Today, Barnes & Noble and Samsung unveiled the “Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook,” the first Nook release since the Nook HD launched way back in 2012.

The release marks a new direction for Barnes & Noble, as the company forgoes the hardware game for a software play on Samsung’s original Galaxy Tab 4 tablet.

The “Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook” name is certainly long-winded, but the name works only because this is not a new device. Instead, it’s a new flavor of the existing Galaxy Tab 4 tablet.

In fact, nearly everything on Barnes & Noble’s Samsung Galaxy 4 Nook can be reverted to classic Galaxy 4 settings, and the hardware isn’t even custom-branded, but that’s not the point.

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Barnes & Noble’s selling point relies on its catalog of books, movies, games, music, and other content. The new Nook’s perks take the form of a custom homescreen and Barnes & Noble apps like the Nook Store, as you’ll see below. The hope, of course, is to sell lots of digital goods — and to rectify Barnes & Noble’s history of Nook flops.

Feast your eyes below on VentureBeat’s hands-on with the new Nook, and stay tuned for a full review.

This is a full-featured Galaxy 4 tablet, loaded with custom tweaks. That said, you can expect normal Galaxy 4 features, like maps.

 

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