iPad goes small; Nook goes sharp Downsized iPad has stiff price; sharper Nook may be good option - Business - The Boston Globe

I'm not sold on the "brainy software" Nook value proposition part of this review; if you're shopping for a ~7" tablet and don't want to pay for an iPad mini, I recommend the Nexus 7

"The Nook HD is certainly no iPad. There are no cameras, it lacks a 4G option and its plastic case, though solid enough, seems a tad tacky by comparison. It’s not even the best $200 tablet; I vote for the Nexus 7 by Google Inc. But its brainy software certainly puts the Nook HD in the front ranks of minitablets, a market segment that’s gotten a lot bigger than Steve Jobs ever imagined."

iPad goes small; Nook goes sharp Downsized iPad has stiff price; sharper Nook may be good option - Business - The Boston Globe