NOOK HD Tablets Available to Pre-Order in the UK for Christmas

Barnes & Noble is launching a range of tablets and eReaders in the UK over the coming weeks, starting with the Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch GlowLight, an E-Ink device with a built-in reading light.  Both devices weigh less than 200 grams and can hold up to 1,000 eBooks on internal 2GB of storage, with expandable memory.

Two tablets – the 7″ Nook  HD and 9″ Nook HD+ – will follow in late November. Barnes & Noble has signed a deal with Asda to sell the devices at its 300 supermarket stores and online.
Priced at £159-£189 for the 7″ device, depending on whether consumers want the 8GB or 16GB model, and £229 for the 9″, they are nearly half the cost of Apples full-size tablets, but are very similar in price and specs to Amazons Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7.

“We’re thrilled to be able to bring our award- winning products and expansive NOOK Store to the UK’s discerning customers,” said Jamie Iannone, President of Nook Media. “The NOOK brand was created for people who love literature and reading, which is why the UK was a natural place for us to begin our international expansion.”

The Nook may be moving to the UK but many British consumers already appear wedded to Amazon’s platform – let the Christmas tablet war commence!