UPDATE (3 May 2013):Google Play is coming to Barnes&Nobles Nook HD(+) tablets.
Yesterday I had a great day at work: I was allowed to play all morning. The toy: A Barnes&Noble Nook HD+. It was all great fun, except for some annoyances of the Nook, which where the reason for me being allowed to play with it.
Today morning I read (using the soon-to-be-extinct Google Reader) a great post by the great Nate Hoffelder, who runs a blog called “The Digital Reader”, commenting on a B&N press release (B&N announced that they will allow In-App-Sales in their Nook App Store) that this would not help them much. I do agree with him there, but let me describe my impressions of the Nook HD+ first.
When you see the Nook HD+, it is a nice looking, decent device that doesn’t exactly cry “Here I am”. The only odd thing to notice when looking at it is the hole in the lower left side, which has already been a distinguishing design features on previous Nook tablet device, namely the Nook Color and its successor, the Nook Tablet. Being an 8.9″ tablet, this is not a small one, yet as it is almost (portrait mode assumed) as tall (9.46″) as an iPad and only 0.9 inches narrower (width: 6.41″), you are surprised how light it is when you take it in your hand. It does not feel cheap in any way however, nor did I (as an avid user of my iPad 2) notice the extra thickness (0.45″).
But then there is the software, which does not live up to the expectations raised by the great hardware (to me it felt better than my iPad 2) and the fact that there is a TI OMAP4470 used for computing performance: The heavily customized Android 4.0.4 is not as fast as it could be, and to be blunt: I don’t believe that there is anything good about it despite the overall brighter colour scheme, that looks friendlier than the darkness ICS provides by default.
Anyway, it’s not even the looks or the stuttering. It’s another thing that has led to disapointment at work: The Nook HD+ does not allow for 3rd party apps to be installed, and in addition to that, you can’t even install one of the few free apps in the Nook App Store without handing over your credit card details to B&N. This, along with the unwillingness to circumvent these stupid restrictions led to a decision that will render this very Nook HD+ a nice dust catcher and nothing else.
Now why does this lead to me believing that B&N simply doesn’t get it? I have a strange feeling that they don’t understand the difference between an eReader and a tablet. I am not talking about the difference in hardware (better specs, LCD screen, larger battery on a tablet) but about the difference that occurs in users minds when they approach such a tablet device compared to an eReader: Tablets are multi purpose devices, just like computers, only easier to use and more comfortable to handle. And here the Nook App Store + the no 3rd party apps thing come in as a huge letdown: Your device is less a multi purpose device if it has less apps.
Back in the days of the Nook Color and Nook Tablet B&N was able to sell rather large volumes of their tablets into the market. With overall Nook sales are going down (due to better tablet alternatives and outdated eInk displays), there is little chance of B&N getting the many more apps into the Nook App Store. They need to rethink their “no-3rd-party apps” policy, even if this will make them loose App Sales in their store. They need to open up. This might save them, but then there is the possibility that this will be to little to late.