Barnes & Noble's new Nook HD, which arrives in the bookseller's stores this Thursday, Nov. 1, competes with Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Google's Nexus 7 tablet about as directly as possible. As reviews roll in, the display quality alone of the Nook HD looks impressive enough that the 7-inch tablet could seriously compete with both devices, despite its lack of cameras, and smaller app selection.

Apple iPad Mini Trades Screen Quality for Portability in Battle with Google Nexus 7 Tablet, Amazon Kindle Fire HD 

The Barnes & Noble HD, Amazon Kindle Fire HD, and 16GB Google Nexus 7 are all $199 tablets with 7-inch screens. They all use customized versions of Android to provide experiences that emphasize the consumption of content - books, magazines, video, apps and more - that you've purchased from the company that sold you the tablet.

Nook HD Specs

Network
Wi-Fi

OS
Custom software over Android 4.0

CPU

1.3-GHz dual-core TI OMAP processor

Screen

7-inch 1440×900 (243ppi) IPS LCD

RAM

1GB

Storage

8GB or 16GB + up to 64GB microSD

Camera

None

Battery
4,050 mAh

Price
$199/8GB or $229/16GB

Time

Comparing Barnes & Noble's tablet to Amazon's Kindle Fire HD, Time notes "The Nook HD has a higher-resolution screen. It's got 1440-by-900 pixels, a meaningful increase over the Kindle Fire HD's 1280-by-800."

"The $199 model has 8GB of memory rather than the Fire HD's 16GB. The skimpier capacity won't matter if you're just downloading books, but might be tight if you're storing video and other memory-hungry content. But the Nook HD, unlike the Fire HD, has a MicroSD slot, letting you add more capacity by plugging in a card. (A 32GB MicroSD will run you around $20.) Or you can spring for the 16GB Nook HD, which is $229."

If you're concerned with pricing above all else, Time points to the fact that, "the Nook HD comes with an AC adapter; with the Fire HD, that'll cost you an extra 10 bucks."

But the biggest difference, according to the magazine, may be the Nook HD's preference for not constantly battering users with advertising.

Unlike the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, "The Nook HD's low price isn't subsidized with the ads and other in-your-face marketing Amazon uses to help cover its costs. With the Nook HD, there's no equivalent of the Fire HD's "special offers" screensaver - which you can remove for $15 - and the Barnes & Noble shopping experience is all concentrated in one section you can explore or ignore, rather than distributed throughout the interface as it is on the Fire HD. Overall, the interface has a more low-key, customizable, less hypercommercial feel."

Time concedes though, that "Overall ... the Fire HD has more features, including X-Ray, which annotates books and movies with information on their creators, characters and more, and Immersive Reading, which lets you read a Kindle e-book while listening to the Audible audiobook version. Barnes & Noble also doesn't have a counterpart for Amazon's $79/year Prime membership, which lets you stream a growing library of video and borrow books at no extra charge."

Time notes that the Nook HD's 10,000 apps are decent enough but are a third of Amazon's app offerings. "And it's an even dinkier drop in the bucket compared to what you'll get on a tablet which has unfettered access to Google's Google Play Store. If having access to the most apps is important to you, the $199 tablet you want is Google's own Nexus 7."

"The Nook HD certainly doesn't trump Amazon and Google's competitors, let alone the iPad Mini. And if you plan to watch much video, I'd confirm that Barnes &Noble's movie and TV show selection is as impressive as the company claims before opting for the Nook HD over the Kindle Fire HD. But with its featherweight form factor, sharp screen and pleasant user interface, the Nook HD keeps Barnes & Noble in the cheap-tablet game... Anyone who's got $199 to spend on a tablet should give this Nook a look."

Gizmodo U.K.

Best for "avid content consumers, especially those who have already bought a lot of ebooks, magazines, and videos from Barnes & Noble."

Although, the site was let down by that fact that, "You won't have access to the full Google Play app selection. It's a curated group of apps, even more limited than the Amazon Appstore. While the Nook HD is built on Android 4.0 software, it's been redesigned to where it's almost unrecognizable."

The website thought the hands-down best feature of Barnes & Noble's tablet was its screen. "Barnes and Noble really put all of its eggs in this basket," the site said referring to the display quality. "1440×900 pixels nets you 243 pixels per inch, soundly beating everything else in the 7-inch category (the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD has 216 ppi). Magazines and graphic novels really pop and are extremely clear. Videos look good, too."

Apparently, the tablet's tragic flaw is "Speed. Or lack thereof. Despite the fact that it's based on the same kernel as the Kindle Fire HD, it just doesn't run as smoothly. Apps don't pop open right away, scrolling stutters. It takes longer than it should to do pretty much anything."

"Barnes & Noble's content library is truly impressive. The range and volume of ebooks, MP3s, and movies rivals Amazon's (and may even surpass it in some categories). You won't lack for things to buy. If only that applied to apps as well. B&N claims its offerings are just highly curated, but no, there are just so many good games and apps unaccounted for. Its options lag behind the Kindle Fire, which itself trails the Nexus 7′s full Google Play access by miles. In particular - as with Kindle Fire - there are no Google apps available here. No Gmail, no Maps. You will miss them."

"The software is extremely inconsistent and frequently hard to navigate."

"Audio on the speakers is pretty lousy. Very tinny."

"We found battery life to be a bit better than the Nexus 7 and a bit worse than the Kindle Fire HD. You should get about 10 hours of read time, depending on your usage."

While they liked the screen quality, and Gizmodo U.K. thinks you might still be better off with a Google Nexus 7.

"The Nook HD makes a strong case for itself versus the Fire HD with its killer screen, better browser, and expandable storage, even though it's not as easy to use. If you're already invested in the Barnes & Noble ecosystem, then maybe. But even then, it's hard to make an argument. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD are both more capable, and if you do have a lot sunk into B&N, you can just download the Nook app for the Nexus 7."

Tech Hive

Display is one again trumpeted as one of the device's key selling points. "The Nook HD's display translates into a pixel density of 243 pixels per inch. That matches up well against the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD (at 216 ppi each) and the iPad mini (at 163 ppi)... the Nook HD's screen has minimal glare and good screen contrast."

But the tablet does have its drawbacks. "The Nook HD's biggest shortcoming is its lack of front- and rear-facing cameras and a GPS capability. Barnes & Noble has its reasons for omitting these features, but anyone who has ever used maps or videoconferencing on a tablet knows how handy these features can be-and their absence may cause some consumers to drop the Nook HD from consideration as a general-use tablet."

"The Nook HD is impressive on many levels: Its display is currently second to none, and its expandable storage adds to the tablet's flexibility. Though optimized for reading, the Nook HD also delivers a well-rounded and personalized-if not complete-tablet experience. Google's Nexus 7 has the obvious advantage of being able to use all Android software, and not just the software offered through the Nook store. But if you aren't turned off by the idea of a curated app collection, the Nook HD is one of the best values you can find in a 7-inch tablet today."