UPDATED 06:58 EST / SEPTEMBER 26 2012

Barnes&Noble Unveils 2 New Nook HD Tablets

Today’s mobile news roundup features: Barnes & Noble introducing two new HD Nook tablets; RIM’s plans to launch BlackBerry 10 devices worldwide, Samsung addressing killer code with an update; and Toys ‘R’ Us getting sued for their new Tabeo tablet.

Barnes & Noble’s new HD Nook tablets

Barnes & Noble unveiled two new tablets, the Nook HD and Nook HD+, the lightest HD and full HD tablets from the book retailer. The super-fast and lightweight 7-inch Nook HD and 9-inch Nook HD+ feature must-see displays for “superior reading and entertainment,” and a personalized tablet experience for each family member.  The Nook HD claims to have the world’s highest-resolution ever on a 7-inch tablet, while the Nook HD+ rivals the industry-leading tablet’s display.

“With the combination of the highest resolution screen, lightest weight and expansive access to content rendered in a digital quality never before seen, NOOK HD is the world’s best 7-inch media tablet,” said William J. Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble.

“We designed our larger format tablet NOOK HD+ because we think there’s big demand from customers for a super-light, extremely high quality 9-inch tablet, at half the price of the iPad. Both our 7-inch NOOK HD and 9-inch NOOK HD+ deliver an exceptional customer experience and we enthusiastically encourage customers to go to nook.com and learn more about them.”

Prices start at $199 for the Nook HD and $269 for Nook HD+, comparably cheaper than other leading tablets that offer similar features.  The best part?  Unlike Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD tablets, the Nook HD tablets will not have those annoying ads.  Nook HD users can enjoy more than three million books, a large selection of magazines and apps, and now with the newly launched Nook Video and Nook Catalog content, the Nook HD and Nook HD+ offer virtually endless reading and entertainment at your fingertips.

Interested buyers can now pre-order the Nook HD and Nook HD+ here.

RIM to launch BlackBerry 10 devices in 6 continents

Though Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices aren’t as popular as they used to be in the US and other top countries, the company believes overseas markets can put them back on the map.  That’s why when the new line of BlackBerry 10 devices launch during the first quarter of 2013, RIM will be introducing the devices in six continents: North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa.

Though RIM seems hopeful for their upcoming devices, analysts are still worried, since the pool of developers interested in creating apps for the BlackBerry 10 platform is relatively small compared to Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystem.

Samsung addressed killer code with update

News circulated that there’s malicious code out in the wild, with the ability to wipe or restore the Samsung Galaxy S3, S2, Beam,S Advance and Ace to factory setting – removing all stored data on the the said devices.  According to reports, TouchWiz, Samsung’s user interface for the said devices, is the one that allows the killer code to automatically do its business.

Samsung quickly addressed the problem and issued the following statement:

“We would like to assure our customers that the recent security issue concerning the Galaxy S III has already been resolved through a software update.

“We recommend all Galaxy S3 customers to download the latest software update, which can be done quickly and easily via the Over-The-Air (OTA) service.”

Speaking of Samsung, their mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun will be meeting with Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt on Thursday, with Apple on the possible agenda.  It is no secret that Apple is going after Google and their Android platform by destroying OEMs using their mobile OS.

Toys ‘R’ Us gets sued for Tabeo

Toys ‘R’ Us unveiled Tabeo, a tablet made for kids, in early September.  The company is set to release the tablet next month in time for the holiday rush, pricing the tablet low at $149.99.  Tabeo will be exclusively sold in Toys ‘R’ Us retail locations, meaning you can’t  look somewhere else for a cheaper price.  It may also be a tactic to limit competition.

The company is being sued by Fuhu Inc. who claims that Toys ‘R’ Us stole trade secrets and trademark information to launch Tabeo.  Fuhu sold Nabi, a tablet similar to Tabeo last year, exclusively through Toys ‘R’ Us before terminating the agreement in January because they believe that the giant toy store did not follow through with promises to advertise and order the Nabi in sizable quantities.

“We shared with them the whole ecosystem of the Navi tablet,” Fuhu Chief Executive Jim Mitchell said. He said some of the strategic tactics that was shared with Toys ‘R’ Us included putting a rubberized border, called a bumper, around the device, working in parental controls and pre-loading the tablet with apps.


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