Barnes and Noble Acclaim to add higher-end tablet

Barnes & Noble may be committing itself more to tablets if a reportedly leaked presentation is accurate. Sourced from a meeting, the Digital Reader tip points to the fall lineup adding a third model, the Acclaim. Its details aren't known, but at $349 it would be $100 more expensive than the Nook Color, which would stay around in at least some form.

Some doubt persists without a copy of the presentation itself. The site points to the details having been approved by CEO William Lynch and digital product lead James Iannone, however. A sequel device has already been identified in separate rumors.

A more expensive Nook Color will most likely center on a bigger screen and could represent Barnes & Noble tackling the iPad more directly. The Android reader just recently got optimized magazines but, as a seven-inch tablet, is inherently limited in what it can show versus a roughly 10-inch device like Apple's. Acclaim might be an opportunity to upgrade the performance and storage beyond the year-old original Nook Color.

While not tops in reading, Apple has largely cornered periodicals like magazines and newspapers. The popularity outside of reading, the large screen, and its focus on delivering magazines as flexible apps has given an edge over Amazon and others that normally just deliver them in a format similar to that for the books. Barnes & Noble might hope to reduce that advantage and simultaneously foil the Amazon Kindle tablet near certain to be unveiled next week.

By Electronista Staff