New Nook Tablet Announced

The Kindle Fire is just around the corner and Barnes & Noble has fired back with the new NOOKTablet, which is an upgraded version of the NOOKColor. Physically, the Kindle Fire and NOOKTablet are similar - they both have a 7" screen, both with Vivid technology for outdoor use; the Fire is about 1/2 ounce heavier (which you won't notice, after place both in a cover and adding an SD card to the Tablet). Inside, though, the new device will have twice the memory (1GB) and storage (16BG) as both the Fire and the NC, and will continue to have an SD card slot for expansion, features a microphone and an app that lets parents (or grandparents) record reading a book, complete with page turns, for their kids to play later on. This should be a great feature for those who travel or are deployed overseas.

Perhaps the most vocally wished for app for the Fire, Netflix, will be pre-installed, as will Hulu Plus (no word on plain Hulu, though) and Pandora Radio. Another feature that has been a constant features of the Amazon forums is parental controls -- the NOOKTablet will let parents turn off the web browser (but that appears to be the extent of the feature), while with the Kindle Fire you can block wireless access at home using your router. What both need, though, is a simple password-controlled blocking option for: web access, store access, library access and hidden category/book access. Just don't look for any of this soon, on either platform.

One area where the Kindle Fire is ahead, though, is with the included speakers - you get stereo, while the NOOKTablet has a single mono speaker built-in. Battery life looks a bit better on the Tablet (but real-life use may prove that to be a bit of marketing hype) and they claim it will charge even faster than the Fire (3 hrs vs. 4) and the native file support seems a bit richer (it includes many Microsoft formats, including powerpoint, which would require add-on apps on the Fire). You'll also get a few games built-in (Chess, Crossword, Sudoku), but a comparison of the Amazon Android Appstore vs. the NOOK Appstore will quickly shows that prices are higher and selection much poorer on the B&N side of the fence. Another shocker may be that of the 16GB of internal storage, 3GB is used by the OS and 12GB is reserved for purchases from B&N, leaving only 1GB for you to load on your own. You'll need that built-in SD card slot (which supports only up to 16GB) if you plan on taking several movies with you.

The NOOKTablet will be shipping next week, with a $249 price tag. The older NOOKColor has dropped in price to $199 and the updated SimpleTouch is now $99. If you have the NOOKColor, then you should be able to get NetFlix and Hulu Plus soon, while SimpleTouch owners will want to check for the update that improves text rendering and battery life. You'll be able to get support in-store, as with all the nook devices (although repairs and replacements have always seemed to require a long shipping round trip, from what I've seen); not quite the same as from Amazon, but with Amazon you can call 24x7 and usually get an overnight replacement before sending in the defective unit.

At the press conference, B&N was really playing up the lack of ads, but that isn't entirely true, as there are ads in store and there has been a persistent campaign from B&N that keeps placing un-ordered samples onto your nook with their updates (and you can't erase them, since they aren't part of your content, but the update itself).

Free Book (Kindle/nook) - The Habitation of the Blessed

The Habitation of the Blessed, the first title in the Prester John series by Catherynne M. Valente, was the Free Friday book at Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago; it's free now on Kindle.

Book Description
This is the story of a place that never was: the kingdom of Prester John, the utopia described by an anonymous, twelfth-century document which captured the imagination of the medieval world and drove hundreds of lost souls to seek out its secrets, inspiring explorers, missionaries, and kings for centuries. But what if it were all true? What if there was such a place, and a poor, broken priest once stumbled past its borders, discovering, not a Christian paradise, but a country where everything is possible, immortality is easily had, and the Western world is nothing but a dim and distant dream?

Brother Hiob of Luzerne, on missionary work in the Himalayan wilderness on the eve of the eighteenth century, discovers a village guarding a miraculous tree whose branches sprout books instead of fruit. These strange books chronicle the history of the kingdom of Prester John, and Hiob becomes obsessed with the tales they tell. The Habitation of the Blessed recounts the fragmented narratives found within these living volumes, revealing the life of a priest named John, and his rise to power in this country of impossible richness. John's tale weaves together with the confessions of his wife Hagia, a blemmye--a headless creature who carried her face on her chest--as well as the tender, jeweled nursery stories of Imtithal, nanny to the royal family.

Hugo and World Fantasy award nominee Catherynne M. Valente reimagines the legends of Prester John in this stunning tour de force.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book (Kindle) - Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise

Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise (US/UK), by Joyce Magnin, is free once again in the Kindle store, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press. This time around, it's free for those in the US as well as those in the UK.

Book Description
Newly widowed Charlotte Figg purchases a double-wide trailer sight unseen and moves to the Paradise Trailer Park with her dog, Lucky. Unfortunately, neither the trailer nor Paradise are what Charlotte expected. Her trailer is a ramshackle old place in need of major repair, and the people of Paradise are harboring more secrets than Bayer has aspirin. Charlotte’s new friend Rose Tattoo learns that Charlotte played softball and convinces her to rally the women of Paradise into a team. Reluctant at first, Charlotte warms to the notion and is soon coaching the Paradise Angels. Meanwhile, Charlotte discovers that the manager of Paradise, Fergus Wrinkel, abuses his wife, Suzy. Charlotte sets out to find a way to save Suzy from Fergus and in the process comes to a difficult realization about her own painful marriage.

Free Book - They Almost Always Come Home (K/N/E)

Update: 3/15/12 Repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook (new).

They Almost Always Come Home (US/UK), by Cynthia Ruchti, is free once more on Kindle, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
When Libby’s husband Greg fails to return from a two-week canoe trip to the Canadian wilderness, the authorities soon write off his disappearance as an unhappy husband’s escape from an empty marriage and unrewarding career. Their marriage might have survived if their daughter Lacey hadn’t died…and if Greg hadn’t been responsible. Libby enlists the aid of her wilderness savvy father-in-law and her faith-walking best friend to help her search for clues to her husband’s disappearance…if for no other reason than to free her to move on. What the trio discovers in the search upends Libby’s presumptions about her husband and rearranges her faith.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Christianbook.

Today's Deals

For those of you that also buy video games, it looks like today will be an all-video game day over in the Amazon Gold Box and Lightning Deals.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man ($1.99), by John Perkins, is the Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
In his controversial book, John Perkins tells the gripping tale of the years he spent working for an international consulting firm where his job was to convince underdeveloped countries to accept enormous loans, much bigger than they really needed, for infrastructure development--and to make sure that the development projects were contracted to U. S. multinationals. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the American government and the international aid agencies allied with it were able, by dictating repayment terms, to essentially control their economies. It was not unlike the way a loan shark operates--and Perkins and his colleagues didn't shun this kind of unsavory association. They referred to themselves as "economic hit men."

Arabella ($3.49 Kindle, B&N), by Georgette Heyer, is the nook Daily Find and now price-matched by Amazon.

Book Description
Georgette Heyer had a handful of unforgettable heroines, of which Arabella is one of the most engaging.

Daughter of a modest country clergyman, Arabella Tallant is on her way to London when her carriage breaks down outside the hunting lodge of the wealthy Mr. Robert Beaumaris. Her pride stung when she overhears a remark of her host's, Arabella pretends to be an heiress, a pretense that deeply amuses the jaded Beau. To counter her white lie, Beaumaris launches her into high society and thereby subjects her to all kinds of fortune hunters and other embarrassments.

When compassionate Arabella rescues such unfortunate creatures as a mistreated chimney sweep and a mixed-breed mongrel, she foists them upon Beaumaris, who finds he rather enjoys the role of rescuer and is soon given the opportunity to prove his worth in the person of Arabella's impetuous young brother...