[Update] Rumor: Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet Headed Our Way, Original NOOK Color to Get $200 Price Tag
Android Central have apparently gotten their hands on materials regarding one old and one new device by Barnes & Noble. First off, that NOOK Tablet. It’s said to be a bit smaller and thinner than the NOOK Color, though with a nice set of internals to help OS performance.
Inside will be a 1.2GHz TI OMAP4 dual core processor, 16GB of RAM and a 32GB microSD card slot for expansion. Its display comes in at 7 inches and has 1024×600 resolution. We’re also getting WiFi n. So it’ll be faster, that’s for sure, but that’s about all we know for now.
It’ll cost $250 and should be available beginning November 16th, according to the slides. This puts it right behind Amazon in terms of launch, though the price tag could be a major difference in consumers’ purchase decision. I should note that the NOOK Color will get a price drop to $200 – more on that below.
If true, both tablets will be in time for Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the season. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out ahead in this race. We have a slight idea, but we won’t entertain the thoughts at this time.
While OS details weren’t mentioned, we’d imagine some form of Android 2.x sits beneath Barnes & Noble’s customization. Android 4.0? Well, this tablet just wasn’t meant for it officially, but there could be some very good stuff headed our way unofficially once it does launch.
With that comes a supposed imminent price drop for the NOOK Color. It will go down to $200 from $250 and we’re also supposed to be seeing a software update to version 1.4 soon. It brings with it Hulu support, Rhapsody, MOG, Grooveshark, more digital magazines to choose from and a lot more apps. Doesn’t sound like a bad deal at all.
Head to the source links for more details. [1,2]
[Update]: It looks like the NOOK Simple Touch is getting a drop to $99. [via]