Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet and Nook Color: pricing, specs, photos, and more

Nab your Nook Tablet a day or two early, or planning to pick one up tomorrow perhaps? Here's a neat trick: if you download an Android APK via the built-in web browser, you can actually install it to the slate without any special hacks. Though you can't initially access the permissions page from the settings menu, the xda-developers community discovered that when you try to open an APK, you can have the Nook redirect there, and then you can check the box labeled "Unknown sources" to enable sideloading. Then, it's just a matter of finding additional APKs that play nice, whether they be custom launchers or even rival platforms like the Amazon Appstore — The Digital Reader confirms that even the Kindle app works as long as you find the right version of the software. Find a variety of instructions at our source links, and happy hunting! 

Update: Just wanted to confirm that this little hack works great. We tried it out on our Nook Tablet review unit and downloaded a few apks through the browser with no issue. Since B&N is restricting app sideloading (Amazon is being much kinder), this is a great workaround for those that don't want to root their new tablets. 

Both the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire are Android tablets with 7-inch IPS LCDs pushing 1,024 x 600 pixel resolutions and 1GHz dual-core processors.  The Nook Tablet is just a tad chunkier (yet weighs less) but the big difference is the price: The Nook Tablet is $50 more than the Kindle Fire.

Where Nook Tablet comes out ahead is with longer battery life, according to B&N. And although both show a 7-inch IPS panel in the spec sheet, B&N claims to have the edge thanks to its "fully laminated" display offering the lowest reflection and glare with unprecedented viewing angles. But is the Nook Tablet worth the extra $50? For that you'll have to wait for our reviews.

Design-wise, the Tablet continues to be one of the best feeling devices out there. We say continues because it really is the same as the Nook Color when it comes to look and feel. The rubber-ish grey back is comfortable in hand and the little hook on the bottom gives it some pizazz, at least in comparison the Kindle Fire's all-black, Playbook-like design. Even more impressive is that the Tablet is slightly lighter than the Color, though I really couldn't tell the difference in my short hands-on time. The display is pleasantly bright and the viewing angles as surprisingly nice.

However, the biggest change here comes with the innards. The Tablet has a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage space, and the speed improvement is noticeable. As you can see in the video, the page turns are quick and a preloaded HD video (we are assuming 720p) fired up and played back without pauses. Unfortunately, they aren't really permitting reporters to play with it, but I did get to sneak in a quick look at the browser and load up The Verge. Both the full and mobile site loaded quickly over the in-store Wi-Fi and scrolling was decently smooth, though I wouldn't say as silky as the iPad.

Developing. Check out all the details in the Nook event live blog.

As expected, Barnes & Noble has taken the wraps off of its latest Nook today — the so-called Nook Tablet, designed to replace the Nook Color with refreshed specs across the board including an "HD viewing experience." On the hardware side, the Tablet gets a 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM in a package that weighs under a pound. The display — sourced from LG — is an IPS unit (like the iPhone and iPad, among others) that offers a near 180-degree viewing angle, and it can play back up to nine hours of 1080p video on a single charge.

Speaking of video, the Tablet has Netflix and Hulu Plus pre-loaded, and the company is promising the deepest level of Netflix integration available on a device thanks to a customized app. Video takes a lot of space, of course, so Barnes & Noble put 16GB of storage inside the device with up to 32GB of expansion via SD. Content is also stored on the company's just-announced Nook Cloud service, Barnes & Noble's foray into the cloud storage game made popular by Amazon and others.

Hit the source links for more leaked slides, and check out our product comparison between the Nook Tablet, Nook Color, and Kindle Fire.

It's a color ereader / tablet sort of month! Barnes & Noble just sent us an invite to an event here in NYC on November 7th, and if we had to put money on it, we'd say we will be seeing that rumored new Nook Color 2. Of course, the invite keeps it very simple with just location and RSVP details, but you can be sure we'll be there on November 7th at 10:00AM EST liveblogging our hearts out. Full invite below.