News Analysis: The Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet is available now. Although the device isn't expected to outsell the Kindle Fire, it has features that will make some folks jump at the chance to buy it.
The Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet is
available for in-store pickup now, which means the battle for dominance in the
sub-$250 tablet category is on. Now,
customers will need to decide if they want to
buy the $199 Kindle Fire from Amazon or drop an extra $50 to get their hands on
the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. Or, if they're willing to spend enough
money to buy a full-featured tablet, they might choose to buy Apple's iPad 2,
which starts at $499.
That said, each tablet, regardless of
its price, comes with a set of unique features that will appeal to one group of
customers or another. The Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet is a fine option for those
who think an iPad 2 is too pricey or that the Kindle Fire doesn't offer the features
they need.
Those features will likely prompt tablet
shoppers sitting on the fence to choose the Nook. Here's why.
1.
It's cheap
Although the iPad 2 is the dominant
tablet in the market, the device is too expensive for some. Spending $250 on a
nice, 7-inch tablet might appeal to those customers who aren't so willing to
drop at least $500 for Apple's option. Granted, they'll lose many features,
like dual cameras and a bigger display, but for those who want to get their
hands on a tablet but not pay the higher price,
the $250 savings might be worth it.
2.
Readers, rejoice!
Barnes & Noble started in the
hardware space with e-readers. As a result the company is already maintaining a
huge library of e-books for Nook Tablet owners. So, if users want to buy new
releases or an older title, they can get a digital copy and download it
directly to their tablet. The Nook Tablet is a great option for heavy readers.
3.
Twice the storage of the Kindle Fire
Amazon's Kindle Fire has been
criticized for only offering 8GB of data storage. The Nook Tablet, on the
other hand, comes with 16GB of storage, making it a better choice for customers
who want to store video and music. But beware: Unlike the Kindle Fire, the Nook
Tablet does not have a cloud storage feature.
4.
All the apps customers want
Apple's App Store is still the king of
mobile application markets, but some of the most popular applications,
like Angry Birds and Netflix, are available for
the Nook Tablet. The best part is, because the Nook Tablet is
Android-based, many more apps will be coming to the device as the growing
number of Android developers keep releasing new.
Email
Print
