Barnes & Noble’s $130 Nook 10.1 tablet is this year’s anti-iPad

By Andy Boxall November 6, 2018

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Remember Barnes & Noble Nook tablets? It may surprise you to hear the company is still in the tablet business, and has announced a new model — the Nook 10.1. The bookstore’s latest isn’t competing with the new iPad Pro on features and massive spec lists, but it does come in at a considerably easier to justify price: Only $130.

For this reason, it’s a timely announcement, as anyone looking longingly at the new $800-plus iPad Pro — or Google’s laptop-not-a-tablet-honest $600-plus Pixel Slate — but unable to dig so deeply for one, may be tempted by the big-screen Nook instead. The Nook 10.1 has, as you’ve probably guessed, a 10.1-inch screen, making it the largest Nook tablet ever sold. The IPS LCD screen’s resolution hits 1920 x 1200 pixels for a rather lowly 224ppi pixel density.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

You won’t buy the Nook 10.1 for its technical prowess; you’ll buy it to read books. It comes with instant access to Barnes & Noble’s library of ebooks, including a large section for kids, plus magazine and newspaper subscriptions. The tablet runs Android and comes with Google Play, ready to install as many other apps as you want. The tablet’s body has a soft-touch finish to make it comfortable to hold, and a keyboard dock is available in case you want to bash out a book of your own.

How about those specs? Barnes & Noble isn’t saying anything about the processor or RAM, preferring to focus on the 32GB of internal storage space, and the chance to add up to another 256GB using a MicroSD card, as the key technical specifications. The Nook 10.1 has Wi-Fi, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack. The battery’s capacity is unknown, but expect seven hours of use before it needs a recharge, which is achieved via a Micro USB connection. A pair of 2-megapixel cameras — one on the front and one on the rear — will take undoubtedly mediocre pictures, should you feel the need.

The Nook Tablet 10.1 is available to pre-order through Barnes & Noble now for $130, with the release date set for November 14. Oddly, you shouldn’t buy it just yet, as from November 22 to December 26, it’ll cost $120, or as a bundle with a charging dock and a host of Good Housekeeping recipes for $160.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

You can pick up the Google Pixel 7 Pro for only $500 today

The Pixel 7 Pro with its display turned on, showing the home screen.

If you've been holding out on buying a new phone for a while because prices are still expensive, then you may want to consider going for one of the older flagship phones. For example, while the Pixel 8 Pro is out, the Pixel 7 Pro is still a powerful and viable alternative, and even better, it has quite a few great deals on it. In fact, you can buy a brand new and sealed Pixel 7 Pro from Woot for just $500, rather than the usual $1,100, and that's for the 512GB version of the phone, so you get a lot of storage with it as well.

Mobile

A new Google Pixel Tablet is coming, but it’s not what you think

Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

It's been almost a year since the Google Pixel Tablet went up for preorder, leading many Android tablet fans to wonder when the inevitable Pixel Tablet 2 will arrive. A new rumor suggests that Google could release a new Pixel Tablet as early as next month, but it's probably not what you were expecting or hoping for.

According to @MysteryLupin on X (formerly Twitter), Google is planning to "relaunch" the Pixel Tablet without the charging/speaker dock included in the box. As you'll likely recall, the speaker dock is the Pixel Tablet's standout feature. You can use the Pixel Tablet on its own as a traditional Android tablet when you want, and when you're done, you throw it on the dock to transform it into a smart display. The idea of Google selling the Pixel Tablet without its claim to fame is an interesting one.

Mobile

Anker sale: up to 40% off portable chargers, cable, and more

The iPhone 15 Pro Max being charged by the Anker MagGo Power Bank.

If you've been looking to pick up a new charging cable, charger, or all-in-one charging station for your Android phone or iPhone, then you'll be happy to know that Anker is having a rather large Earth-Day sale that you can take advantage of. There are a ton of discounts that you can take advantage of, too, with up to 40% off in some cases. I that wasn't enough, you can even snag yourself some free gifts, for example, one of the best accessories for a Galaxy S24 is the Anker Nano Power Bank if you spend more than $90, or even an Anker 621 Magnetic Battery if you spend over $120. Either way, there are a lot of options, and while we've shared some of our favorite deals below, it's also worth taking a look at everything Anker has to offer by pressing the button below.

What you should buy during Anker's Sale
One of the most basic things you may need for any device is a charging cable, and Anker has a couple of great options for that. If you're on an older iPhone with a lightning cable, you can grab Anker's Anker 641 USB-C to Lightning Cable that's 6 feet long using the coupon WSPEV2KENJP2. On the other hand, if you need a USB-C to connect and charge your devices, you can grab the 6-foot Anker 543 USB-C to USB-C Cable using the code WSPEV2EHDR0C.