It looks like Barnes & Noble is about to launch its answer to the new Amazon Kindle Fire with the first true tablet to grace their line of Nook e-readers – the Nook Tablet.
Engadget has unearthed some documents that confirm the Nook Tablet launch for November 16th. The new device will start at $249.
Apparently, it is incredibly similar to the Nook Color e-reader, except it boasts some beefed-up specs. It will have a 1GB dual-core processor, making it faster than the Color and will sport 1GB RAM, making it more powerful than the Color and the Kindle Fire.
Here’s what we can expect, according to Engadget:
What we’re looking at is a 7-inch VividView IPS color touchpanel with a 1024 x 600 screen resolution (that’s 169 pixels per inch), a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor, 1GB of RAM, dimensions of 8.1- x 5- x 0.48-inches, 16GB of inbuilt storage, a microSD expansion slot, roughly eight hours of battery life with WiFi switched off (that sinks to four hours with videos playing back), 802.11b/g/n WiFi and support for a smorgasbord of file formats including ePUB, PDF, XLS, DOC, PPT, TXT, DOCM, Flash, JPG, MP3, MP4 and AAC.
Of course, that price point is $50 more than the Kindle Fire, so what will make people choose the Nook Tablet? According to B&N, the extra $50 is for twice the power, twice the memory,and twice the selection of books and magazines. Plus, the Nook Tablet will be lighter than its rival.
According to the leaked documents, the official press announcement will happen on November 7th, which is also the day that pre-orders will begin. The tablet will find its way into customers’ hands on November 16th.
In what looks to be related to this upcoming release, the Nook Color will get a price drop, down to $199. A new software update to the device will bring Hulu Plus, music from Rhapsody and Grooveshark, as well as more apps.
Even with this price drop for the Nook Color, you’d think that some customers would pay the extra $50 and opt for the new Nook Tablet, considering the beefed-up specs.