I like reading (there’s a surprise, given the medium of Medium.com) and that includes eBooks. I can remember bodging an eBook Reader onto a Psion Series 3a with 512K of combined RAM/Storage back in the late nineties (it was ‘The Gods of Mars’ if you must know) and I’ve been through countless eBook reading apps and devices since then. It would be fair to say that for a long time I judged smartphones and PDAs on their eBook support.

That’s less of a need now, with the dominance of players like Amazon, Google Books, and Barnes and Noble’s Nook range of devices. It’s also why I find Nook trying to get into the Android tablet space a wonderfully quixotic quest.

If I want an Android tablet, then I’ll get an Android tablet. And I’ll probably get one that has a focus on being a decent all-rounder. The Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets took a long time to open up beyond the B&N store, and while the addition of Google Play support last year was welcome, the tablet simply didn’t perform as well as other chocies. Yes the cost balanced that out, but I still wonder why B&N are looking to release a full-blown Android tabelt with only the books and magazine store ti support it. Where’s the real value?

The Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch Glowlight readers, with eInk screens, great battery life, and asuperb price ccut in the UK that took the entry level model to £29 was a much more attractive proposition, and made a lot of sense business wise for B&N. They sold books. They sold eBooks. They sold an eBook reader. That works.

Now, they’re turning to Samsung to supply a bespoke version of the Galaxy Tab 4 as a Nook in disguise… why? Obviously this is a cheaper way to relase an Android tablet, but why release an Android tablet?

As a consumer I would rather that there was a greater focus placed on the Nook Simple Touch, and Barnes and Noble had worked on the ‘ultimate’ eInk reader. That seems a better core fit with the company, it allows them to stand out and be unique, and it delivers clear value to the customer.

A Samsung built Nook, running the Nook Android app, offers about the same appeal as a Tab 4 running the Nook Android app.

Dear Mr Barnes (or Mr Noble), if you want to build tablets, build tablets. Don’t do this halfway house solution. Commit all the way… or move on.