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Barnes and Noble Adds Tablet Features and Apps to the Nook Color

April 25, 2011 - (Suite101.com) -- On April 25, 2011, Barnes and Noble added features that capitalize on the Nook Color's Android tablet base. The Nook Color is not an ordinary ebook reader.

Barnes and Noble's April 25, 2011 press statement will be especially helpful to people who are torn between buying an ebook reader and an Android tablet. After the Nook Color's updates, the Barnes and Noble tablet-ereader is a solid economical choice for people who want to read ebooks and play Angry Birds. The wi-fi only Nook Color is $250, which is far less than most tablets. The Nook screen is also smaller than most tablets, but it is a nice size option between Apple iPod Touch and an iPad.

The Nook Color Tablet Aims for a Young Audience

When the Nook Color debuted, it seemed like a good choice for people who like to read magazines because it is full color. It is about $100 more than the Nook or the Kindle, and those ereaders have 3G options, e-ink, easy-on-the-eyes screens, and offer long bouts of reading between charges. The Nook Color is targeted for people who want more than an ereader, and the new app offerings show that Barnes and Noble is focusing a lot of their energies on developing a tablet that kids will enjoy.

Many of the Nook Color's apps would appeal to a broad range of people, but some of the apps are geared to kids. Loud Crow will offer book apps, such as an app based on The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. The National Geographic Society will have an app to prepare 4th through 8th graders for the National Geography Bee. Of course, nothing says kid-friendly like the magical name of Dr. Seuss, and the B&N press release says that there will be a Seuss App for the Nook Color.

Barnes and Noble Updates Nook Color Software Update

In a media email, Barnes and Noble outlined the changes that Nook Color users can expect from the new software updates. What used to be a warranty-voiding hack is now standard for the Nook Color: using the ereader to check email, shopping for apps, and watching videos with what B&N is calling "in-page videos" in their April 25, 2011 media statement.

The Nook Color v1.2 firmware update can be downloaded over a wi-fi network. After it is installed, it will update the Nook Color to Android OS 2.2/Froyo. The ereader-tablet will also be able to handle Adobe Air and Adobe Flash Player. Barnes and Noble invites developers to make and sell Android apps; applications and information can be found at Nook Developer.

The Nook Color is not a 3G ebook reader, which makes people excited about whatever Amazon.com is cooking with their potential Kindle tablet. Gizmodo's Matt Buchanan gave educated speculation about the possibility of a Kindle tablet on March 24, 2011, when he wondered "What the Amazon Kindle Tablet Might Be Like." Much of his hypothesis is based on his exploration of the question, "Why would Amazon launch its own App Store?". Buchanan thinks that Amazon is in the hybrid ereader-tablet market, and Barnes and Noble's success with the Nook Color suggests that a hybrid ereader is something consumers want.