Barnes & Noble and Samsung on Wednesday unveiled a new 7-inch tablet called the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook that will replace B&N's own Nook tablets. The 7-inch tablet combines Samsung’s technology and NOOK’s content and reading experience. It is actually a full-featured Android tablet optimized for reading. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK is now available in Barnes & Noble bookstores and online at www.bn.com and www.nook.com for $179 after a $20 instant rebate, and includes more than $200 in free content from the NOOK Store including books, popular TV shows, magazines and more.

With tablet is designed for those who love to read in all forms as well as browse the Web, watch videos, enjoy apps and more.

Michael P. Huseby, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. said that Barnes & Noble will continue to support all NOOK devices and said that the new product would be sold alongside the popular NOOK GlowLight eReader.

The new 7-inch device features Samsung’s tablet design and all of the hardware specs of its Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. It is lighter and thinner than any previous color NOOK device at 9.74 ounces and .35 inches. It has a built-in 1.3-megapixel front- and 3-megapixel rear-facing cameras, Wi-Fi connrctivity, the full suite of Google applications featuring Chrome Web Browser, as well as built-in GPS capabilities for location-based apps. In addition, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK gives users a collection of digital content to explore from Barnes & Noble. The expansive NOOK Store’s reading and entertainment content offerso ver 3 million books, popular comic books and graphic novels as well as art, photography, travel guides and cookbook titles. Children’s books, the NOOK Newsstand, NOOK Apps and NOOK Video are also accessible.

Barnes & Noble will welcome all Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK customers with more than $200 of free NOOK reading and entertainment content including three free bestselling eBooks including Freakonomics, The Wanderer, and I Am Number Four, and an episode each of three hit TV shows: HBO’s Veep, NBC Universal’s Hannibal, and BBC America’s Orphan Black. As part of the package, magazine lovers can choose up to four 14-day free trial subscriptions from a selection of 12 magazines – including Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated, US Weekly and more, and also receive the previous 12 issues of each title at no cost. A $5 credit will also let consumers get started as they explore the NOOK Store.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK is available immediately in both white and black 8GB models for $179 after a $20 instant rebate at Barnes & Noble bookstores and on BN.com and NOOK.com.

The company spent years investing in its Nook e-book reader and e-book library, but they struggled to be profitable. And in December the chain said it was evaluating the future of its tablets. Still it offered a new non-tablet e-book reader during the holiday season.

In July, Barnes & Noble said it would split off the company's retail business, which has been outperforming its Nook unit, and includes its bookstores and BN.com businesses. The company expects the separation to be complete by the end of the first quarter of the next calendar year, April of 2015.