Samsung and Barnes & Noble Event August 20th

[Shane R]

It's just another version of the Galaxy tab. The Galaxy tab is a pretty good tablet, all told.

If you're an enthusiast of any sort, however, you're obviously not the target.

[tubemonkey]

Some co-branding. The only company name printed on this tablet is Samsung (front & back). Where is the word Nook printed?

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Some co-branding. The only company name printed on this tablet is Samsung (front & back). Where is the word Nook printed?

It isn't. The only indication that it is a Barnes & Noble product is the software.

[Lemurion]

Not really impressed, no comparison for the HD+ at all, and the new tablet compares unfavorably to the HD at a higher price point.

[Fbone]

I don't see the HD or the HD+ available on the B&N website.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Fbone

I don't see the HD or the HD+ available on the B&N website.

Of course not, they're out of the HD+ and they don't want to show a 1440x900 7" tablet for $129 when they're trying to sell a 1280x800 one for $179.

[fjtorres]

The customization is just grafting the Nook front end.
All the Samsung apps are there and there is no branding on the device itself.

From CNET:

...the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook hardware is identical to the existing 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4, which lists for $199, but is widely available for $20 less. In fact, there's not even any Barnes & Noble branding on the device, only on the box.

The Nook version comes in white or black. It's being offered for $179 after a $20 instant rebate in Barnes & Noble's online and brick-and-mortar stores. At launch you also get what B&N says is $200 worth of free content, including three e-books, three TV episodes, a $5 Nook store credit for apps or movies, and some special offers for digital magazines.

[LoganK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Typical Samsung. On top of that, KitKat won't allow App2SD. Great!

I haven't personally tested it, but that doesn't sound right. There were changes in Kit Kat, but moving applications to the SD card wasn't one of them.

(You may have been referring to the specific application App2SD, but I wanted to clarify as the comment could be misleading.)

Originally Posted by Shane R

More than screen resolution is at play here.

Until recently, the dedicated Nook applications were the best software available for reading. They[*] are still among the best, but the Play Books applications is really good now (and allows for both full screen and synchronizing personal content). I'm really curious how well the new experience compares. If nothing else, I hope the new tablets are faster (I love the HD/+ line, but they are quite slow).
[*] I use the plural because B&N now have 7(?) completely different Nook applications running on Android. It's like they throw the Adobe RMSDK at a contracting house for every release and completely ignore what they've done before. It's so frustrating to watch so much wasted effort.

Ideally, the new reading application is good and B&N simply release it to the public on the Play store. The existing "public" application is fairly awful and I'd love to see it disappear.

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Not really impressed, no comparison for the HD+ at all, and the new tablet compares unfavorably to the HD at a higher price point.

I know one of the things people really like about the Nook HD/+ is that the bezels are wide enough to hold easily. I'm not sure about the new one...

I do really like that they have a case that supports both portrait and landscape, but that's just window dressing.

[bobstro]

Sadly, the $200 bundle is of less value to me than Samsung's standard Perks package for the SGT4 line. Both Samsung and Best Buy are offering the SGT4 7.0 for ~$179. Bad timing for B&N.

[Barty]

I bought a nexus 7 last year on sale for 179. It has 1920#1200 screen, 16gb storage, and crapware free kit kat. This does have SD slot, which you're going to need with only 5gb free. Still pretty lame. Are Samsung products as good as the premium they charge? I have a Samsung HDTV and a capacitor blew after a year.

I wish B&N luck. Thanks for the nook hd+ If only I could upgrade the CPU like with a PC.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Barty

I bought a nexus 7 last year on sale for 179. It has 1920#1200 screen, 16gb storage, and crapware free kit kat. This does have SD slot, which you're going to need with only 5gb free. Still pretty lame. Are Samsung products as good as the premium they charge? I have a Samsung HDTV and a capacitor blew after a year.

I wish B&N luck. Thanks for the nook hd+ If only I could upgrade the CPU like with a PC.

And you can buy a (refurbished) N7 2013 for barely over $100 these days, or a brand new one for less than the $179 the B&N tablet costs - better screen, better software, better tablet all around.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Shane R

It's just another version of the Galaxy tab. The Galaxy tab is a pretty good tablet, all told.

I can't believe that any major tablet maker is still making tablets with only 8gb storage. The SD card slot doesn't matter, when you can't put/run apps off the card. I would never buy another 8gb tablet. Shame on Samsung!

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I can't believe that any major tablet maker is still making tablets with only 8gb storage. The SD card slot doesn't matter, when you can't put/run apps off the card. I would never buy another 8gb tablet. Shame on Samsung!

Agreed. The lack of on board storage is a complete deal breaker for me.

[conan50]

I think this new tablet does not bode well for nook.
Perhaps they should focus on improving their apps and e-ink devices and forego tablets.

[bobstro]

That's arguably what they've done. They seem to be more-or-less acting as Samsung resellers. Low-risk for both parties, I assume. Hopefully, they'll add the most compelling features to the Android app on the GoPS.