Samsung Group teams with Barnes & Noble for Galaxy Tab 4 Nook

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Samsung is known for its wide reach in the world of mobile gadgets and home appliances. The Korean giant has always been one to provide an experience for which every consumer can find something for himself or herself, and Samsung, known for manufacturing Windows Phone as well as Android devices, is always on the lookout for new mobile gadget markets and platforms. Its Gear smartwatches and Gear Fit fitness band are an example that the company is willing to go the distance to reach new consumers.

Well, Samsung has now decided to reach a somewhat new customer base while helping Barnes & Noble at the same time. The company’s latest product? The Galaxy Tab 4 Nook.

 

Yes, the Nook reading tablet that hasn’t been refreshed by bookstore company Barnes & Noble (or B&N) since 2012 with the Nook HD+ tablet now has a successor in the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. The Galaxy Tab 4 Nook features a 7-inch display with a 1280 x 720p screen resolution – the same screen resolution provided in Samsung’s $200 Galaxy Tab 4. The Tab 4 Nook also features a quad-core processor, 8GB of internal memory storage that can be expanded by way of a microSD card slot, a 1.3MP front camera and a 3MP back camera, and runs Android 4.4 KitKat. The Tab 4 Nook is the lightest Nook tablet yet, weighing a little under 10 ounces (9.74 oz.).

 

The Tab 4 Nook is no different than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 in its hardware, but it is in the device software that one can spot the difference immediately. Whereas the Galaxy Tab 4 runs Samsung’s TouchWiz UI and software, the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook features Barnes & Noble’s apps. Tab 4 Nook owners will receive $200 worth of free B&N content by way of the company’s Nook Shop store pre-installed on the Tab 4 Nook. Some of the free content provided for new Tab 4 Nook users includes books such as I Am Number Four, The Wanderer, and Freakonomics, as well as TV shows such as Hannibal (NBC Universal), Orphan Black (BBC America) and Veep (HBO).

 

To add to the list of free Nook gifts, Tab 4 Nook users will also receive a two-week trial for magazines such as US Weekly, Sports Illustrated, and Cosmopolitan, as well as a $5 gift card to spend at the Nook Shop. You can order the Tab 4 Nook at all 660 Barnes & Noble retail stores or purchase it for $179 online (with a $20 instant rebate).

 

Barnes & Noble’s partnership with Samsung is a clear sign that the company hasn’t done well in its Nook tablet business, and that companies such as Amazon (with its multiple Kindle models) has dominated in the online ebook industry. Samsung, however, has had its share of financial misfortune as of late, with the latest results showing that the company’s taken a 2% dive in its profit as compared to last year, but the Korean giant looks to reclaim some lost territory with its Galaxy Note 4 phablet, Gear 2 Solo smartwatch, as well as its iPhone 6-contending Galaxy Alpha and Gear VR virtual reality headset.