????或許是不愿意在年末看到亞馬遜（Amazon）憑借Kindle Fire平板電腦獨領風騷，美國連鎖書商巴諾（Barnes & Noble）也不甘寂寞地推出了Nook平板，同時也是它去年推出的Nook Color平板的升級版。

????Nook平板起價為249美元，將從11月16日起出貨。它保留了老款Nook Color的外觀，但是內部卻煥然一新，搭載了主頻1GHz的雙核處理器，1GB的RAM和16GB存儲空間（它的RAM和存儲空間都是亞馬遜Kindle Fire的兩倍）。此外它還支持流媒體應用Netflix Instant和Hulu Plus。同時巴諾現有的幾款電子書閱讀器也開始打折處理：Nook Color降價到199美元；另一款閱讀器Nook Simple Touch僅賣99美元，它的顯示屏經過升級后，翻頁速度快了25%，打字速度更快了，對比度也得到了提高。

????如果仔細觀察，會發現Nook平板的外觀幾乎和Nook Color一模一樣，只是灰色邊框的顏色變淺了。第一代Nook Color出自設計大師伊凡?貝哈爾的手筆，喜歡Nook Color干凈設計的人也一定會喜歡新款的Nook平板。據說它比Nook Color輕了10%，不過筆者并沒怎么注意到。這款平板電腦無論如何也算不上笨重。不過像Nook Color一樣，Nook拿在手里很有份量，感覺很結實，也就是說如果把玩久了，可能得兩只手換著來，或者把它放到膝蓋上。

????Not content to let Amazon hog the spotlight this holiday with the Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble unveiled the Nook Tablet, a hardware update to the Nook Color, launched last year.

????Priced at $249 and shipping November 16, the Nook Tablet keeps the Nook Color's look but swaps the internals with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of built-in storage. (For comparison's sake, that's twice the RAM and storage of the Kindle Fire.) Also onboard: support for Netflix Instant and Hulu Plus. Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble's (BKS) existing e-reading devices received a price cut: the Nook Color dropped to $199, while the Nook Simple Touch will go for $99 with an updated display sporting 25% faster page turns, crisper text and improved contrast.

????Up close, the Nook Tablet looks almost identical to the Nook Color, save for a lighter gray case. In other words, if you liked Yves Behar's clean industrial design the first time around, you'll like the Nook Tablet. It's also 10% lighter, though I didn't really notice. The Tablet isn't heavy by any stretch. But also like its predecessor, there's a bit of heft and sturdiness to the device that means you'll eventually find yourself switching hands or propping it on your lap.