Later this week we could hear some bad news from Barnes & Noble, as it’s very likely that they will move away from the hardware business to concentrate more on what they are all about, and that’s to make more of their content accessibly to other devices instead. If this is the case then it is highly unlikely that we will see the release of the Nook HD 2ng-gen, but is this really a huge shock?

Having said that, it does seem strange because not so long along Barnes & Noble were saying that tablets were the future for the company, so hearing this recent news does seem to go against that strategy. NY Times reports that the reason for this U-turn will have something to do with the less than impressive sales over the recent quarter, which also included the Holiday Season.

We had assumed that sales of the Nook HD were very high as tablet sales over Christmas saw a huge surge, but even though the HD tablet of Barnes & Noble received rave reviews when it was first released, this never helped over Christmas because rival tablets benefited instead.

If the largest book chain in the US does work at bringing their content to more devices then this could be more profitable in the long run, and will take far less resources than trying to develop and release new hardware.

The biggest issue for the Nook HD is that it does not have as much to offer as the Kindle Fire HD, the Nexus 7 or even the iPad mini. Barnes & Noble could of went back to the drawing board and come up with a 2nd-generation Nook HD to increase it specs, but this was a game they knew they were unable to win.

Will you be surprised if Barnes & Noble get out of the tablet business?

When it comes to choosing an e-reader the only real choice you have is the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Amazon Kindle because they are both similar in what they bring to the table. However, in the build-up to the Holiday Season there could be a shift that might force you to reconsider your choice.

We have recently learned that Barnes & Noble have lowered the Nook price, which means that the Nook vs. Kindle tablet e-reader device contest will now have a different result. However, it’s not always about the price, but it certainly helps, especially when you don’t have as much disposable income as you once had.

The new Nook price is now $79, which saves you $20 from the previous $99 price tag. The current Kindle price is $89 with no signs that Amazon is to retaliate and lower their price. There was a cheaper Kindle model, but that’s currently no longer available. As we mentioned above both e-readers are evenly matched with their 6-inch black and white displays and Wi-Fi connectivity, although most of you should already know this by now. To take advantage of the new Nook price then you can get the e-reader from the Barnes & Noble store, or even Best Buy, Target and Walmart.

If we were looking for an entry-level device to read our e-books on then the Nook from Barnes & Noble would have to be it, but when it comes to moving up the ladder, then some of Kindle’s other models will be more worth it. We already took a look at the Kindle Fire HD earlier today, and while it is no match for the Nexus 7, it can certainly hold its own against the Nook HD and HD+ model. So it seems that Barnes & Noble wins the e-reader round, while Amazon wins out in the budget tablet market – well between the two companies anyway.

It is good to see that Barnes & Noble kept their promise that they would launch the UK Nook video store in early December, as this service went live today. While we can say that it was an oversight to release the Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets from Barnes & Noble in the UK without offering this content, it’s great to see that it has been released just in time for when people will have more spare time to take advantage of the service.

The American company is putting a lot of backing behind the service and has already signed deals with the likes of HBO, Warner Bros. and also UK’s BBC, so we can expect some big TV shows and movies to be available as from today. However, another big feature is UltraViolet, which means that you can also watch DVDs/Blu-rays you have purchased digitally. These two new additions to the Nook in the UK will now make it a much better contender to the likes of the Kindle Fire HD.

While this may be good news for those with a Nook in the UK, there’s still the issue that many consumers would rather go with the Nexus 7 because while they are similarly priced, the Asus tablet has more to offer in the way of some of the specs but a much larger choice in Google’s app store. However, the Nexus 7 does have an issue with supporting apps for tablets and there’s also the fact that the Nook is a far better device for reading books, which we recently discussed.

We can clearly see that the Nook HD and HD+ is not to everyone’s taste, but it has far more to offer than just watching movies/TV shows and playing games. It’s clear that Barnes and Noble’s tablet has now been made even better in the UK, but is it enough to take on the Amazon Fire HD or even the Nexus 7?

The Barnes & Noble NOOK HD and HD+ tablet might not be one of the most popular portable computers, and certainly something Apple fans are unlikely to purchase, but it has finally arrived in the UK and we’ve heard from a few of our readers that are pretty excited about this. The iPad mini and iPad 4 will not be for everyone, even if they are extremely popular, so it’s nice to see alternatives arriving in the UK and US.

We’ve just received the press statement from Barnes & Noble, which explains that the NOOK HD+ is the lowest price 9-inch HD tablet to release in the UK, and the 7-inch NOOK HD is extremely light and apparently offers the “highest resolution” at 243 pixels per inch. The smaller option retails in the UK from £159, but you can also pick up a NOOK HD+ with no ads for just under £230.

One of the reasons we see the Nexus 7 meeting such popularity is price, and while some users prefer Android to iOS, it comes down to price and the specs you get for your money at the end of the day. This is why the Barnes & Noble NOOK HD and HD+ tablet are a perfect alternative to the iPad mini and iPad 4, aka 4th generation, which is due to prices that are much cheaper but specs that offer something impressive for the cost.

Barnes & Noble like to explain that their offering has “superior” entertainment and reading, which is thanks to the “must-see displays“, so at the very least it might be worth getting hands-on with both the Apple and Barnes & Noble tablet options at a local store. If you can’t notice much difference between the displays, then the price will surly do the talking for you, although we know some people don’t want a tablet unless it has iOS installed, so in this instance they have to pay the price for an iPad.

Why do you think the iPad mini and iPad 4 cost more, and would you consider a Barnes & Noble NOOK HD and HD+ tablet? You can see a hands-on review with both the Barnes & Noble Nook HD and HD+ in the video below, so take a look at let us know what you think? If you want to see how the Nexus 7 stacks up to the iPad mini, then see our earlier article.

News that the company would be bringing out a new Nook was first reported back in November last year. They would most likely have preferred to have launched the device earlier, especially after seeing the recent success Amazon has had, but it seems spring will be the soonest we will be seeing the device. That is around the same time of year that Apple Launched their iPad 2 last year, so in keeping with that scheduling, this spring could prove to be exciting as far as tablet fans are concerned.

While details of the new Nook are rare, it was The New York Times that was able to bring us the news that Barnes & Noble will be launching this spring, as they reported the company is currently putting the finishing touches on the next generation device. According to Cnet however the company is reluctant to reveal any more about the device so we are left speculating what it will actually be like. They also suggest in their article that the think the new Nook will be more like a regular tablet in both price and size as opposed to an eReader like the Kindle.

They also consider that it could be the opposite by being more like a low budget eReader aimed at the low-end market, although that area of the market is pretty well catered for. What do you think the new Nook will be more like, an iPad or a Kindle?

The guys over at Engadget have got hold of some documents that show a Nook Tablet will be unveiled on Monday 7th of November. It will be a 7-inch touchscreen device that will retail for $249 and beats the Kindle Fire with 16GB on on-board memory.

It is believed the new tablet will go on sale from the 16th of November with the $249 price being $50 more than Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The new device is supposed to look similar to the Nook Color, and with a VividView IPS color touch panel with a 1024 x 600 screen resolution.

Powering the new tablet will be a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor with 1GB of RAM, and internal memory can be boosted thanks to the micro SD port. The new Nook is claimed to be 0.48 inches thick and weighing 14.1 ounces. If you have the Wi-Fi switched off battery life is claimed to be eight hours, but if you are watching videos this drops by half.

It is not known what version of Android the tablet will come running, and although the device is $50 more expensive than the Kindle Fire you get more RAM and internal storage with the option of increasing it further.

Do you think the Nook Tablet will be worth a look?

Since it was first released the Barnes & Noble Nook Color device has been highly praised by critics and owners alike. The eReader is great for reading all your eBooks but with a few tweaks can become a nice little Android tablet. Now according to TechCrunch the company is currently working on a new version that could even be available sometime this month.

Currently specifications for the new Nook Color are thin on the ground, but it is believed to have the same sized display at seven inches. Suppliers of components are reportedly ready to ship the parts for the device, with TPK Holdings are rumored to supply the units touch panels. The eReader is allegedly going to be assembled by a company called Inventec.

There are also claims that E Ink are going to provide back plates for the new Nook, but if true besides being the first mass produced unit to offer a color e-paper display, it will put an end to the devices tablet potential.

Many owners easily get a custom Android ROM onto their Nook Color, which has helped push up sales even further for the device. Having a color e-paper could jeopardize this option even though battery life could possibly improve. If this were the case owners of the current Nook Color may avoid buying into the new model.

With the amount of new tablets PCs coming out in the next few months including Amazon’s new device, will increase the competition eReaders face. The Amazon device is rumored to cost around $200-$250 so will bring it a little nearer to the cost of an eReader.

Do you have a Nook Color?

From the moment that you turn the device on you will then be able to access 3 million free books that Google has stored online. Not only that, but there are also several hundred thousand paid titles as well. The worrying thing for Amazon is that the design and price of this latest eReader is very similar to their Kindle. This new eReader is considered an evolution of the iriver Story, which as we know was launched back in 2009 – we hope that it has evolved as much as the Nook and Kindle has.

To make it easy to search you will have a QWERTY keyboard along with edging and keys – maybe they thought that it adds a little elegance to the design? You do not have a touchscreen to turn the pages, that is done by using the four-directional button, which is positioned above the keyboard. This could cause a huge problem, as most consumers believe that anything but touchscreen is considered a step back in technology.

Where the Google eReader will come into its own is how you will not have to download books to the device to read them; instead you will be able to access them directly by using a Wi-Fi connection. This is perfect when you are at home, but you also have the chance to download to your local storage if you are going on vacation, or like something to read on the commute to work.

One has to ask themselves why Google would want to endorse the iriver Story HD, especially when these eBooks can be accessed via Android, IOS, Nook and Sony eReader devices? Maybe Google is just trying too hard to compete in all markets, when they should just concentrate their efforts in a few.

Google already has the lions share of the smartphone market with their Android OS, as well as the search engine market. There next step is social media, with their Google+ service; so do they really need to try to dominate another?

According to the LA Times the new Google eReader will cost $139.99, which is not a bad price considering.

In the statement, which was sent to Engadget it explained at just how much better the New Nook’s battery life was compared to its closest rival, the Kindle. In the test they had Wi-Fi turned off both devices; the Kindle only managed 56 hours, while the latest eReader from Barnes & Noble achieved 150 hours.

Now for some, 56 hours is more than enough, but not for those who have a huge book to read and no power outlet in sight. In the test it suggest that the All-New Kindle will offer up to two months of battery life for the average reader. Now there were two tests in all, the first was the one above where one page was turned a minute, the next was with a continuous use. This test revealed that the New Nook was still able to outperform Kindle’s battery by twice the amount.

That is all very well and good, but for most of us we are always near a power outlet, so all we want to know is which is best? That is a tough question to answer, one that will become evident when the first lot of sales figures come in. The cost of this latest Nook will be $139 for the Wi-Fi version once it becomes available on June 10th.

Do you believe that the New Nook battery performance will give it an advantage over the Kindle?

Washington Post seems intent on spelling out the obvious, but never come out and say it. From what we can gather the new Nook Simple Touch reader, as it will be called is very much like the Kindle. The reason we say this is because it has gone for the simple approach, although when you take into consideration that it only has one button; it’s a lot like an iPad as well.

Read Write Web seems to be sitting on the fence with the new eReader, as they do not say which of the two devices is best. Instead they seem to have gone for a round-by-round approach, looking at all the features of the New Nook compared to the Amazon Kindle.

International Business Times does not mess around, and come right out and says that Barnes & Noble have raised the bar. They report that analysts are impressed; as they believe that the simple approach could work out very well for them.

We still do not know what to make of the new Barnes & Noble Nook, what do you think of the new device?