????巴諾（Barnes & Noble）眼下境況不妙。其新款Nook平板電腦的發布回避不了亞馬遜（Amazon）Kindle Fire的陰影。很多測評者，包括我自己在內，都認為Kindle Fire很可能銷量僅次于大熱的蘋果（Apple）iPad。（事實上，我僅僅花了一天試用新款Nook，因為巴諾在最后一刻提前了計劃，壓縮了媒體發表相關測評文章的時間。）

????除了發布時機不佳外，Nook平板電腦不大可能受到熱捧還有一個原因：它本質上不是一款全新的設備，而只是對去年推出的Nook Color進行了硬件更新。這不是件壞事，因為其采用的是葉維斯?貝哈爾的獲獎設計。所有Nook應有的細節都在那兒：同樣的柔軟觸感、外觀精巧的塑料、閃亮的7英寸顯示屏，底部左側還有一個一模一樣的小掛鉤。兩者外觀上唯一的區別在于，新款的外殼顏色稍淺。與Nook平板電腦相比，全黑的Kindle Fire顯得有些遜色。

????內部的變化更大。新款Nook平板電腦輕了10％左右，而且在關閉WiFi的情況下，其電池續航時間號稱高達11.5小時。由于時間有限，我們未能測試這一點。此外，它還擁有雙核1GHz處理器、1GB內存以及16GB的內置存儲。這些配置使得新款Nook較之老款Nook Color速度大大提升。除了Netflix的首次運行外，大多數媒體應用僅需幾秒鐘就能打開。所有應用程序在打開過一次之后，再次打開的速度會快得多，有些幾乎瞬間就能開啟。

????巴諾平板電腦運行的是升級版Nook系統（確切地說是1.4版本），該系統是巴諾在谷歌（Google）Android系統基礎上自行研發的。（亞馬遜平板電腦的操作系統也采用了類似策略。）Nook Color的很多功能得到了保留：用戶能在主屏幕上用書簽標記最喜愛的書籍和應用程序；在幾乎永無止境的虛擬書架上瀏覽自己的媒體資源；點擊最近瀏覽的項目，就會看到“更多”選項卡。不過到目前為止，這些噱頭看起來更像應用程序、音樂、雜志的快捷方式。總體而言，Nook的界面頗為平滑，不過如果桌面圖標太多，顯得有些擁擠。

????巴諾平板電腦號稱全能型多媒體平板。巴諾宣稱該設備擁有數千款應用程序（我認為Netflix的運行完美無缺。）但這并不意味著Nook的生態系統能與競爭對手亞馬遜相抗衡。Kindle Fire的應用程序毫不遜色，而且還擁有亞馬遜的電影、電視、音樂和超級會員服務等資源。亞馬遜能提供大量附加資源，在這點上，巴諾難以望其項背。

????另外一個問題是價格。Nook平板電腦的售價為249美元，比蘋果公司的iPad要便宜，但比亞馬遜的Kindle Fire要貴50美元。50美元不是個大數目，但可能足以動搖一些消費者。巴諾首席執行官威廉?林奇敏銳地指出，只用多掏50美元，就能獲得兩倍的內存和存儲空間。而且Nook的硬件外觀似乎也更美觀，用戶界面也更精致。問題在于，這些足夠讓買家心甘情愿地多掏50美元嗎？

????調研機構Forrester Research估計，在2011年假期銷售季，巴諾將賣出150萬到200萬部Nook平板電腦。但愿如此。這款平板電腦有很多優點，比如設計出眾、運行速度快。Nook粉絲不會后悔升級到新款Nook。但是首次購買平板電腦的客戶可能難以接受為此額外支出費用。

????譯者：項航

????Barnes & Noble is not in an enviable position. Its new Nook Tablet is launching in the shadow of Amazon's Kindle Fire, a device many reviewers -- myself included -- think is likely to take second place behind Apple's dominant iPad. (In fact, I spent just a day with it as Barnes & Noble moved up the date press could write about the device at the last moment.)

????Timing aside, the Nook Tablet is also less likely to generate buzz because it is essentially a hardware update to last year's Nook Color, rather than an all-new device. That's not a bad thing, considering it sports Yves Behar's winning design. All the details that make a Nook a Nook are here: the same soft-touch, grippy plastic, a vibrant 7-inch display and an identical tchotchke hook on the bottom left side. The only real aesthetic difference? A slightly lighter case color. Compared to the Nook Tablet, the all-black Kindle Fire is somewhat of a wall flower.

????Changes inside are more substantial. The Nook Tablet is about 10% lighter and has a touted battery life of 11.5 hours with WiFi off, a claim we weren't able to test during our limited time with the device. It also sports a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. Those tweaks make for a serious speed boost compared to the Nook Color. With the exception of launching Netflix (NFLX) for the first time, most media opened up in a few seconds. After an app has been launched once, opening it up again is much quicker, sometimes nearly instantaneous.

????Barnes & Noble's (BKS) tablet runs on an updated version of Nook software (version 1.4 for those keeping track), which in itself is built atop a version of Google's (GOOG) Android operating system. (Amazon has chosen a similar scheme for its tablet.) A lot of the same features remain: ussers can still bookmark their favorite titles and apps on the home screen, scroll through their media on a nearly endless virtual bookshelf or look at recently-browsed items with a "More" tab. But now, there are yet more shortcuts for items like apps, music, magazines and music. Overall, the interface is slick but can become a little crowded with so many shortcuts.

????The Nook Tablet is being touted as a fully-capable media tablet. Barnes & Noble says it has thousands of apps available for the device. (Netflix worked flawlessly for me.) But that's not to say it enjoys as healthy an ecosystem as its rival from Amazon (AMZN). The Fire has access to the same apps but also plugs into Amazon's film, TV and music offerings as well as its Prime membership service. Amazon brings a lot of extras to the table that Barnes & Noble simply can't.

????The price is another issue. At $249, the Nook Tablet is a bargain compared to Apple's (AAPL) iPad -- but it's $50 more than the Fire. It's not a big difference, but it may be enough to sway some consumers. Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch has been keen to point out that $50 nabs you twice the RAM and storage. That money also seems to buy you better looking hardware and a slightly more polished user interface. The question is, will it be enough?

????Forrester Research estimates Barnes & Noble will sell anywhere between 1.5 million and 2 million of the Nook Tablet during the 2011 holidays. I hope that comes to pass. It's a tablet that has a lot going for it, including great design and fast performance. Nook fans won't regret the upgrade. Customers just buying a tablet for the first time, though, may have trouble justifying the extra cost.