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In color or black and white, Nook gets read all over

June 21, 2011 - (The Oklahoman) -- Two recent events have happened in the tablet world for Barnes and Noble with its series of Nook devices. And since this is a column on applications for your devices, of course, one of those events involves apps.

First, the bookstore chain introduced an update for the Nook Color in late April that brought apps to that device. Within one week, users downloaded more than 1 million apps.

Second, this month, Barnes and Noble released the Nook Simple Touch, the inklike device that's replacing the original Nook for reading books and magazines that you buy electronically from the bookseller and sometimes elsewhere, even your local library.

The apps for the Nook Color range from games and music to the practical to the educational, just like you'd find on a tablet that connects with Apple's App Store or Google's Android Market, even if there aren't as many apps available. The Nook's original purpose is as a reader, but the apps and ability to surf websites add another dimension.

So this summer, if your children are holed up somewhere for hours with their Nook Color, you might be disappointed to find out that they're not reading books from their summer reading list. Instead, they might be playing games such as Aces Jewel Hunt ($2.99) or using the popular art app Drawing Pad ($1.99) on the 7-inch color screen. If you're lucky, they're doing something educational, such as checking out the Nook Word of the Day (free), playing National Geographic's GeoBee Challenge ($2.99) or learning Spanish with Basic Spanish for Dummies ($1).

These are just a handful of the most popular apps available for the Nook Color. Some people have already figured out how to hack the Nook Color and turn it into a full-blown Android-based tablet with a complicated technical process called "rooting," but that's beyond my technical comfort level.

Of course, if you want your e-reader to be just a reader, there's still the Nook Simple Touch. I had the chance to borrow one from the local Barnes and Noble recently, and the lightweight (7 ounces) reader is much easier to use and less awkward than the original. The touch screen lets you swipe to turn pages and load up with books.

Unlike the color tablets, this one's "E-Ink Pearl display," as Barnes and Noble calls it, lets you read in broad daylight, although not in the dark.