knowledgeablesh: Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet unboxing and hands-on (video)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet unboxing and hands-on (video)

Look what we got in our grubby hands -- it's the new Nook Tablet, Barnes & Noble's attempt to elbow in on this holiday season's crowded tablet landscape. At $249, the slate is being positioned as a direct competitor to Amazon's budget Kindle Fire. Thus far, the device has yet to capture the public's imagination in the same way Amazon's tablet has -- due, at least in part, to the many similarities between it and last year's Nook Color.

Externally, the Tablet is virtually indistinguishable from the Nook Color. It's got the same dimensions (8.1 x 5.0 x 0.48 inches), making for a tall and narrow display. It also rocks that same distinctive bar looping out from its bottom lefthand corner. Barnes & Noble has opted for a lighter silver color scheme here, instead of the Nook Color's dark gray shell, and has managed to shave a bit of weight from the newest Nook -- so it comes in at 14.1 ounces, in spite of its souped-up internals. At 0.48 inches, the tablet is thicker than both the iPad 2 (0.35 inches) and the Kindle Fire (0.45 inches), if only just barely in the latter case.

Gallery: Nook Tablet unboxing