Book retailer Barnes & Noble introduced a 7-inch Nook HD and a 9-inch Nook HD+ that are packaged to rival top low cost tablets Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. The Nook HD features the highest quality display in the 7-inch category with a 1440 x 900 pixel resolution at 243 ppi (Nexus 7 just has 216 ppi) and, at 315 grams, is lighter than the Nexus 7 (340g) and the Kindle Fire HD (395 grams). The Nook HD+ claims to be the lightest full HD tablet ever invented, weighing just 515 grams (iPad 3 weighs 652 grams) and packs a resolution of 1920 x 1280 at 256 ppi (in line with new iPad's 264 ppi Retina display). The second-generation Nooks though still run on the one-year-old Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (Nexus 7 already has the newer Jelly Bean), are powered by dual-core processors (Nexus 7 has quad-core processor), have no access to Google Play (B&N own app store instead), have no GPS and any front or rear camera on board.
What Else You Need To Know
- The HD and the HD+ will be available in the U.S. and UK late October. The Nook HD will be priced at $199 (8GB of storage) and $229 (16GB) while the HD+ costs $269 (16GB) and $299 (32GB).
- The new tablets also feature soft-touch backs and good-sized plastic bezels, come in gray or white (HD model), are powered by a 1.3/1.5 GHz OMAP 4470 dual-core processor with 1 GB of RAM, have 8/16/32 GB of storage, run on a customized Android software that's reading-focused, have access to Nook Video Store, are ad-free, and have exclusive features like multiple profiles, a scrapbook option, zoom to panel mode, and read and record and page turning features for ebooks.
- B&N only announced Wi-Fi-only models and didn't disclose plans of 3G/4G-ready models.
Other sources
This is B&N's frontline offensive against Amazon, as well as the rush of smaller tablets muscling in on the turf it tried to stake out. Does it have a chance? After spending a little time with it, well, maybe.- Kyle Wagner, Gizmodo
The 9-inch NOOK HD+ is half the price of the new iPad, and each version has a superb display which looks great both in reading books and playing video.- Chris Davies, SlashGear
- Good E-Reader
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Nook HD Hands On: Is Having the Best Display Enough?
This is B&N's frontline offensive against Amazon, as well as the rush of smaller tablets muscling in on the turf it tried to stake out. Does it have a chance? After spending a little time with it, well, maybe.
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