Samsung and Barnes & Noble are introducing a new e-reader and entertainment tablet. The companies are calling it "the first-ever full-featured Android tablet that is optimized for reading."

The tablet will be a recreation of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. This one will be called the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, it will cost $179 and it's available starting today online and at Barnes & Noble bookstores.

The tablet has all the same hardware specs that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 has, but it is supposed to be optimized for reading. That means more Nook apps, preinstalled Nook Newstand that includes magazines and access to over 3 millon books from Barnes & Noble's collection.

"We've taken our bestselling Samsung Galaxy tablet and made it the best tablet available for reading and entertainment," said Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, in a prepared statement.

Barnes & Noble will include $200 of free content. That includes three free eBooks, three free TV show episodes, and up to three free 14-day magazine subscriptions.

The reason for the update to the Nook is due to consumer demand, Barnes & Noble CEO Michael Huseby said. He said that Nook owners wanted a full-featured reader that also gave them access to apps, the Web and videos.

"The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK is the most advanced NOOK ever, delivering the great NOOK experience our customers have come to love, with the high-performance tablet features they've asked for," Huseby said in a statement. "We invite reading and entertainment fans to visit their local Barnes & Noble store to experience the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK. Once they do, we're certain they will make this innovative device part of their daily routine."

Previous Nook versions and eReaders will continue to be supported by Barnes & Noble, Huseby said.

Barnes & Noble began selling eReaders in 2012, but the devices were slow sellers. They then spun off the Nook unit and let other companies create the readers for them.