NOOK HD

“Barnes & Noble gets full marks for its ability to design a great product — I'm a fan of almost everything the company tried to do with the Nook HD. I only wish the execution were equal to the conception. From the slow UI to the poor gaming performance, this just isn't a fun device to use. I like reading on the Nook HD, and I like watching movies — most of that is due to the display, which really is best-in-class. Almost everything else feels like a chore, like I'm beta-testing a device that will someday have its kinks ironed out. I hope that day comes for the Nook HD, when it feels like a final product, but for right now it's not on the same level as the other good 7-inch tablets like the Kindle Fire HD or the Nexus 7. I want all of the features the Nook HD offers, but I'd rather just have a tablet that works.”

“Barnes & Noble invested a lot in the hardware, and it shows. The Nook HD has a great little screen, snappy performance and industrial design that stands out from the competition without proving quite as polarizing as its predecessor. Most of all, it's built to be held, a fact that echoes the device's focus on the reading experience. That core functionality spills over onto the software side, making visually interesting magazines, comics and kids' books a pleasure to read. Priced (ad-free) at $199 for an 8GB model and $229 for 16GB, it's a great little piece of hardware for those looking for a reader that can also handle casual gaming and high-def videos. And the addition of profiles makes this a tempting proposition for families with children. The paper-like UI, on the other hand, doesn't feel as if it got quite as much attention. It's stark and at times buggy (though the company promises that a fix is coming shortly), missing both the content focus of the Kindle Fire and the full functionality (and Google Play access) of the Jelly Bean-rocking Nexus 7. Also, the lack of a camera feels like a strange oversight. All said, however, the Nook HD is a fine little tablet for the price, though in a space where the Kindle and Nexus have been crowned champions, asking people to make the leap feels like a bit of a hard sell.”

“It’s feature rich, fast, fluid, has an excellent interface and is well worth $200. It’s the obvious choice for previous Nook owners and deserves serious consideration for those in the other e-reader and mid-sized tablet camps who may be considering jumping ship.”

“Here’s the deal folks. If reading is more of your forte than anything else, there’s no question that the NOOK HD is the ideal tablet for you, especially when it has a healthy and robust ecosystem in that particular category. And with that snazzy looking display, it’s sure to be swell for other things – like watching movies and surfing the web. However, its limited apps selection combined with its heavy skinned interface (while still appreciable experience) lacks the comprehensiveness that the Google Nexus 7 offers with its vanilla Android experience. Well, it might not be so much of a deal breaker for some people, but you still have to figure in that it’s lacking even a front-facing camera for video chatting, which many of these affordable Android tablets offer. Needless to say, if those aren’t concerns to you, then you’ll make good use out of Barnes & Noble’s latest offering. At $200, there’s no denying there’s still a good amount of value in it, but you’ll seriously need to figure out what features are most pertinent to your needs before making a decision.”