Barnes and Noble has announced the second and final tablet they intend on releasing in 2015, the Samsung Galaxy Tab E NOOK. This 9.6 inch model is available right now and is retailing for for $249.99.
The budget friendly Samsung Tab E Nook features a giant 9.6 capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 with 157 PPI. It has 1.5 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory. It does have an SD Card, so you can enhance it up to 128 GB. The tablet is powered by a fairly respectable 1.2 GHz Qualcomm APQ 8016 Processor. If you are interested in taking selfies, you can do it with the front facing 2 MP camera or snap pictures with the rear facing 5 MP model. It is powered by a non-removable Li-Ion 5000 mAh battery.
The Nook Tab E is Android KitKat, instead of lollipop. Users will be able to download apps from Google Play, the Samsung App Store or the Nook App Store. There are a series of customized Nook apps that are available when you take it out of the box for the first time. You can read digital magazines, shop and read e-books and manage your entire Nook library.
For previous NOOK customers, Barnes & Noble is offering a great limited-time promotion to help them trade up to a new NOOK by Samsung. Through November 7, customers can visit any Barnes & Noble store to trade in select NOOK devices and receive a $50 credit towards the purchase of a new NOOK by Samsung. Participation in this promotion reduces the cost of the 9.6-inch Galaxy Tab E NOOK to $199.99, the 8-inch Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK to $349.99 and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK to a remarkably low $99.99. NOOK trade-ins may include NOOK 1st Edition, NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet, NOOK Simple Touch, NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, NOOK HD, NOOK HD+ and NOOK GlowLight.
Customers can also trade in select iPad, Kindle and Samsung tablets to receive a credit of $25-$200 towards the purchase of NOOK by Samsung devices.
Should you buy this tablet? Fundamentally there is no difference between the stock version of the Galaxy Tab E from Samsung and the Nook edition. $249.99 is a fairly respectable price, but the resolution on this 9.6 model is fairly abysmal. You will likely get a solid e-book reading experience, but it might be poor to read digital magazines, newspapers or watch streaming video. I actually have no idea who this tablet is supposed to be targeting.
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Barnes & Noble, Inc. BKS, +0.00% today expanded its offering of NOOK by Samsung devices and announced a special promotion to help even more customers trade up to one of its newest tablets at an even greater value. In conjunction with Samsung Electronics America, Barnes & Noble introduced the new 9.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab E NOOK, a large-screen tablet features Samsung’s stylish yet practical design with NOOK’s extraordinary reading and entertainment experience, perfect for the whole family and now available at Barnes & Noble stores and www.nook.com for $249.99 including a special free limited-time content offering. Barnes & Noble also launched a new Trade-In/Trade-Up limited-time in-store promotion to offer significant credits of up to $200 towards the purchase of a new NOOK by Samsung to customers who trade in select NOOK, iPad®, Kindle and Samsung devices* through November 7.
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“We’re excited to give our customers even more ways to experience reading and entertainment with the addition of the Samsung Galaxy Tab E NOOK and its spacious large display,” said Fred Argir, Chief Digital Officer at Barnes & Noble. “We’re proud to partner with Samsung to give Barnes & Noble customers a comfortable, convenient way to enjoy their favorite reading, movies and TV shows on a number of devices and sizes to fit their needs. We invite customers to visit their local Barnes & Noble store to learn more and take advantage of the limited-time promotion to trade in an earlier NOOK device to trade up to one of our wonderful new NOOK by Samsung tablets.”
Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Tab E NOOK
The Galaxy Tab E NOOK offers a large-screen viewing experience in a portable design. A non-slip, fabric-like material covers the back of the device for a comfortable, secure grip. The tablet’s clear, bright 9.6-inch screen allows customers to enjoy NOOK reading content including books, magazines and newspapers in both portrait and landscape mode so they can easily switch between the two depending on the content they’re viewing. And the large display is perfect for any member of the family to watch a host of great movies, TV shows, browse the Web and more.
The Galaxy Tab E NOOK features NOOK Profiles™, transforming the tablet into any family member’s customized reading and entertainment center where they can access personalized content and recommendations with a quick tap of the screen. Parents will appreciate the ease of setting up profiles for their children with lots of relevant kid-friendly NOOK content for them to enjoy.
Customers can maximize their time and multi-task with ease using Samsung’s Multi-Window, an integrated feature that splits the tablet’s screen to run two apps simultaneously. The built-in 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera and one-click photo and video controls make it easy to snap pictures and capture memories at a moment’s notice. The tablet’s battery offers long-lasting reading and entertainment enjoyment on a single charge. With 16GB of standard memory and expandable microSD memory available up to 128GB, customers will never be without their favorite content.
Limited-Time NOOK Trade-In/Trade-Up Program
For previous NOOK customers, Barnes & Noble is offering a great limited-time promotion to help them trade up to a new NOOK by Samsung. Through November 7, customers can visit any Barnes & Noble store to trade in select NOOK devices and receive a $50 credit towards the purchase of a new NOOK by Samsung. Participation in this promotion reduces the cost of the 9.6-inch Galaxy Tab E NOOK to $199.99, the 8-inch Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK to $349.99 and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK to a remarkably low $99.99. NOOK trade-ins may include NOOK 1st Edition®, NOOK Color®, NOOK Tablet®, NOOK Simple Touch®, NOOK Simple Touch® with GlowLight®, NOOK® HD, NOOK® HD+ and NOOK GlowLight®.
Customers can also trade in select iPad®, Kindle and Samsung tablets to receive a credit of $25-$200 towards the purchase of NOOK by Samsung devices. Terms and conditions apply; visit NOOK.com/TradeIn or visit any Barnes & Noble store for details.
NOOK by Samsung: Extraordinary Reading & Entertainment Content
Customers who trade up to any NOOK by Samsung device will find an impressive collection of digital content to explore from Barnes & Noble. The expansive NOOK Store’s® reading and entertainment content offering includes:
Discovering new content is simple and easy in the NOOK Store, where hundreds of NOOK Channels™ support expert content curation based on interest and sensibility. This popular discovery feature is powered by Barnes & Noble’s breakthrough recommendation system, which combines its bookseller knowledge with advanced algorithmic technology.
Free Content and NOOK Store Credit with Purchase
All customers who purchase a new Samsung Galaxy Tab E NOOK or a Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK can choose complimentary NOOK content from Barnes & Noble. This includes three NOOK Books® from a selection of 20 great titles featuring favorites such as The Gravedigger’s Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates, Think Big, Act Bigger by Jeffrey Hayzlett and On A Night Like This by Barbara Freethy, and three NOOK Magazines® from a selection of more than 25 popular publications such as Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Food Network Magazine. Barnes & Noble also provides customers with a $5 credit to help them get started building their NOOK library. This promotion runs through the end of the year.
Availability, In-Store Support and Other Benefits
The new Samsung Galaxy Tab E NOOK is now available only at Barnes & Noble stores and online at NOOK.com for $249.99, with an additional 10 percent discount for Barnes & Noble Members. All NOOK devices come with free lifetime in-store support. NOOK customers can visit any of Barnes & Noble’s nearly 650 stores across the country for complimentary, personal support, including help setting up their NOOK device and organizing their library. While in-store, customers can speak with any of the company’s expert booksellers, access free Wi-Fi® and enjoy the popular Read In Store® program, which allows guests to read any book free for up to one hour per day. Customers can also take advantage of a full calendar of popular NOOK events, including NOOK Night workshops, family Storytimes, book discussion groups and author signings.
* Samsung and Galaxy Tab are both registered trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Kindle is a trademark of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. iPad is a registered trademark or trademark of Apple, Inc.
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Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
