Just yesterday, I said that Barnes & Noble had to cut the price of the Nook HD+ to US$199.
Today, this:
Click = big
Whoa! It doesn’t matter that this is a sale. They went down to US$179!
That’s just US$10 more than the dual-core Archos 80 Titanium.
I am shocked, stunned, and in awe.
Nook HD+ owners were already ecstatic over the addition of the Google Play Store. From a Mobileread forum, I quote:
I just updated and downloaded apps from the Play Store. No restrictions I was able to download and install the Kindle and Kobo apps, plus various others I have gotten through Google.
My god! It can be a Kindle or a Kobo too!
This sums up the sentiments of many:
Very happy with this move. Actually, I may buy one today. This is the bold move B&N was needing to stay alive and be competitive.
I actually like the current hardware, but with not enough apps, it was a waste of money and I am tired of rooting stuff to get what I need.
An immediate game-changer for some people:
Great news for me. This means I’ll actually use the HD+ I have, it’s been sitting pretty much since I did a review when it came out. I find the HD+ hardware great, the screen is excellent, but felt so limited I always reach for my Nexus 7 instead because I don’t have to jump through hoops to access the apps I want. Good move B&N.
And:
My HD+ – which i was only using for reading as i have been too lazy to CM10 it – has been gathering dust since i got the Aura
A new life
Bingo:
I picked up the 16GB Nook HD for $169 during the QVC sale this past weekend. It came in on Wednesday and I was just trying to decide between the N2A and RootMyNook SD cards to get the full Android access, so this solves the issue for me.
And do you use Amazon Prime Instant Video? Then good news:
Picked up the Puffin Browser (the paid version supports Flash, the free version doesn’t) and it did play the Amazon Prime Instant Video, so thank you very much for that suggestion!
And yet there are some Gotchas:
Well I installed Nova Launcher and trying to get Puffin from the Play Store, it gave a not compatible message.
When I flipped to Nook side and use their shop for this app, it was readily available. I want AVOD for my Prime membership so I paid and installed it. It works fine.
I already own PvZ through Play Store for $0.99 and have it installed on my N7. I could not download this from the Nova and Play Store side. I went to Nook’s shop and it is there for $4.99. I will use my N7.
It ain’t all roses, I am not complaing but making folks aware what they are apt to run into with already owned apps or trying to get some from Play Store when on another Launcher’s side.
But if you think of this as a 1.0 product, I’m sure it’ll all get sorted out down the road.
Some people who missed the recent unpublicized in-store sales of Nook tablets will probably jump at this latest sale.
Personally, I wonder how the Nook HD+ will work with massive Google Books PDFs. For old magazines, an iPad Mini-class screen might be too small. And a full-grown iPad-class tablet is too expensive. Would the Nook HD+ be the compromise that would work best? I wonder.
One more thing: That Mobileread forum says B&N is going to make an announcement on Monday, tomorrow. If that’s true, what I really really really hope such an announcement will be is the option to use standard Adobe DRM in purchasing Nookbooks. That would be totally freakin nuclear.
Previously here:
Mike Cane’s xBlog 
If I get one of these, then I will have a couple years to wait for an Android 7.9 inch tablet to upgrade its resolution.
Would you really get a Nook HD+? I’m waiting for more information about the little details. It still doesn’t seem as straightforward as a basic Android tablet, like the Chuwi V88. But yeah, that screen is probably killer. I haven’t yet gone to see one. Maybe I should do so this week…