Barnes and Noble has started advertising a new reading-centric Nook tablet on their website creatively called the Nook 9″ Lenovo Tablet.
They’ve started accepting pre-orders for it on the Barnes and Noble website, even though it’s not expected to start shipping for another 3 months. The list price is $149.99 with free shipping, and B&N members can get 10% off.
The new Nook tablet has a 9-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1340 x 800. That equates to 173 ppi, which is pretty low but it’s not as bad as the last Nook tablet. They claim the new Nook has an anti-fingerprint display, and they say the screen is TÜV Rheinland-certified for low blue light. They also say that it supports grayscale, chromatic, and immersive reading modes.
The device has 64GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, and there’s a microSD card slot for expansion up to 128 GB. It has a MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core CPU. It supports dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, plus it has a 3.5mm audio jack and dual speakers. There’s a 2MP front camera and an 8MP rear camera, and it has a USB-C port.
Battery life is listed at up to 13 hours, and it has a 5100mAh battery. The device weighs 344 grams and measures 215.43mm x 136.76mm x 7.99mm.
The new Nook tablet runs Android 13 and the Google Play app is shown in the pictures so it should be able to install apps, even though B&N doesn’t say anything about that anywhere. However, they do say the built-in Nook reading app supports in-app purchases, unlike the regular Nook Android app.
B&N used to sell a 10-inch Lenovo Nook tablet that was released back in 2021. It had really low-end specs and a low-resolution screen with only 149 ppi, but it was cheap at $129. This new tablet looks a bit nicer overall, but it’s still surprising B&N doesn’t offer a more premium model considering their customer base.
The new Nook tablet is expected to get released on May 14th. You can buy what is basically the exact same Lenovo Tab M9 tablet right now without Nook branding for the same list price, except it’s currently on sale for $99. The only difference I can see is it runs Android 12 instead of Android 13.
I have been using the original M9 version since August 2023 and could not be more pleased with its overall capabilities and build quality. Keep in mind that I purchased it for and use it solely as my dedicated e-reader (along with eReader Prestigio as my reading software of choice) due to the multiplicity of useful settings it has that can bring it quite close to an e-ink visual reading experience. I can highly recommend it with great confidence. Would love to see a lighter weight version without the cameras (never use them) and a larger battery though the current battery life is quite acceptable. If you are looking for an excellent overall tablet that excels as a reader and interfaces easily with B&N, then go with their version. If, like myself, you sideload your books from your Calibre library then go with the original M9. Either way you will be making a well informed choice. BTW, the primary reason that I chose my unit was due to the foresight of Lenovo engineering to realize that there are many who want a larger than 7 or 8 inch screen but do not want to make the leap to a 10 inch screen. As a former B&N Nook HD+ owner which had a superb 8.9 inch screen, I could not wait for the M9 to arrive once I ordered it! Yes, the HD+ still works but it comparatively weighs a ton compared to today’s units which is why I finally fully retired it. My M9 fully refills that niche.
PS: My M9 has been updated to Android 13 by Lenovo.