Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets arrive in UK

by Mark Tyson on 23 November 2012, 10:01

Tags: Barnes & Noble, Kindle reader, iPad, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)

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Barnes and Noble’s 7-inch Nook HD and 9-inch Nook HD+ tablets have gone on sale in the UK. These tablets and the custom Android powered operating system are intended to provide the best platform for reading digital magazines and integration with B&N’s online store for new content. Can this new entrant to the UK’s tablet market be successful?

The Nook hardware

There are two versions of the Nook HD, one with 8GB and 16GB of internal storage. However it’s not so crucial to plan your storage options before you buy as B&N have thoughtfully provided a MicroSD card slot in the tablet. The 7-inch Nook HD has a 1440x900 pixels 243ppi screen. It’s powered by a 1.3GHz OMAP4470 dual core processor and has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. The tablet weighs in a 315g. Two colour options are available at this time; grey or white.

The Nook HD+ is equipped with a 9-inch full HD screen. This bigger tablet has a faster 1.5GHz OMAP4470 dual core processor and comes in two models with double the memory of the Nook HD; a 16GB version and a 32GB version. The Nook HD+ has the same connectivity options as the HD model and can also have its storage expanded via MicroSD. It weighs in at 515g.

Both the tablets offer around 10 hours of reading time and 9 hours of video watching time but B&N have decided to not provide any camera functionality in either model.

The Nook Software

The Nook HD and HD+ are powered by a heavily modified version of Android ICS. This is a similar strategy to Amazon and its Kindle Fire devices. The interface is specially designed for content consumption and of course magazine browsing and reading. There is no Google Play store access from the device but you use the B&N app store which still has many popular Android apps and games available within.

User accounts let different members of the household customise the interface and content library for themselves and parents have the ability to keep their children’s content at a suitable age level through the B&N store accessibility controls.

The Nook video store, for movie and TV shows will be open for UK users in December.

Pricing and competition

The prices are as follows; Nook HD is £159 for the 8GB model and £189 for the 16GB version. Nook HD+ is available at £229 for 16GB and £269 for 32GB varieties. The Nook HD is a similar sized and specced device to the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, iPad mini and ASUS/Google Nexus 7. Whether it’s for you is one of those horses-for-courses choices!

The larger 9-inch Nook HD+ is very good value for the size, B&N call it the “Lightest, Lowest-Priced Full HD 9-inch Tablet Ever”. It’s got a great full-HD screen and if you are content with the B&N ecosystem then it could be a good buy.



HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

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Ouch - Thats expensive! The kindle fire has just dropped to £99 starting price for black friday.
116gb of internal storage?! Yes please! Lol
HERE'S A FEW ANDROID TABLET DEALS on new models released in November– One of the first resellers to carry these new tablets is a site called TabletSprint - One new model is the W30 HD - by Ramos Technology – a 10 inch tablet for $279 US - that takes on the Surface, Nexus 10, and iPad with comparable features at nearly half the price – and includes the latest Quad Core performance powerhouse, the Samsung Exynos 4212 / 1.4 GHz processor; as well as a high resolution, 1920 X 1200 Liquid Crystal screen (comparable to Apple Retina display).

Also recently launched and available through TabletSprint is the Novo 7 Flame - a 7“ Android tablet that's available for $189 US that offers more features than the comparable Nexus 7 - which sells for $249… The Novo 7 Flame includes a 1280x800 High Resolution screen, a powerful Dual Core CPU/1.6 GHz, 32GB Memory, MicroSD portable storage, an HDMI connection to your TV with full 1080p (HD) that's great for movie downloads; Two Cameras - a 5 MegaPixel camera with video recording and AF & Flash and a 2 MegaPixel Webcam; Plus Bluetooth, Ethernet, WiFi and an option for 3G with a USB adapter. There's also a 10-inch version released November 15th… the Novo 10 Hero for $225. Both these models are made by Ainol Electronics, which received a ”Best Tablet of the Year“ award at CNET Consumer Electronics Show 2012 – The Novo 7 Legend also launched this week and is the first quality ”$100 TABLET“ available from any major brand… with many of the same features as the higher end Novo 7 Flame –

TabletSprint also offers in December, two new tablets with 3G Wireless built in – the Pipo 763… a 7” Android tablet for $199 US, and the Pipo M8 for $279, a higher-end, full size 9.4 inch model with a 1280x800 high resolution screen along with GPS & Bluetooth. – Each of these new tablet models offer the latest technology and are certainly worth checking out and comparing –