Holiday Gift Guide »

Nook Color gets Android Froyo, app store

Categories: Android, Tablets
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, April 25th, 2011 at 9:46 AM
Nook Color gets Android 2.2 Froyo, app store
Nook Color gets Android 2.2 Froyo, app store

Well, the tablet wars just got interesting. The Barnes & Noble Nook Color now has Android 2.2 Froyo and an app store available and these could make the $250 e-reader a strong contender in the lower-tier tablet space.

If you recall, the Barnes & Noble Nook Color is an Android-powered e-reader which is positioned against the Kindle more than an iPad but the addition of Froyo might change that a little bit. While the device is not a beast in terms of hardware, it has been proven to be quite hackable and it can be tweaked for some better performance.

Over at Gartner, analyst Allen Weiner played around with the Nook Color with Android Froyo and he found it to be a mixed bag.

The Nook Color with its new Froyo upgrade is not an iPad — not even close. But those who are looking for a great cross-media reading device with some nice new multimedia bells and whistles, it remains a go-to device.

The Nook Color app store should be filled with the normal apps you’d expect from Android because Barnes & Noble has reportedly made it simple to port over Android Market apps. The company will be vetting this app store for security and its own interests – don’t expect an Amazon Kindle app to land on this any time soon.

About The Author

Marin Perez

Marin Perez has torture tested cell phones and smartphones for industry leaders like CNET and InformationWeek. He remembers when 4G was just a screen on PowerPoint presentations and is fascinated with the amount of innovation out there. Marin has spent a lot of time with BlackBerry and Android but he finally broke down a bought an iPhone to see what all the hype's about. He also has too many tablets.

  • James McP

    I’ve got a rooted Nook Color and it’s a perfectly usable tablet. I almost never see lag, video quality is perfectly fine, and thanks to the Android Marketplace and Amazon Appstore I’ve got a plethora of apps.

    For anyone who is dubious as to the usefulness of an iPad or Xoom, spending the $250 on a NookColor is definitely an easier option. I’m still more of a content-generator and the Nook isn’t pocketable so my laptop and cellphone see a lot of use. But any time I might have brought a book or notepad to cope with extended idle time I now bring the Nook.

    And the web browsing is good enough that it fulfills that TV-accessory where you lookup something you just saw on TV.

  • Nnnnn

    I have a nook color! It is awsome. Just got it, too! 

  • Sandra224

    How to buy and use nook apps, help!!!