Barnes & Noble has officially unveiled a new version of its flagship Android tablet, with a price point exactly the same as Amazon’s Kindle Fire.
The device is essentially the same as the existing Nook Tablet, except the capacity has been scaled down to 8 GB. The current tablet offers 16 GB of storage space and is priced at $250.
Of course, everyone knows that Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet is just $200, so if you’re going to buy an entry-level Android tablet, you’re probably going go with Amazon’s choice.
However, the new Nook Tablet makes for a tougher competition between the two tablets. Then again, the Kindle Fire has so much momentum right now, it will be hard for anyone to catch up.
As for technical specs, the Nook Tablet offers a 1 GHz dual-core processor, and a microSD card slot for additional storage. It promises nearly 12 hours of reading time, which puts it on par with the Kindle Fire.
Right now the answer to Amazon’s tablet has pretty much been that the Kindle Fire is a good base-level, inexpensive way to get into the tablet world, but if you want something with more power, the other manufacturers want you to head to their side.
For Barnes & Noble as well as Amazon, entering the tablet market is a new step. Both retailers previously offered dedicated e-reader devices, but that niche will always remain nothing more than a niche. The tablet industry is where there is much more money to be made.
