Samsung has been converting a handful of its Galaxy tablets into Barnes & Noble Nooks for some time, and now there’s a new device to add to the list — the Samsung Galaxy Tab A Nook.
If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Samsung announced a tablet of the same name in April 2015 — but the Nook edition doesn’t have the same specs or the same look. The Galaxy Tab A Nook offers a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels on its 7-inch display, so it’s slightly smaller but has a marginally higher resolution. The device is narrower, and is available in black — apart from that, it looks like an average Samsung tablet with a home button and two capacitive buttons.
Barnes & Noble says this Nook is powered by a quad-core T-Shark 2A processor, and it’s packed with 1.5GB of RAM. The retailer says the Tab A Nook’s 4,000mAh battery should last about 11 hours, though the real-life performance is likely to be a little under that figure. It also only comes with 8GB of storage, but thanks to a MicroSD slot, you’ll be able to add up to an additional 200GB.
The Galaxy Tab A Nook charges via MicroUSB, has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a GPS sensor, and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera, as well as a rear 5-megapixel camera.
Despite the slight bump in resolution, spec-wise the Galaxy Tab A Nook seems like a downgrade from last year’s Samsung tablet — especially when it comes to internal storage — the Tab A started at 16GB. The Nook edition also only runs Android 5.1, an outdated version of Google’s operating system.
Of course, what makes the Nook edition different is that you get access to the Barnes & Noble Nook books library via Nook’s software. You’ll be able to create up to six family profiles so everyone can have a different experience, and B&N Readouts offers a daily selection of “quick reads.” Nook Audiobooks will come to the device in September through a software update.
The device costs $140 and is available at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide, or online at the retailer’s website. If you’re an existing Nook customer, you’ll get a discounted price of $100 after showing proof of purchase of any Nook device. If you’re a Barnes & Noble member, you can get a free cover for the device that usually retails for $40.
The latest addition is one of the smallest Samsung Nook tablets available right now — it sits below the 8-inch Tab S2 Nook, and the 9.6-inch Tab E Nook. Of course, there’s still the Nook Glowlight Plus if you only want an ebook reader.
