought that's there'd be a war over whose reading device is better than the other in our digital world? I for one am glad to see this battle.

I have the original NC running Phiremod off the SD card. I have the full Android Market with the option of using the Kindle app, Kobo app or BN app. I'm stay loyal to Barns & Noble because their app has the best experience of them all overall for me.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
essin 7th Nov
Where is BN-Prime with books to borrow?
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Fat Albert 1 7th Nov
@essin Most books are free, you can download and read any book for 2 weeks if checked out through BN wi-fi for free, and you can lend or receive almost any book in their catalog to any other Nook user for free. No yearly 79.99 price required. Plus free in store tech support is worth 80 bucks a year alone.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
jxh11215 7th Nov
Since when does B&N have a better selection of ebooks than Amazon
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Fat Albert 1 7th Nov
@jxh11215 After integrating color childrens books that read to you, which Amazon is very scant over
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
kevinf@... 7th Nov
The Nook Color units I bought for my wife and I last November have been a delight. I'm weighing the option of upgrading to the Tablet, or waiting a few more months for a rumored higher end tablet (10"?). Yes, the apps rollout has been slow, with only 1,100 at last count, but the SD card is a huge plus for me on the existing NC. It's solid, reliable, easy to use. I've only had to deal with a technical issue once (repartitioning the memory for more app space), but being able to take it in to the local B&N store and get it taken care of immediately is huge. Ebooks are great, but there is still something very comfortable about being able to browse the shelves at a brick and mortar store, which will never happen with Amazon. B&N has, IMHO, done a commendable job climbing the learning curve on the low end tablet business. The new Nook Tablet effectively leapfrogs the Kindle Fire in features and support, with the promise of more in the not too distant future.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
miss_grundy 7th Nov
I want it! It's pretty!!!!
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
NIFE 7th Nov
I Love my Original Nook with the 3g + WiFi. This new tablet sounds nice. I will have to test it and see if it fits me.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
ggshan 7th Nov
The cloud is a great idea, but the wireless infrastructure just isn't robust enough to rely on it for all your storage needs.
www.newgoing.com
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Mr_IT Updated - 7th Nov
Well this rooted Nook Color user is salivating over the new specs! The only disadvantage I see is that it's still running the same lame, brain damaged version of Android that B&N insists on pre-loading.

But that's easily fixed if you're at all technical now isn't it?
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Fat Albert 1 7th Nov
@Mr_IT

CM9 BAY-BEE!
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
Miniwood 7th Nov
can I buy in NZ
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
ypsrudy 7th Nov
I think the masses have voted. The Nook Tablet is going to be a winner. My likes are in house support > SD Card Slot>Better Screen> and it's built solid. Yes I think this is the one for me. That is in the 7" size Will they have other colors? I'd like a red one. "Nook you had me at hello"
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Wannabe ipad beaters...
grillomalta@... 7th Nov
I have had experience with an Android Tablet , a Samsung Galaxy, which I liked for its 7inch form factor, expandability, and AGPS, but hated the OS.. too incomplete... and I now own an iPad, which, except for the lack GPS, I absolutely realise it is the best.

Now, while not bickering, I would like to add that the Amazon and Nook tablets are going the way of the ipad with their 'crippled OS'..... and they talk about the ipad being 'walled-in'... it is actually good to know that your apps are what they are advertised....

Nook may beat Fire, but never the iPad.... sad Too bad really, competition is healthy.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
doug.montgomery@... 8th Nov
@grillomalta@...

I would contend that they are not competiters.

While the product is tablet shaped, is it an "electroic shopping cart" appliance instead?

The "tablet" is not the hardware, or the OS. That is unimportant. Its an appiance that delivers content.
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Their failure is in adding new markets
putt1ck 7th Nov
Really, the US market is not the biggest. RotW is. B&N will never benefit from the production/cloud/etc. scale savings until they start selling outside the US. They also lose out on brand buzz amplification etc..

To be frank, if they still haven't figured out how to do rights deals outside the US then there's something lacking in their skillsets.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
doug.montgomery@... 8th Nov
I read in the sunlight. I wear polorized glasses. My iphone is green and dark when I look at it.

I love my e-ink nook because I can easily read it outside with my glasses on.

Is the display as easy to read outside as an e-ink display?
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
ryumaou@... 8th Nov
I've got a Color Nook that I rooted to gain a little more functionality and I love it. If the newest Nook is anything like the one I have, it will be fantastic, even if they don't have as many apps for it yet. Since it's based on Android, they will ultimately have all the Android apps available, I'm sure.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
PJL500 8th Nov
Not bad but can't beat an iPad for versatility. Effortless music purchase and playback. HD Video rent, stream. App solutions for everything. Fab communications - FaceTime, Skype etc. Great music making capability... Photo store, share, edit, etc... and great access to Books (and Magazine publications via subscription...) SIRI coming soon... and a lot more... why have a piece of tech that size (Nook, Fire) that's so limited?
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
jerry@... 9th Nov
@PJL500 Do they pay you Apple people to follow forums to add how great the Apple products are? Just be happy and enjoy your Apple products if you can live with the fact of that megalomaniac founder who achieved his greatness at the expense of many people. I'll never buy an Apple product even if it is the best particular product for sale.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
fldbryan@... 8th Nov
I like this new tablet, what version of Android is it based on? As far as Kindle is concerned I can probably install the Kindle app on the Nook and use it there if I want to. The Nook may be the Christmas gift I'll pick up...maybe one for me too.
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RE: Barnes & Noble launches next-generation Nook Tablet
oldgeek143 8th Nov
I shake my head at the comments of some. The Cloud negates need for a SD card and if you look at how much storage you have with the native device, the thought you need more than that when mobile is not credible.

If you are in the 1/2 of 1% of the world that wants to root into the OS (Android) then the Nook is for you to go along with your redhat OS on your desk top.

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