Barnes & Noble to Ship Nook HD and HD+ Pre-Orders This Week
Competition is quickly becoming fierce in the 7-inch tablet space. To ensure it isn't lost of the shuffle of Kindle Fire HD (Amazon), Nexus 7 (Google), and iPad mini (Apple) devices this holiday shopping season, B&N plans to roll out its Nook HD and Nook HD+ products to all of its stores, as well as into 15,000 additional locations through retailers like Target, Walmart, and Best Buy. But will it be overlooked? B&N is aware of the competition, but as far as it's concerned, the company's Nook line is the best that's out there.
"Our two new tablets offer the best quality reading and entertainment experiences, at the best price," said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. "There’s no shortage of new tablets in the market, but with Nook HD and Nook HD+ every book read, every movie watched, every game played is rendered in a digital quality never before seen and unmatched by those other tablets. We’re pleased to be shipping our record amount of pre-orders on time, and look forward to customers being able to experience these stunning new tablets in stores this week."
The 7-inch Nook HD runs $199 for 8GB and $229 for 16GB, while the 9-inch Nook HD+ costs $269 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB. Both are priced competitively with other 7-inch slates, and even the most expensive model is still cheaper than Apple's entry-level iPad mini, which starts at $329 for 16GB (Wi-Fi model).