Barnes & Noble to Unveil New Nook Tablet Today
Details Already Leaked to Media
It's expected that Barnes & Noble will unveil their Nook tablet today, although leaked details have already given us a sneak peek at the upcoming device. Those details reveal that the Nook tablet is eerily similar to Amazon's recently unveiled Kindle Fire tablet, though it will apparently retail for more money.
The big reveal will take place today in New York City at a very high-profile event. However, thanks to some leaked details, we already know that the Nook tablet will boast 16GB of internal storage space with a microSD slot that can bring that storage capacity up to 32GB. The display, it's said, will be seven inches (like the Kindle Fire), and it will use only a WiFi connection for linking to the Internet (also like Amazon's Kindle Fire).
The most interesting detail we've learned is the Nook tablet's price: $249, or about fifty bucks more than Amazon's Kindle Fire. That could make navigating the tricky waters of the already tumultuous tablet market difficult for Barnes & Noble, whose Nook e-reader has failed to dislodge Amazon's Kindle from the top of the e-reader heap.
Already we know the Kindle Fire will have a few advantages over the Nook tablet. For one, Amazon will offer users of its Kindle Fire the ability to stream content directly from Amazon.com. Nook users, however, will actually have to navigate to sites like YouTube for streaming video. Although such streamlining sounds relatively trivial in the age of Google, experts believe even this tiny navigational advantage will help Amazon maintain a healthy lead over Barnes & Noble in the tablet market.
Of course, it will also be interesting to see how Apple reacts to Barnes & Noble's unveiling. The Nook tablet will represent a second tablet device available for substantially less money than Apple's iPad. Experts believe this could lead to a price reduction, though consumers shouldn't expect anything too drastic, says Barclay Capital analyst, Ben Reitzes.
"We believe that Apple will get more aggressive on price with the iPad eventually but not compromise the product quality and experience," Reitzes said
Of course, other analysts believe both Amazon and Barnes & Noble are shooting too low with their sub-$250 tablets. "In our view, Kindle Fire’s low price point speaks to how there is much lacking in the device," said J.P. Morgan analyst, Mark Moskowitz.
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