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"The future of NOOK Media is shrouded in uncertainty, with president William Lynch recently stepping down, and platform holder Barnes &amp;amp; Noble ceasing all in-house tablet production. The bookseller is finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the likes of Amazon and Google in the tablet sector, despite having a strong track record of delivering quality e-readers and economical slate computers. In the interests of shifting inventory, Barnes &amp;amp; Noble is offering its NOOK HD+ at bargain-basement price points; and with high-end specs and extensive software support on its side, those seeking a budget-friendly alternative to the iPad might just have cause to rejoice.  Specs and Design The NOOK HD+ is by no means an underpowered slate, with its 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, but it is not exactly cutting edge. That said, its 9-inch HD display does manage to impress. Boasting a Full HD resolution of 1920x1280, the slate&amp;#039;s IPS LCD panel offers effective colour reproduction and clarity from virtually any viewing angle, making it the ideal choice for hosting everything, from e-reader content to 3D gaming apps. The slate is particularly well-suited for viewing comic books and magazines, with colours displayed vividly and text appearing crisp and clear. It&amp;#039;s also well-equipped for handling most gaming apps with minimal compromise, including demanding 3D shooters like the Modern Combat titles. There are 16GB and 32GB variations of the device available, as well as microSD support that can add up to 32GB of additional storage to what is already on board.  In form factor terms, the NOOK HD+ is a fairly unspectacular tablet, with a relatively thick border around its 9-inch screen, and back casing that is entirely blank aside from a distinctive NOOK logo in the centre, plus a speaker grille in the bottom left. Weighing in at 515g and measuring 9.47-inches in height, it&amp;#039;s as portable as most tablets in its size bracket and feels perfectly comfortable when held upright for extended usage sessions, such as movie viewing or reading a particularly gripping novel. Its plastic body feels less than luxurious to the touch, but that is to be expected when its bargain-basement price tag is taken into consideration. If nothing else, the tablet is at least robust enough to stand up to everyday wear and tear. The only real quirk we found on the design front was a bizarre eyelet on the lower-right corner of the device. We can&amp;#039;t see too many users attaching a carabiner clip and taking their device with them on a mountain-climbing trip, nor can we imagine anyone clipping it to their belt.  On a more serious note, the inclusion of a proprietary charger connector was a poor design choice, considering that micro-USB has been the industry standard for some time now.  Operating System and Software The NOOK HD+ hosts a modified version of Google&amp;#039;s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, which runs swift enough, despite failing to reach the zippy fluidity of Jelly Bean devices. Although a derivative of the Google OS, the tablet&amp;#039;s software comes with its own look and feel. Notifications are accessible via a single tap of the status bar and shortcuts are viewed from the top right. Support for multiple user accounts is something that NOOK HD+ rivals have long struggled to integrate smoothly, but this is an area where the Barnes &amp;amp; Noble device excels without consuming vast quantities of memory, making it ideal for sharing among the family.  The tablet is furnished with all of the essentials at launch - a native email app, a basic web browser and the NOOK e-reader software, but the new addition of Google Play support means that NOOK owners now want very little on the software front.  Google Play support brings millions of apps to the tablet, including Facebook, Twitter and ESPN - all of which have been glaring absentees on Barnes &amp;amp; Noble devices in the past - as well as movies, music, books and magazines.  Google&amp;#039;s own apps are also new inductees to the roster, with must-haves such as YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail and the Chrome browser all fully-optimised for the NOOK HD+ screen and interface. Battery Life and Connectivity Options With the NOOK HD+&amp;#039;s palatable asking price comes some inevitable concessions. There are no cameras in sight, nor does a 3G model exist for those who favour data plans and surfing the net on the fly. Users are unlikely to lament the absence of NFC technology, considering the device supports Bluetooth 4.0 for data transfers, and of course WiFi connectivity. The slate&amp;#039;s 6000mAh battery takes little over an hour to charge, and lives up to its promise of around ten hours for general-usage. Obviously this figure fluctuates when adding extensive gaming and movie consumption to the equation, but it more than holds its own against pricier rivals. A highly effective energy-saving mode helps users squeeze even more usage out of the NOOK HD+, and the tablet can survive for as long as two weeks without needing to be plugged into a power source. The Verdict It&amp;#039;s easy to see why the NOOK tablet line has struggled, given the level of competition it faces from Amazon&amp;#039;s dominate Kindle brand, as well as slates of varying sizes from Google, Samsung, Sony and Apple. That said, at the budget end of the market there are few better alternatives to the NOOK HD+. The device offers solid specs and an impressive screen resolution, costing less than the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD it is in direct competition with. The NOOK HD+ may not be the most aesthetically-pleasing tablet on the market, but it might just be the best value for money right now.   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<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/review/a498278/nook-hd-review-a-budget-friendly-ipad-alternative/>