It’s true! It’s 2018, and Barnes & Noble just announced another Nook! You can preorder it today! All of these things are somehow simultaneously true. The Nook line has basically been a non-starter since 2016, back when the once ubiquitous bookseller offered up a dirt-cheap $50 model. Even back then it felt like a strange anachronism.
The pricing on the new model is more in line with what you’d expect from a budget tablet, from, say Amazon. The Nook 10.1 runs $130. Aside from the titular screen size (at a middling 224 ppi), there’s really not much to talk about with what will almost certainly be a run of the mill budget Android tablet with 32GB of storage, two cameras and a headphone jack — which admittedly does qualify as a feature in 2018. Barnes & Noble is calling it a “game changer,” because that’s what people do in press releases.
“The new Nook 10.1 provides a complete reading and entertainment experience on our biggest display yet,” Chief Digital Officer Bill Wood says in the release. “The soft-touch feel and lightweight design make it a perfect holiday gift for readers who want to enjoy their favorite books for hours, while also being able to browse, watch shows, listen to music, or send emails all from one device. The NOOK 10.1 is truly a game changer for the Nook lineup.”
Games will be changed when the device hits what’s left of Barnes & Noble’s stores on November 14.