Barnes & Noble, Samsung unveil the $179 Galaxy Tab 4 Nook

[Shawn Knight]

As expected, Barnes & Noble and Samsung on Wednesday unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook at a media event in New York. The device is designed to be a full-fledged Android tablet that also doubles as a solid e-reader but whether it'll be enough to get consumers interested remains to be seen.

The first tablet not manufactured by Barnes & Noble is basically a Galaxy Tab 4 loaded with Nook software. As a refresher, the hardware consists of a 7-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1,280 x 800 and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core chip, 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory (expandable via microSD card slot).

Other specs include a 3-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS and a 4,000mAh lithium ion battery good for up to 10 hours of Internet use or video playback. Cellular connectivity isn't an option so you'll have to rely on Wi-Fi to connect to the web.

The Nook software runs on top of Android 4.4 KitKat which means we aren't just looking at a Nook app preinstalled on an Android tablet.

The device is priced at $179 which is exactly what Samsung asks for their own version of the tablet. And in an effort to attract buyers, Barnes & Noble is offering $200 worth of free content and a $5 starter credit to anyone that buys the new slate.

Do you think Barnes & Noble made a wise decision in partnering with Samsung? Should they have kept building their own hardware or perhaps exited the tablet / e-reader business completely?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/57793-barnes-noble-samsung-unveil-the-179-galaxy-tab-4-nook.html

 

[texasrattler]

To be honest I thought Barnes and Noble left the tablet business. Even Techspot in the past 2 years have stated the death of the Nook several times. Last I heard I think was a year ago that Barnes and Noble even said they would not make Nook hardware anymore. I guess that all changed. Partnering with Samsung is a good idea because they sure weren't doing anything with their own hardware. Will it help, who knows. Time will tell.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

To be honest I thought Barnes and Noble left the tablet business. Even Techspot in the past 2 years have stated the death of the Nook several times. Last I heard I think was a year ago that Barnes and Noble even said they would not make Nook hardware anymore. I guess that all changed. Partnering with Samsung is a good idea because they sure weren't doing anything with their own hardware. Will it help, who knows. Time will tell.

2nd paragraph... "The first tablet not manufactured by Barnes & Noble ", so I guess that's what they meant when they said they weren't making the Nook anymore. I thought the same as you... that 'not making the Nook anymore' meant, no more Nook. Guess it just means they'll outsource the manufacturing.

Do you think Barnes & Noble made a wise decision in partnering with Samsung? Should they have kept building their own hardware or perhaps exited the tablet / e-reader business completely?

I'll bet it's a good decision. B&N is in the book selling business, not the tablet business. Now the risk of poor Nook sales falls to Samsung instead of B&N, while B&N gets to keep their Nook platform for selling e-books. Samsung will get a cut of the ebooks revenue so they get paid for their risk in taking on the Nook, and they'll get the profit for selling the tablets. Seems like Win, Win, Win every way you look at it.

But what does this line mean?

The Nook software runs on top of Android 4.4 KitKat which means we aren't just looking at a Nook app preinstalled on an Android tablet.

I have a Nook, and the B&N loaded interface on top of Android was TERRIBLE. As in, no Google Play store, and apps that were free on Google's play store were like $3 on the Nook. It's no wonder they had trouble selling them. The solution back then was to root the thing, which turned it into a nice little tablet with a handy Nook app, complete with the 'Read-to-me' interactive features for kids that you can't get on regular tablets. I wonder if this new tablet will require rooting and a custom ROM too for full Android functionality.

 

[TomSEA]

I have a Nook and have enjoyed it. Think it's the best reader out there. As a tablet - not so much. Functional, but that's about it.

So I'm definitely interested in this, especially with the $200 worth of content and $5 credit.

 

[lna2000]

I've had the Nook Tablet for nearly 3 years. The hardware is good, but the Nook OS over Android is awful. The Nook OS is what killed the Nook Tablet. No Google Play. B&N charged for Apps that were free on G Play. I used a N2A (nook to android) SD card to work around the Nook software, but even that OS had problems with the Nook Hardware.
If this new Nook OS allows for G Play, they got a chance of being a winner. But if it locks out G Play, play the death march.