Barnes & Noble announced today its answer to Amazon’s Kindle Fire: the Nook Tablet. Measuring seven inches, the Nook Tablet shares many of the same features as the Kindle Fire, with a few notable specs that seem to leave Amazon’s beefed-up e-reader in the dust. But when we say “a few,” we really mean it — on paper, these two devices are almost identical. So, did B&N pack enough into the Nook Tablet to make it worth the extra $49? Judge for yourself in this spec showdown.
| Kindle Fire | Nook Tablet | |
| Price | $199 | $249 |
| Dimensions | 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 (in.) | 8.1 x 5 x 0.48 (in.) |
| Weight | 14.6 ounces | 14.1 ounces |
| OS | Android 2.3 Gingerbread (modified) |
Android 2.3 Gingerbread (modified) |
| Processor | 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4 | 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4 |
| RAM | 512MB | 1GB |
| Storage | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| SD card slot | No | Yes (expandable to 32GB) |
| Microphone | No | Yes |
| Camera | No | No |
| Max. battery | 8 hrs (w/o Wi-Fi) | 9 hrs video, 11.5 hrs reading (w/o Wi-Fi) |
| Chargers | Micro USB (computer/wall charger) | Micro USB (wall charger only) |
| 3G | No | No |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 B/G/N/X | 802.11 B/G/N |
| Screen size | 7 inches, IPS | 7 inches, IPS (LG VividView, laminated) |
| Resolution | 600 x 1024 | 600 x 1024 |
| Pixel density | 169 dpi | 169 dpi |
| HDMI | No | No |
| Bluetooth | No (enabled with hack) | No |
| Browser | Amazon Silk | Android (customized) |
| Book store | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |
| Book formats | Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, DOC, DOCX, Audible | EPUB, PDF, DOC, TXT, DOCM, DOCX |
| App store | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |
| Video formats | MP4, VP8 | MP4 |
| Picture formats | JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG | JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG |
| Music formats | AAC (DRM-free), MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV | MP3, MP4, AAC |
| Micro SD card slot | No | Yes |
| Adobe Flash support | Yes | Yes |
| Additional features | Cloud backup, Whispersync, wireless sync, video rental, 30-day Amazon Prime trial, Amazon Lending Library | Nook Newsstand, Nook Comics, Nook Cloud backup, Read and Record, free in-store support, free in-store Wi-Fi, |
Check back with DT soon for our full first impressions of the Nook Tablet. For our Amazon Kindle Fire hands-on impressions, click here.
Well I solved the problem of choosing between the Nook and Fire. I got both lol.
Let me know which one you like best. I’m curious and thinking about buying one too.
Skype will make the difference. With Nook with mic, skype w/o video should work.
Does either have a USB slot?