Tweener Tablet Wars Ensue: B&N’s Nook HD Enters the Fray2 min read
In our ongoing coverage of the tweener tablet wars, we’ve already discussed the arrival of the much anticipated iPad Mini tablet (read more on that here). We’ve yapped about the rivalry that’s ensued between the iPad Mini and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD. And we’ve also covered the rumors lurking around the web 2.0 mill regarding the forthcoming speculation of a mini Galaxy Nexus tablet by Google that’s purportedly going to rock the tablet wars – and prices –back to the Stone Age with a $99 price tag. And now, it’s time to cover another tweener tablet that’s in the fray: the Barnes & Noble Nook HD.
The Barnes & Noble Nook HD comes at a base price of $199 that includes 8GB of memory (but you can upgrade your memory for a few bucks more via the handy SD slot). The display on the Nook HD is rated slightly more brilliant the Kindle Fire HD, and far surpassing of that of the iPad Mini, which comes in third between this trio of tablets for price, features, display and availability. A recent review by the Huffington Post said the display on the Nook HD is “the display standard by which other 7-inch tablet displays should be judged.”
The high definition ratio and the slim sides that are contoured for the hands easily make this tweener tablet the easiest on the eyes to read and the most comfortable to hold for long periods of time; and after all, by design, the Nook HD is an advanced e-reader for all extents and purposes. The internal operating system features multiple accounts—making this tablet ideal for sharing with family members. But the Nook HD is not without its faults, either.
Nook HD is greatly lacking in apps, which many users will find to be very annoying. By comparison to the Kindle Fire, the Nook HD only offers 10,000 apps to Amazon’s 60,000, which are both bested by the iPad Mini’s whopping 275,000 apps. However, all three tablets are easily defeated by the Galaxy Nexus by Google, which boasts an incredible 700,000 apps. But with Google yet to enter the melee with their own tweener tablet that’s priced comparable to this trio, anxious users will have to wait until the search engine behemoth announces release dates of its forthcoming mini tablet.
So before you race out and buy just any tablet, consider the features, the price and the available apps that you’ll be able to use. While you may pay more for the iPad mini, you get a ton more apps but a shoddier screen resolution. The Nook HD offers the least amount of apps but the best screen. The middle of the road tweener is easily the Amazon Kindle Fire, with a decent amount of apps and a quality screen. And then there is the Samsung tweener tablet – which we’ll talk about in a forthcoming entry.
