Barnes & Noble NOOK HD Pro Reviews

Barnes & Noble gets full marks for its ability to design a great product — I'm a fan of almost everything the company tried to do with the Nook HD. I only wish the execution were equal to the conception. From the slow UI to the poor gaming performance, this just isn't a fun device to use. I like reading on the Nook HD, and I like watching movies — most of that is due to the display, which really is best-in-class. Almost everything else feels like a chore, like I'm beta-testing a device that will someday have its kinks ironed out. I hope that day comes for the Nook HD, when it feels like a final product, but for right now it's not on the same level as the other good 7-inch tablets like the Kindle Fire HD or the Nexus 7. I want all of the features the Nook HD offers, but I'd rather just have a tablet that works.

Here’s the deal folks. If reading is more of your forte than anything else, there’s no question that the NOOK HD is the ideal tablet for you, especially when it has a healthy and robust ecosystem in that particular category. And with that snazzy looking display, it’s sure to be swell for other things – like watching movies and surfing the web. However, its limited apps selection combined with its heavy skinned interface (while still appreciable experience) lacks the comprehensiveness that the Google Nexus 7 offers with its vanilla Android experience. Well, it might not be so much of a deal breaker for some people, but you still have to figure in that it’s lacking even a front-facing camera for video chatting, which many of these affordable Android tablets offer. Needless to say, if those aren’t concerns to you, then you’ll make good use out of Barnes & Noble’s latest offering. At $200, there’s no denying there’s still a good amount of value in it, but you’ll seriously need to figure out what features are most pertinent to your needs before making a decision.

Barnes & Noble invested a lot in the hardware, and it shows. The Nook HD has a great little screen, snappy performance and industrial design that stands out from the competition without proving quite as polarizing as its predecessor. Most of all, it's built to be held, a fact that echoes the device's focus on the reading experience. That core functionality spills over onto the software side, making visually interesting magazines, comics and kids' books a pleasure to read. Priced (ad-free) at $199 for an 8GB model and $229 for 16GB, it's a great little piece of hardware for those looking for a reader that can also handle casual gaming and high-def videos. And the addition of profiles makes this a tempting proposition for families with children.

Small tablets abound these days, each with its own set of advantages. The Kindle Fire HD screams ease-of-use. The Nexus 7 is a speed demon. The iPad mini has a formidable ecosystem behind it. And now comes Barnes & Noble's Nook HD, making a play for your eyeballs.

Is the Nook HD the best 7-inch tablet on the market? In short, no. It's cheap and cheerful design and interface at a sub-£200 price tag would have blown us away a year ago, but such is the fast pace of the tablet market these days, the Nook has been left behind by superior competition. It does feel more rugged that the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD and iPad mini, meaning it could be the perfect family or kids' tablet – capable of taking a few knocks while keeping content separate, and secure, between users. But if you're looking for the best value for money at the budget end of the tablet market, we would have to recommend the more powerful Google Nexus 7 over the Nook HD.

A sumptuous screen, but a disappointing range of apps

A sharp screen, intelligently designed interface and a smattering of unique features can’t quite compensate for an abject, half-empty app store

In the end Barnes & Noble invested a lot into both their hardware and software, and it shows. The screen is vibrant and crisp, performance is snappy and family friendly, and their unique industrial design stands out from the competition while remaining familiar. Overall while B&N has made an excellent product the software and ecosystem still needs some help. Riddled with poor performance in the OS and gaming, everything but reading books and magazines just takes too much effort when you’ve used iOS or regular Android. When it comes down to what we want in a tablet this delivers in terms of hardware, but still fails just enough in the software and content to truly make it worthy of a full recommendation. While we love where the NOOK line is going — and hope it will get there — the Nexus 7, iPad mini, and Kindle Fire HD still offer more that make them an easier and better choice. Lacking the ecosystem of true Android or iOS, not having a camera, and not delivering enough content for consumption like the Kindle Fire HD achieves makes this a miss. If you’re invested in the B&N world already, this is a worthy update in all aspects and is by far the best NOOK yet.

We can hardly find fault with the hardware, but UK-specific content - including movie streaming and TV catchup - is sorely lacking. Much is promised, but you're taking a risk if you jump in and buy a Nook HD right now. As with the Kindle Fire HD, the Nook HD will be good option for anyone wanting something that's easy to use, and there's the bonus of user profiles as well. However, if you don't want to be completely locked in to the Nook store, you're better off with a Nexus 7 at this price.

The Barnes & Noble Nook HD is a gorgeous little tablet, but outside of reading, there's not enough you can do with it.

The Nook HD has no cameras, lacks USB, and micro-HDMI. There’s no GPS, gyroscope, and no native music service. At the time of this posting, the selection for movies and TV shows pales in comparison to competing services from Google, Apple, and Amazon. Overall apps selection is decent, but again, is currently no match for what you can find on other tablets. Clearly, it doesn’t do as much as its competitors, but depending on your needs, you may not need it to. If you’re looking for a full-on tablet experience, the Nexus 7 or (especially if you’re an Amazon Prime member) Kindle Fire HD should be more to your liking. You’ll find much more content there for the same price. However, the Nook HD is light, comfortable, great for pure books and magazine reading, and its scrapbook feature is well-implemented. Also, the movies that are available are the sharpest on any 7-incher, and games run fast. Profiles is a great solution for families on a budget; however the Nexus 7 will soon support a similar feature. The microSD slot goes a long way toward dulling the sting of its low initial storage capacity and is something the other top 7-inch tablets don’t support. What the Nook HD does, it does well. Just make sure it does what you need it to do before buying.