Barnes & Noble has eventually decided to widen its horizons by exposing the Nook HD and HD+ to Google Play for downloading apps. The sad part is that this development has taken place only for those living within the borders of the US and the UK.
Starting today, an upgrade will be rolled out for anyone in the stated regions, who wishes to enjoy over 700,000 apps and games available through the digital outlet. Owners can expect to receive an over-the-air update on their Wi-Fi-connected slates.
Those who intend to purchase the tablets in the future will not have to worry about the upgrade, since the company has revealed that the upcoming slabs will be pre-loaded with the play store. Also tagging along with the utilities are are the other members of the app store like movies, magazines and more.
Shedding some light on the tablets, it can be seen that the first device flaunts a 7-inch fully laminated touchscreen with a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels, while the second comes with a 9-inch full HD touch display. The smaller slab amongst the two has been made available in 8GB and 16GB variants, whereas potential buyers will find its successor holding onto a storage configuration of either 16GB or 32GB.
As of now, Google Play has been pushed out only for the Barnes & Noble Nook HD which can be purchased in America starting at $199 and the HD+, the 16GB and 32GB variants of which have been pegged at $269 and $299, respectively. For a limited span, customers from the United Kingdom should be able to buy the former tablet at £129 (original retail value £159) and the latter has gone up on sale at £179 (actual amount £229). B&N has mentioned that slashing down the rates is a part of the ‘Get London Reading’ literacy campaign.
Listed below are the tablets’ key specifications:
7-inch slate
– 1440 x 900 pixel resolution
– 1.3GHz dual core OMAP 4 processor
– 8GB or 16GB internal memory, expandable via microSD card
– Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
– 194.4mm x 127.1mm x 11.0mm in dimensions
– 315-gram weight
9-inch slab
– 1920 x 1280 pixel resolution
– 1.5GHz dual core OMAP 4 processor
– 16GB or 32GB inbuilt storage, expandable through microSD card
– 240.3mm x 162.8mm x 11.4mm in dimensions
– 515-gram weight