MGlitch: You don't know what the RFP demanded. For instance, it might have required more than 4GB of storage, which is all the Aura 2 has; the Nia has more. You also don't win many technology tenders by coming to the table with a device that's been on the market for four years.
(And given that B&N botched just about EVERYTHING in relation to nook, losing over a billion dollars on that product line, it's hardly significant to say they screwed up in the education market, too; they couldn't make ANY market work profitably for their product.
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