A surprisingly announced Nook by Barnes & Noble could be a surprisingly solid tablet
- Kell Claar
- Nov 5, 2018
- 2 min read
Among the news in the world today, from sports to politics to technology, the one thing probably nobody saw coming was new hardware from Barnes & Noble. However, it appears in the world of Android tablets (that most seem to have abandoned), B&N hopes to still be a key player. So, according to The Verge, it looks like the Nook 10.1" is the newest kid on the long-since disregarded playground.
In all fairness, the new Nook looks like a pretty solid, if not good, device. It features a 10.1" IPS display with a resolution of 1920x2000 (224 ppi). It comes with 32 GB of on-board storage (which can be expanded to 256 GB via MicroSD), a 3.5 mm jack, 2 MP front and rear camera, and a touted battery life of 8.5 hours. Oddly enough, although may not too odd considering it's a Nook, the tablet will charge via MicroUSB as opposed to the more modern USB-C.
While Android tablets have long been ridiculed (and seemingly abandoned for ChromeOS), this device is a compelling buy for the holiday season. Unlike competing Amazon Fire tablets, the Nook ships with the Play Store and Play Services built-in, and at $129.99, it is priced considerably lower than a Galaxy Tab A ($179.99) or even a Fire HD 10 ($149.99). In addition, Barnes & Noble appears to be offering a keyboard folio that attaches via built-in pin connectors which would make this an excellent travel blogging device or make-shift school computer for word processing.
There is still a lot unknown about this device including speed and productivity as well as the cost of accessories (including the keyboard folio and a non-detailed charging dock). Additionally, at this price point, I would not expect a powerhouse device meant to rival the iPad or Surface, and it does not appear as if it will have excellent stylus support so it is certainly not a pro tool. However, at this size and price-point, the new Nook looks like it will make an excellent media-consumption device to rival its contemporaries, and with an expected ship date of November 14th, it will arrive in time to possibly outclass them this holiday season.
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