Bookseller Barnes & Noble announced Nov. 7 its newest foray into the tablet market, the NOOK Tablet, merely a month after Amazon announced its Kindle Fire, and just in time for the holiday season.
Like Amazon’s Kindle Fire, The NOOK Tablet will feature a 7″ screen with 1024×600 resolution, access to Wi-Fi, and 1 GB RAM.
The NOOK Tablet boasts double the storage of the Kindle Fire, at 16GB, with the option to add up to 32GB via microSD and a custom version of Android 2.3. The Barnes & Noble tablet will also add an additional $50 onto the Kindle Fire’s $200 price tag. Those who side with the NOOK also have the advantage of free in-store assistance at Barnes & Noble locations.
The NOOK Tablet is also loaded with a longer-lasting battery than the Kindle Fire – 11.5 hours for reading and 9 hours for video over Kindle’s 8 reading hours and 7.5 for video – and streams movies and shows in HD from Netflix and Hulu.
“Since I have a desktop computer in my dorm, the biggest issue I come across is with lack of portability when accessing electronic necessities,” said senior criminal justice major Tom Curtin. “There are other tablets out there but I like that [NOOK Tablet] is bundled pretty well.”
Barnes & Noble is trudging into murky waters. According to survey by consumer electronics shopping site Retrevo, one-fifth of tablet owners plan to buy Apple’s iPad and 27% plan on buying the Kindle Fire.
Though both the NOOK Tablet and the Kindle Fire are less than half the price of the cheapest iPad, Amazon has the advantage of having announced its tablet two months in advance. The loaded bonuses of the Kindle Fire and the NOOK Tablet shadow the primary purpose of the e-reader: reading.
“I’m very loyal to my kindle,” said junior journalism major Sarah Hogue. “And since it currently satisfies most of my reading needs, I’m not interested in other products.”
Preorders for The NOOK Tablet began on the day of the announcement and will begin shipping on Nov. 17, two days after the Kindle Fire’s debut.