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Wilson Rothman

Nook 'Tablet' will be $249 Kindle Fire rival, says alleged leak

Next Monday morning, Barnes & Noble will take the stage in New York for an announcement. It will very likely be a successor to the Nook Color. That much we know, because if it isn't, the company will be dead in the water. According to an alleged B&N marketing leak, published by the gadget blogs SlashGear and Engadget, that successor will look like a Nook Color, be called Nook Tablet and sell for $249.

We contacted Barnes & Noble to ask about the veracity of the leaked documents, and they had no comment. To be clear, they didn't deny anything either, which is why we are proceeding, with due caution, to discuss what was in the alleged leak.

First, what we think makes sense:

• The Nook Tablet would have 16GB of storage, 1GB of RAM and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and still be lighter weight than the Nook Color and its competitors.
• That it would have the same 7-inch LCD screen.
• That it would cost $249, $50 higher than the Kindle Tablet — a price bump justified by the higher specs.
• Available Nov. 16 — after all, Christmas is coming and geese are getting fat.
• That it would have video services from Netflix and Hulu Plus, to compete with Amazon's homespun video offerings.
• That the Nook Touch reader would drop from $139 to $99 — in this market, that's a no-brainer.

Now, what smells a little off:

• That the Nook Color would stay in the lineup, but sold for $199, just $50 less, and the same price as the Kindle Fire.
• That there would be "HD" content, despite the fact that the screen can support only slightly greater than DVD resolution.
• Why a Nook Color upgrade would bring Hulu Plus but not Netflix, while the Nook Tablet gets both.
• Why the Nook Color and Nook Tablet would have such different names, when they're almost identical products.

We'll stop there, because there's a fair likelihood that this is what's happening, and these concerns will simply morph into criticisms of the product line when it's announced Monday. If this turns out to be proved false, we will of course address the situation. But the entities who could easily dismiss it have not, and that's why we are bringing it to your attention.

Tune in Monday morning bright and early to find out how much of this is true, and what Barnes & Noble's battle plan vs. Amazon and Apple really looks like.

In the meantime, have a look at the whole set of supposedly leaked documents over at SlashGear.

More on Barnes & Noble's e-readers from msnbc.com:

• Nook Color sequel likely to be announced next Monday
• Nook Color gets apps, email, Flash and more
• E-ink showdown: New B&N Nook vs. Amazon Kindle

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.