Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by consumers.
Skip to Main ContentThe payment for your account couldn't be processed or you've canceled your account with us.
Re-activate
Barnes & Noble today heated up the tablet computer market by introducing a new $199 version of its Nook Tablet and cutting the price of the tablet-like Nook Color e-reader to $169.
With the price cuts, B&N is now offering a tablet with the same 8GB of storage and $199 price tag as its key competitor, the Amazon Kindle Fire. Formerly, the Nook Tablet was available only at $249 for a 16GB version, which is still being sold at that price.
By trimming the price of the Nook Color, the bookseller now offers a device that costs less than the Kindle Fire and offers some of the same basic specs, including a 7-inch LCD color screen and access to an array of apps.
The Nook Color is billed as an e-book reader and so is included in our Ratings of e-book readers (available to subscribers). But the device closely resembles the Nook Tablet in appearance and functionality, though it has a slower processor and lacks access to some apps that are available on the Nook Tablet, including the Hulu Plus streaming-video app.
While Consumer Reports engineers haven't tested the new version of the Nook Tablet, we'd expect that performance should be comparable to the existing 16GB version, which is a Recommended model in our Ratings of tablet computers. The less expensive version is, of course, more limited in the content it can store on board. But each version of the Nook Tablet has a built-in microSD card slot, so you can easily expand storage by up to 32GB.
The promise of the new and lower-priced B&N devices raises the tantalizing prospect of an Amazon response—and perhaps even a tablet counterpart to the retailers' prolonged price war in e-book readers. A round of price cuts by the two companies seems increasingly possible, according to CR's tablet experts, given the likely prospect of a new version of the Apple iPad in the weeks to come.
In the meantime, if you're looking for advice on how to choose between a tablet and an e-reader, check out our free online buying advice for tablet computers and buying advice on e-book readers.
Barnes & Noble Introduces NOOK Tablet™ - 8GB For Incredibly Low Price of $199 [Barnes & Noble]
Barnes & Noble unveils 8GB Nook Tablet for $199, slashes Color to $169 [Engadget]
Nook Tablet now available in 8GB version, priced at $199 [MSNBC]
—Paul Reynolds with Paul Eng
Build & Buy Car Buying Service
Save thousands off MSRP with upfront dealer pricing information and a transparent car buying experience.
Get Ratings on the go and compare
while you shop
