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The Nook Tablet is a dead ringer for the attractive and unique-looking Nook Color. But while B&N didn’t change the looks of the Nook Tablet, the company managed to make the Tablet more compact and more powerful at the same time. The lighter and slimmer Nook Tablet, built to outrun the Kindle Fire in the low tablet category, possesses specs comparable to the more expensive iPad 2. Are these enhancements enough to justify the $50 difference between the $249 Nook Tablet and the $199 Kindle Fire?

Features –Hardware and Software

The Nook Tablet vastly improves on 4 major areas: speed, storage, screen display, and software.

First, the Nook Tablet’s speed: As far as mock models have demonstrated, the device is noticeably zippier than last year’s model, and this is because of a more robust 1.2GHz dual core processor and 1GB RAM.

Size of onboard storage has doubled up to 16GB (14GB is available to user). Coupled with SD card slot, which supports 32GB cards, the Nook Tablet lets you carry up to 6 times more files than the Kindle Fire. While many applaud Amazon’s Cloud storage for the seemingly infinite amount of files it can store, it can substitute the convenience of having your files accessible at all times, whether you’re in a WiFi hotspot or not. However, if you prefer cloud storage, you can get Dropbox or similar free cloud storage apps to the device.

The Nook Tablet is outfitted with the same 1024 x 600 IPS LCD screen with 16 million colors and 89 percent viewing angle found in the Nook Color. A laminated coating, however, gives the Tablet extra vividness and less glare that makes it great for watching hi-res videos.  It promises to support 1080p HD videos, but Netflix movies will be displayed in 720p only, which some may find disappointing.

While Apple and Amazon use their respective tablets as platform for their multiple products, Barnes & Noble takes a different approach. B&N will be providing eBooks, magazines, newspapers , and apps via its Nook Store, but other digital media services will be outsourced to companies like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and Rhapsody. A combination of old and new B&N apps will be made available, such as   Read and Record (for recording custom narration of children books), Nook Kids, and Page Perfect (a PDF reader).

The Nook Tablet promises a record-holding 11.5 hours of reading or 9 hours of video with wireless off.

Pros

The Nook Tablet comes with a compact design. 0.48 inch thin and weighing  14.1 ounces only, it is comfortably light and easy to hold. Combined onboard storage and SD expansion slot allows you to carry thousands of movie, audio, photo, and text files on the go. High resolution screen is great for HP movie viewing.

Cons

Despite the name, the Nook Tablet is not a full-fledged tablet like the iPad or the Galaxy Tab. B&N had to cut corners somewhere to lower the cost of the device, and three items you won’t find in the tablet are: camera, 3G wireless, and Bluetooth support.

The Bottom Line

The Nook Tablet weds affordability and power. If you are looking for an affordable tablet with the storage and speed of an iPad, the Nook Tablet seems to be the only tablet that fits this category. However, this review is based only on the demonstrations and mock models provided by B&N. We’ll update this review once the actual Nook Tablet arrives. Shipping begins November 17.