The NookColor, recently voted the most discounted tablet of 2011, is back on sale again. Daily Steals are offering a refurbished NookColor for $135.
This tablet comes with a high resolution 7″ screen (1024 x 600) and a capacitive touchscreen, 8GB Flash storage, microSD card slot, Wifi, and Bluetooth(disabled). The refurbished model has a 1 year warranty from B&N.
Today’s deal is a rather interesting event because it raises questions on whether the current NookColor will be replaced.
Back when I announced to the world that Barnes & Noble have a new NookColor coming, I also said that the current tablet would be getting a hardware update. Barnes & Noble (at that time) hadn’t planned to changed the price on the current NookColor and I assumed that the hardware would be improved to justify the price. But this is a curious detail because David Carnoy of CNet checked with his sources and he was told that the current NookColor was going to be replaced with new hardware.
This tablet came out close to a year ago now and it is getting a little long in the tooth. That’s why I still believe that the hardware that you’re looking at above is going to be retired in the next few weeks. Why else would B&N be trying so hard to get rid of the refurbished models?
The question to ask today is whether you should get this now or wait to see what B&N announce in the next weeks? I’m thinking that this might be worth buying. The NookColor can be easily hacked and there are several third party firmwares for it, at least one of which includes the Android Market.
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It seems like it’s getting very near the point where they need to announce something if they have any hope for an impact this holiday. I’m starting to doubt we’ll see a “Nook Color 2″ before 2012.
At this point it would have to be announced for immediate shipping; Fire is just 2-3 weeks away. (Amazon usually beats their intro dates by a few days.)
And that is what’s keeping me from a refurb NC2: dual core and no need to hack for $50-60 more. No SD is a minus but I can cope.
Now, an open NC2 would have a better chance with me but I’ll likely wait til spring.
Almost pulled the trigger on this last night, but unlike some other 3rd party NC refurbs, this one comes with a 90 day warranty.
It comes with a 1 year warranty according to the site..
Thanks, I think I’ll pull the trigger.. It did say 90 days last night.
135 for the quality in the Nook Color is a steal.. I’m curious what Nook color 2 will have but spec updates are starting to bore me.. I’m more interested in features and function.. Which is why I have a Kindle Fire on order..
I’m holding off on selling my Nook Color until I try out Fire, but if the price gets any lower it won’t be worth selling.
With Kindle fire selling at $199, $135 may be the only price that will move inventory at all.
That being said- all the way back in early December last year Len Riggio stated he expected the current crop of ereaders to fade going into 2012- to be replaced with newer, better devices (including a new nook color). In his own words:
“It’s the history of technology. Function improves and prices decrease. It’s inevitable.”
So it’s 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. The prices are dropping because of Amazon’s fire and the new nook- but mainly, because it is a year old product and that’s just the way things go.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/people/article/45409-len-riggio-pw-s-person-of-the-year.html
Direct from B&N’s website you can purchase a pre-owned Nook Color for $149 and a pre-owned Nook Touch for $79.