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I Don’t Think B&N Unveiled Their $350 Tablet Today

It’s late at night for me and I just got home (it’s a long trip from NYC to DC). I’ve had this thought bugging me all day long and while I still don’t know how true it is, I think it’s worth sharing.

I’m putting this post out, even though I don’t have any solid info, because I’m hoping it will generate enough attention that some B&N insider will will leak more information.

About 6 weeks back I was handed a leaked slide that hinted at a pair of Nook Color tablets, with one priced at $250 and the other priced at $350. This raised my hopes for an updated NC and a new NC. But these hopes were dashed by last week’s leak.

Like many who read about the leaked doc last week, I had assumed that the Nook Tablet that BN launched today was their new NC Acclaim. I’m not so sure that’s the case.

Update: Nope. This is the Acclaim. There are reports over at XDA Forums that the NT source code uses the codename Acclaim.

Now, last week’s leaks disappointed me because the specs of the new Nook Tablet didn’t fit with the proposed $350 price tag. I had thought that revealed specs fit closer to being the updated replacement NookColor, not a whole new tablet. It looks like I might have been right. While I don’t have any solid proof just yet, I do have a couple bits of info that suggest B&N have another tablet already in the works.

In response to my expressing disappointment,  I got a comment last week from what I think was a B&N insider. I didn’t allow the comment to be seen because it mentioned a new codename for the next Nook. But I’ve also dropped the name a couple of times at the press event just to see the reactions, so it’s probably safe to share it here.

I’m told that the codename for the next B&N tablet is Gossamer. At least, that was the code name; they might change it now that we all know about it.

Update: Apparently I was the only who didn’t know that Gossamer is the name for the Nook Touch. Stupid me, I thought that it was new.

My other piece of information as that I bugged a key member of B&N senior management about the price tag. I got him to admit that the Nook Tablet launched today was never supposed to be priced at $350. I really don’t think he was prepared for me to ask that question, and I beleive that his answer is genuine.

This was also one of the people I name dropped Gossamer. On reflection, I’m not completely sure that he recognized it but I think he did. I don’t think I got a response like what you’d expect if the answer was obviously no (i.e, if I’d suggested the wrong code name).

Of course, this is pretty thin evidence. It’s always safe to proclaim that there’s another gadget coming; when is that not true? But doesn’t this fit better with the price points? Do you really think the new Nook Tablet could have been realistically priced at $350?

I don’t. I have a $400 Asus eeePad Transformer sitting next to me right now, and the Nook Tablet doesn’t have anywhere near the specs to be worth $350. My Transformer has Honeycomb, Android Market, 2 cameras, Bluetooth, and a larger screen. That’s at least $100 difference in price.

BTW, you might want to keep an eye on the hacking efforts for the new Nook Tablet. At some point the hackers will reveal B&N’s product name for the tablet. If the name turns out to be the Acclaim then I am wrong. But if the name for the NT is Encore (or possibly something else) then I was right.


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Comments


Random Commenter November 8, 2011 um 12:16 am

Pardon me for breaking this in, but Gossamer is Nook Simple Touch.

Bits from the current OS and updates contains items such as

zForce_Touch_Driver_Gossamer_6_Inch_latest.hex

I thought this was common knowledge, at least to those following the communities…

Nate Hoffelder November 8, 2011 um 12:22 am

Huh. So it is. Where was I that I missed this? Seriously, it’s all over.

Okay so this time around I’m not brilliant; I’m a dumbass.


curiosity killed the… November 8, 2011 um 1:09 am

nate i think your right about this $350 sounds exactly like the majority of the sale prices of most 10 inch honeycomb tablets today though if/when nook comes out with 1 right along the release of the kindle fire 10 inch in Februaryish from what i read while back. i just wouldnt hold my breath for anything more than another dual core 10 inch with 1 gig ram and honeycomb or highly unlikely ice cream sandwich. the only problem with that is..that shit is gonna hit the fan come black friday and similar holiday sales all these dualcores are going to be slashed 100 bucks or more from their current price on limited week long coupons and the such.
I’m personally out of the tablet race now since after 11 long months of waiting and hoping and waiting some more for a sale on a dualcore honeycomb to reach the price point i wanted i walked away from an amazon lightning sale with my prized toshiba thrive for $250+$10 shipping. those suckers sold out in a minute flat lol but at a $120 price cut and basicly the same price as the new nook tablet i couldnt say no. it was honeycomb+ dualcore or bust and its been a long year coming but hopefully these dualcores will be worth keeping around for more than just 1 extra generation.


john November 8, 2011 um 11:21 am

strike two for me….missed out on the hp touchpad for $99 and was 83 minutes late for amazon’s toshiba slashdown to $250 this past Sunday. argh. one more strike and i’m done (with what, i’m not sure).

Agreed on this end that the Acclaim isn’t out yet; sitting in the wings for next year, especially with Amazon’s 'Hollywood' a’comin' round the bend…..those will be with 10″ screens for Amazon and B&N.


Inside the Nook Tablet – The Digital Reader November 21, 2011 um 11:02 am

[…] when this tablet launched I was quite firm that this wasn’t the $350 Acclaim that I found on the leaked powerpoint slide. (I could not have been more wrong about that slide.) I […]


Weekly Roundup 13 November 2011 | Ink, Bits, & Pixels April 25, 2015 um 12:34 pm

[…] I Don't Think B&N Unveiled Their $350 Tablet Today […]


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