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Nook Simple Touch seeing price drop to $99, touts 'no annoying ads'
Who says a friendly jab is unwarranted? A leaked Barnes & Noble's slide that slipped into our hands has confirmed that the touch-enabled Nook (now formally know as the Nook Simple Touch) will fall from $139 to $99 as early as November 16th, bringing with it a v1.1 software update that's largely unheralded for now. In the paperwork, B&N claims that this guy offers "25 percent faster page turns than any other e-reader, a two-month battery life built-in WiFi, and no annoying ads." Man, Amazon. Are you really going to sit back and take that? %Gallery-138390%
B&N cutting Nook Color price to $199, adding Hulu Plus and more streaming music
So, if the looming Nook Tablet's retailing for $249, what's that mean for the Nook Color? A price drop, naturally. Based on leaked slides that we've received, the Nook Color will be dropping to $199 by November 16th, but the $50 price savings ain't all that B&N's throwing your way. The Nook Color v1.4 update will bring along some pretty intense extras, including the addition of Hulu Plus, "millions of songs" from services like Rhapsody, Grooveshark, Pandora and MOG and a litany of new tailored apps (with Scrabble called out in particular). Decisions, decisions...
B&N launching Nook Tablet for $249 on November 16th, and we've got the dirty details
Sitting down? Good. Come November 16th, Amazon's Kindle Fire will have company. We've wrapped our paws around a stash of documents confirming the impending launch of the first bona fide tablet in the Nook line, and lo and behold, the Nook Tablet will end up being a dead-ringer for the Nook Color that already exists. What we're looking at is a 7-inch VividView IPS color touchpanel with a 1024 x 600 screen resolution (that's 169 pixels per inch), a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor, 1GB of RAM, dimensions of 8.1- x 5- x 0.48-inches, 16GB of inbuilt storage, a microSD expansion slot, roughly eight hours of battery life with WiFi switched off (that sinks to four hours with videos playing back), 802.11b/g/n WiFi and support for a smorgasbord of file formats including ePUB, PDF, XLS, DOC, PPT, TXT, DOCM, Flash, JPG, MP3, MP4 and AAC. Nook Color review B&N cutting Nook Color price to $199, adding Hulu Plus and more streaming music Nook Simple Touch seeing price drop to $99, touts 'no annoying ads' What's looney is just how similar this thing is to the Nook Color, even in functionality; in fact, B&N simply says that it offers "everything the Nook Color [does] + the best in HD entertainment." We've also confirmed that it'll ship for $249 here in the States -- a full $50 more than Amazon's Kindle Fire. So, why does B&N think you'll pony up the extra? For one, the Nook Tablet has twice the RAM and twice the storage compared to its closest rival, while also being lighter and having access to over two million books, magazines and newspapers. So, what say you? You'll be able to pre-order your own on November 7th, and for those still dubious, in-store demonstrations will begin on the 15th. %Gallery-138387%
Steve Jobs bio debuts atop Amazon, Barnes & Nobles best-seller list
Steve Jobs's biography debuted ahead of schedule this week and skyrocketed to the top of the charts at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Exact sales numbers are not available, but the biography is the top seller on Amazon's Kindle, hardcover and audiobook bestseller lists. It also tops the charts on Barnes and Noble's hardcover, Nook and audiobook lists. The biography, written by former Times editor Walter Isaacson, was originally scheduled for a March 2012 launch. That date was pushed up to November 21, 2011 over the summer. The biography unexpectedly became available on Sunday via the Amazon Kindle Store and Apple's iBookstore, while the hardcover version went on sale in stores and online starting yesterday. Now that it is officially in the hands of Apple fans worldwide, details of the book are now being publicly released. The juiciest tidbit to come from the biography is the suggestion that Jobs and Apple were possibly working on an Apple-branded television set. The book also details Jobs's dislike of Android and his vow to go nuclear in his fight against the competing platform.
Barnes & Noble pulls DC Comics from shelves over Kindle kerfuffle, risks Martian Manhunter's wrath
Frankly, we'd advise against crossing anyone given to costumed superheroics, but a policy is a policy. Book selling giant Barnes & Noble has begun pulling select DC Comics from store shelves this week, in response to a deal struck between the publisher and Amazon, which will make digital copies of a number of comics exclusively available through the online retailer for use with the forthcoming Kindle Fire. The move is part of Barnes & Noble's policy to remove physical books from its shelves if the available digital version of the text is not offered up to the company. According to an exec, "To sell and promote the physical book in our store showrooms and not have the e-book available for sale would undermine our promise to Barnes & Noble customers to make available any book, anywhere, anytime." J'onn J'onzz has yet to weigh in on the matter.
Pandigital Supernova available mid-October for $230, is an eReader in Android tablet disguise
Pandigital hasn't made much of an effort to swathe its Supernova tab in mystery. When the 8-inch LCD slate swept through the FCC earlier this summer, we were privy not only to images of the device and its internals, but also to the apps that'd be pre-loaded on purchase -- GetJar and Barnes & Noble's Nook app amongst others. So, what can you expect for $230 when it lands this month? Well, the company's forsaken Honeycomb for the soon-to-be outclassed Gingerbread OS, tossed in a single-core 1GHz A8 processor, 4GB of storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD slot), WiFi and Bluetooth. It's a cheap, me too Android tablet entry, for sure. And with the recent outing of a certain budget-priced, ecosystem-friendly tab, we might suggest you hold off for the higher-specced goods. Official PR after the break.
Engadget's back to school guide 2011: tablets
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we're leaning back with our tablets -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! There are certain back to school purchases we could never talk you out of. A laptop? Vital. A smartphone? Highly recommended. A printer? Necessary -- if you're the kind of person who finishes papers minutes with minutes to spare, leaving no time to swing by the computer lab on the way to class. But a tablet? We'll be honest: we can't think of a good reason why you need one, but we can more than sympathize if you're dead-set. We've picked a few noteworthy choices for each budget, though if you're really lucky you'll win one of 15 Samsung Galaxy Tabs and won't have to pay a dime. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and check out our giveaway page for more details. So wipe off the glasses, grab your clicker, and get ready to jump past the break for this year's tablet picks for back to school.
Barnes & Noble offers back to school Nook deal, adds more to your reading list
Thinking about getting an e-reader before you head back to school this fall? Barnes & Noble surely hopes so, and to sweeten the deal it's offering 12 free classics along with study guides and apps if you register your freshly unboxed Nook before October 31st. That's right folks, over $100 worth of e-books can be yours with the purchase of the new Nook, the Nook Color or even the first edition Nook. While it must be said that most of the available titles are out of copyright and so are already available for free download elsewhere (we're looking at you, Gutenberg.org), you can at least select from a dozen Spark Notes of time-consuming reads such as War and Peace. So if you're looking to take a break from all that Organic Chemistry mumbo jumbo, you can catch up on A Tale of Two Cities in your spare time.
Time Inc. aims to please advertisers and your eyes, making all mags tablet-friendly by year's end
Do you love reading Time magazine on your tablet, but wish you had the same luxury with all of its related offerings? Oh boy, do we have fantastic news for you. As it stands, select Time Inc. publications are supported on the iPad, Android Marketplace, TouchPad, and Next Issue Media's store, but now the company has announced plans to make all 21 of its mags available on tablets by the year's end. Furthermore, support for the Nook Color will be added by the end of August with digital versions of Time, Sports Illustrated, People, and Fortune. Current subscribers to the print editions won't be left out either when it all rolls out, as they'll be able to opt-in for free upgrades with digital access. The decision is apparently tied to increasing "digital reach" for advertisers, but hey, ad-support isn't totally lame. Right? Full PR just past the break.
Pandigital unveils Nova, Planet and Star Android tablets, 'flagship' device coming next month
It's shaping up to be a busy month for Pandigital. Two days after we spotted the Nova at Best Buy, the astronomically-inclined company has decided to officially unveil the Android tablet alongside the Planet and Star, with a fourth "flagship" device slated for release in September. Each of the three slates is powered by an A9 Cortex processor, and boasts a seven-inch touchscreen display (800x600 resolution on the Planet and Nova and 800x480 on the Star, pictured above). As far as storage goes, both the Planet and the Star offer 2GB of onboard memory, with the Nova packing 4GB, and all three offer WiFi and HDMI connectivity. The slabs also come preloaded with Barnes & Noble's eBookstore app and provide access to GetJar's app download store, rather than the Android Market. Honeycomb enthusiasts, however, should probably look elsewhere, as both the Planet and the Star run Android 2.2 Froyo, while the Nova ships with Gingerbread. But considering their prices, that shortcoming may be easy to overlook. The Planet, available now, will run you $189, as will the Nova, scheduled to ship later this week (though, again, you can also find it on Best Buy, for $170). The Star, meanwhile, will hit stores in mid-August, for a paltry $159. Rocket past the break for some photos of the Nova and Planet, along with more details, in the full press release.
Engadget's back to school guide 2011: e-readers
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we've got our optical viewfinders set firmly on digital cameras -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! Most of us are still walking around hunchbacked from years of carrying heavy textbooks in our overstuffed backpacks. Thankfully, an e-reader can significantly lighten the loads for students everywhere. Sure, we've still got a ways to go before electronic devices can replace textbooks altogether, but in the long run, it's a purpose that could significantly impact the postures of backpack wearers all over. Jump past the break for our recommendations, and another opportunity to enter our back to school giveaway. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and head over to our giveaway page for more details.
Pandigital's Nova Android tablet hits Best Buy, explodes for $170
Pandigital has added a new star to its growing galaxy of e-readers, with the Nova Digital Reader -- a seven-inch, Android 2.3-powered slate that looks awfully similar to that eight-inch Super Nova we recently spotted at the FCC. The tablet, which just popped up at Best Buy, is powered by an 800MHz processor, offers 4GB of internal storage, and features an ActiveTouch display with 800x600 resolution. Much like its forerunners, the Novel and the Planet, the Nova also connects directly to the Barnes and Noble bookstore, and sports a pair of front- and rear-facing cameras. Aside from that, you'll find the usual 802.11 b/g/n wireless capabilities, a built-in microSD card slot, and a micro HDMI port, all packed within a frame that's half-an-inch thick. Persuaded? Grab your 'scope and zoom in on the source link to purchase. [Thanks, Charlie]
Pandigital's SuperNova Android tablet gets its FCC on, leaves little to the imagination
Typically, when a new gadget makes its way through the FCC, we have to do a fair amount of digging to get to the juicy details, put Pandigital's latest 8-inch tablet / e-reader, the SuperNova, isn't holding anything back. This Android 2.3-powered slate follows in the footsteps of its 9-inch predecessor, the Novel, acting more as a glorified e-reader than a real-deal tablet. Like the Novel, it comes with B&N's Nook app pre-installed and lacks access to the Android Market -- apps can be downloaded via SlideMe. What's more, it's got front (0.3 megapixel) and back-facing (3 megapixel) cameras, 4GB of internal storage, HDMI and mini-USB connectivity, support for 32GB micro-SD, and an 8-inch capacitive touch screen. Just about the only things missing from this FCC filing are price and availability, but we have a feeling the pair isn't far behind. If SAR reports and tablet entrails are your thing, you can peek even more SuperNova details at the source link below.
Mysterious Battlefield 3 paperback/eBook spotted online
Listings for a book (potentially) based on Battlefield 3 have started cropping up at various literary outlets around the web, in both paperback and eBook flavors. Amazon lists the book as a 400-page "Mass Market Paperback" by Andy McNab, an author and war-vet who, according to Gamersbook, has been advising BF3 developer DICE on their motion-capture techniques. Barnes & Nobel also has a listing for Battlefield 3, this time in as a Nook eBook, with both McNab and BF3 Executive Producer Patrick Bach cited as authors. We can also assume that these listing aren't for a strategy guide, as the "Mass Market Paperback" classification is reserved for novels and the like, whereas strategy guides are classified as "Paperbacks." The tremendously tantalizing tome is available for pre-order at both outlets, with Amazon listing the release date as October 25 and B&N reporting a November release window. We've reached out to the book's registered publisher, Grand Central Publishing, for more information.
PSA: Got a Nook Color? Then you can get dual-booting Nook2Android
Here comes a public service announcement: Eat slower and you'll feel fuller. Oh sorry, wrong one. We meant: Nook Color owners, you can now dual-boot your slate using the specially-created Nook2Android SD card. The card makes installing Android 2.3 a snap and it's now shipping with a dual-boot file courtesy of XDA developers, which means you can choose to boot into the original Nook OS without having to remove the card. You're looking at $35 for an 8GB card, rising to $90 for 32GB. Alternatively, if you're happy to get a bit of oil on your hands, you can try the manual approach. Mmmm, Gingerbread, chew every mouthful.
IDC: Barnes & Noble charges ahead of the e-reader pack, people like a little color with their books
Consumers, it seems, aren't quite ready to declare the devoted e-reader market dead just yet -- according to IDC, the space is set to grow by 24 percent globally in 2011. That's especially good news for Barnes & Noble, as the company pushed to the top of the e-reader race for Q1, edging out Amazon's industry-defining Kindle. The bookseller's lead came thanks to its multiple devices, including the recently introduced touchscreen Nook and the tablet-esque Nook Color. The research firm credits the latter with Barnes & Noble's surge in the standings, explaining that the Kindle's colorless state has negatively impacted sales. Check out the sadly uncolorful press release below.
Barnes & Noble offers 30 free e-books to switch to Nook -- that's one expensive carrot
It seems dangling deals to lure consumers away from competitors is all the rage these days, and Barnes & Noble has jumped on the make-the-switch bandwagon, offering $315 worth of e-books to prospective buyers of its Nook e-reader. Starting today, when owners of those other devices tote their current e-readers into a Barnes & Noble store and buy themselves a new Nook or Nook Color, they'll get 30 free eBooks, with an apparent value of $315. Here's the catch -- because, you know there had to be one -- Barnes & Noble's won't let you pick the books for yourself. Those 30 free eBooks will come pre-loaded on a 2GB microSD card. If you've got the taste of a corporate marketing team, and have been waiting for a reason to get in on the Nook action, check out the source link for more details. Full PR after the break.
CyanogenMod 7 on the Nook Color hands-on (video)
It's hard not to love Barnes & Noble's Nook Color, especially if you're amongst those who'd rather look at text on a quality backlit screen than an e-paper display. Not only did we enjoy the e-book reader when we first reviewed it, but it keeps getting better thanks to updates to its hidden Android core plus the recent addition of its own app store complete with Pandora and Angry Birds. And while there's also a decent bundled web browser and music player, it's not the software that we like the most -- it's the hardware, and particularly the value proposition. See, $250 ($200 on sale) buys you a gorgeous 7-inch 1024x600 pixel capacitive IPS panel with excellent contrast and viewing angles, an 800MHz TI OMAP 3621 CPU, a PowerVR SGX 530 GPU, 512MB RAM, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth, 8GB of built-in storage, an accelerometer, and a microSD card slot -- all wrapped in an attractive 12mm thin package. Sure, there's no 3G radio, no camera, no microphone, no ambient light sensor, and no haptic feedback, but despite its lower-end specs, the Nook Color just begs to be turned into a full blown Android tablet. And that's just what we did, by installing CyanogenMod 7 on Barnes & Noble's color reader, complete with Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) and the full suite of Google apps. Take a look at our screenshots gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video and impressions. %Gallery-125927%
Rooted Nook WiFi loaded with Angry Birds, soars then stalls (video)
That was fast. The Nook WiFi just hit the streets and already it's been rooted for less reading and more gaming -- with Angry Birds, no less. YouTuber JFreke has posted the results of loading a custom ROM on the Android 2.1 e-book reader, and it isn't exactly glamorous (read: playable) as-is. The refresh rate on the device may be quick for page turns, but the mid-sling freezing doesn't quite make a case for after school utility. Still, it probably won't stop some users from wanting to join in on this Android exploiting pastime; if you dare, J says the code will be released shortly, but for now you'll find the footage by breezing past the break. Update: If you're still feeling brave enough, you'll find the root guide by hitting the Nook Devs link below. [Thanks, Linus]
Barnes & Noble Nook WiFi review
Many who follow the e-reader market keep coming back to the same question: how long does it realistically have left? The explosion of tablets and reader apps for smartphones have left their respective impacts on the space, while the market for devoted readers continues to be dominated by Amazon's Kindle. Undaunted, both Kobo and Barnes & Noble launched new black and white e-readers based around the same touch and display technologies last week. After all, despite increased competition from outside the space, the reader market continues to be a vibrant one -- and after the Nook Color proved it was an undercover tablet all along, Barnes and Noble has hit back with this latest Nook as proof of its focus on one thing: reading. %Gallery-125004%
