I just returned my wife's nook tablet to target the other day: NOT nook color, nook tablet, the newer one. Its hardware is very, very nice. Great screen, dual core CPU, 1GB RAM,16GB storage, very fast, elegant and smooth.
Of course B&N's restrictions make it almost useless until you root it. They finally cracked the bootloader in Jan and got CWM on it. CM7 is currently in beta, CM9 hopefully soon. There is a great dev community on XDA.
We miss it, but the reasons we decided to return it were (1) no camera for Skype (though it does have a secret mic); (2) the 1024x600 resolution and aspect ratio doesn't work with some apps; (3) $249 isn't bad, but with Asus MeMo and other tablets coming out, we think there will be better options soon; and (4) the fact that B&N seems hellbound on restricting it all the time. Be nice with a product that was as last somewhat useful without major brain surgery.
Re those restrictions (incl the locked bootloader), rumor has it that it's a requirement to having Netflix HD forced on them by Hollywood.