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Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet

By | April 25, 2011, 7:50am PDT

Summary: We have been waiting for this Barnes & Noble update to bring Froyo to the Nook Color and with version 1.2 you can turn your ebook reader into a valid Android tablet.

Last October I wrote that the Nook Color was essentially a low cost Android tablet and today Barnes and Noble finally revealed the 1.2 software update that officially gives the Nook Color Android 2.2 (Froyo) and an App Store. Rachel covered all of the software update launch details and I am seriously thinking about picking up a Nook Color again.

There has been quite an active community around the Nook Color and hacking it to get full Android 2.2 on it with support for the Android Market. It actually has gotten to the point that this process was quick and easy with an option to even run Android right from a microSD card. However, it was never a fully authorized solution so it is great to finally see Barnes & Noble release the official update for Android 2.2 and applications.

I just recently picked up a BlackBerry PlayBook and while it has a fluid UI and nice form factor, the lack of applications is a major deal at the moment. Even the Nook Color with this new update has a dedicated email client. The Nook Color also joins the PlayBook with Adobe Flash support in the browser. The full list of updated features in this version 1.2 update includes:

  • Access to shop a broad collection of popular NOOK Apps™ to enjoy great games, stay up to date on news and weather, and more
  • Full-featured free email to check and send web-based email (i.e., Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, AOL) all from one in-box
  • NOOK Color’s update to Android OS 2.2/Froyo offers system improvements, browser performance and a more complete Web experience giving customers access to enjoy even more video, interactive and animated content. NOOK Color now includes support for Adobe® Flash® Player
  • NOOK Kids™ exciting new Read and Play titles that bring animation, activities and stories together
    NOOK Books Enhanced offer in-page video and audio in a growing number of titles
  • Enhancements to magazine navigation making it easier to enjoy even more of the growing selection of magazines in NOOK Newsstand
  • NOOK Friends™ (beta) to see your friends’ reading activities, swap books with LendMe™, share recommendations and discover new titles.

At $249, the Nook Color looks to be the device to get for an Android WiFi tablet experience.

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Android Tablet PC, BlackBerry PlayBook, Google Android 2.2, Tablets, E-mail, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Online Communications, Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle.

Disclosure

Matthew Miller

Matthew is a professional naval architect by day and a mobile gadget freak at all other times. He purchases most of his devices and then sells them on eBay or Craigslist to buy more. Many other devices are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the carrier or manufacturer. If any are provided as “keeper” or “long term loaner units” this will be clearly disclosed in his reviews.

Biography

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle. He is one of three hosts on the MobileTechRoundup podcast and runs the Nokia Experts website. Matthew started using mobile devices in 1997 with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned over 90 different devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, Mac OS X (iPhone), Google Android, and Windows Mobile operating systems. His current collection includes a Nokia N85, Nokia E71, Nokia 5800, Nokia N810, Apple iPhone, HTC Advantage, T-Mobile G1, Palm Treo Pro, HTC Fuze, MSI Wind, MacBook Pro, and many more, along with tons of accessories and classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew co-authored Master Visually Windows Mobile 2003, was a member of the Nokia Nseries Blogger relations program, and is a member of the invite-only Microsoft Mobius mobile device evangelist group. He can be found on various discussion forums under the user name of "palmsolo".

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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
superfeel 30th Sep
This is one of the most incredible blogs I have read in a very long time. Your blog is great for anyone who wants to understand this subject more. Great stuff; please keep it up!
@ packing machines
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Kindle?
mstone0802 25th Apr 2011
Anybody try installing the Kindle app on it yet?
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
redhaven 25th Apr 2011
@mstone0802 It has been working great for those of us that have rooted although as a show of good faith, I buy my books from B&N because I love the Nook Color and I like that B&N have more or less left us "rooters" alone.

I am guessing that the Kindle app is somehow missing from the B&N market however.
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If the Nook is an Android tablet
iPad-awan Updated - 25th Apr 2011
@redhaven
I think you can go to Amazon and get the Kindle App for Android (for free) and it should work without having to root it.
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Unfortunately not so.
cornpie 25th Apr 2011
@iPad-awan There is currently no way to load an app without going through the Nook Market. It's not like an Android phone where you can check the box in the settings to "Allow installation of applications from non-market sources" and then load a .apk file.

So the only way you are going to get the Kindle app on there is to root it.
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That's too bad
iPad-awan 25th Apr 2011
@cornpie "Unfortunately not so"
(thanks for the info)

It would have been nice and B&N would probably sell more Nook color
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
notsofast 25th Apr 2011
@iPad-awan

The question is does B&N make money on H/W? It's a very nice screen and pretty solid h/w for the money. I've always assumed they were subsidizing the H/W or, at best, breaking even.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
snoop0x7b 25th Apr 2011
@mstone0802 Lol. I think I'm going to get one and do just that. I have a lot of crap for kindle.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
Alexander MacLeod 25th Apr 2011
@mstone0802

I have the Kindle app on my rooted Nook Color, and it works great!
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
wzrobin Updated - 26th Apr 2011
@notsofast "The question is does B&N make money on H/W? It's a very nice screen and pretty solid h/w for the money. I've always assumed they were subsidizing the H/W or, at best, breaking even."

The Nook is so much cheaper than any other decent tablet, it's clear that BNN is selling them for a loss, with the intention of making the money back on book sales. Given that, you can't really blame them for wanting to block other book sellers.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
kah9932 7th May 2011
@mstone0802 Just out of Curiosity why would you ask that question it?s it like asking if in Ford dealership would / should carry all brands of cars (just because they are cars) I would think the obvious answer would be well ?no?. So I?m assuming you just wrote the question because you were bored.
And why would you want the kindle App in the first place - with a Kindle you can only buy/get free books from Amazon and no where else. The Nook allows you to get e-books from just about anywhere you can get e-pub, from the Libary to the Gutenberg Project and other free sources. If I love the book I buy it
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I really like the idea of tablets being ubiquitous and cheap...
olePigeon 25th Apr 2011
I really like the idea of tablets being ubiquitous and cheap, makes me feel like a sci-fi future is finally here. happy
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Message has been deleted.
Read Aloud Dad Updated - 25th Apr 2011
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
farwest101 25th Apr 2011
Meh, for $150 more you get a real tablet (Asus Transformer) running Honeycomb, much better 10" screen, with significantly faster processor, cameras, ports, etc etc.

That said, for basic browsing with outdated OS, could be worse price point. This all but ensures Amazon releases a much more capable Kindle tablet later this year.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
redhaven Updated - 25th Apr 2011
@farwest101 It is a cool tablet at a decent price but $150 is a lot of money for Honeycomb which is going to be awesome in about 6 months.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
stannich@... 25th Apr 2011
@farwest101
Also, 10" screen is too big for some. The nook/kindle size is very nice. Fits in a lot of places a bigger unit doesn't. Both have there place, but the smaller one makes sense for me.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
cuhulin 25th Apr 2011
@farwest101 To each his own. I prefer a 7" tablet for a lot of reasons, don't think the tablet market has shaken out to the point where I know what I will want for any length of time, and like some of the features, like the magazine library, unique to Nook.
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Kind of depends on what you want it for
cornpie 25th Apr 2011
@farwest101 Personally, I wasn't really looking for a full blown tablet. What I wanted was an e-reader that could also do a few basic things. The update to my Nook Color gives me those couple of things it was missing.

If I'm going to be doing anything more heavy duty than what the Nook Color (with the 1.2 update) does, then I'd much prefer my laptop over any tablet from any manufacturer.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
humannzee 25th Apr 2011
@cornpie: your name sounds like one of Grandma's goodies -- got a recipe?
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Comment to Farwest101.
Joe.Smetona Updated - 26th Apr 2011
@farwest101 ...Getting version 3. (Honeycomb) would probably be nice, but with Linux, having an older OS really doesn't mean to much. My family runs older Linux on their computers with no problems. If you update, it's not for any security reason.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
Drjp80 25th Apr 2011
Dwnloaded update. It is ok. Will be better after more apps are available. Still the best dedicated ereaderin the market
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
jhuddle 25th Apr 2011
@Drjp80 Not really a dedicated ereader anymore now is it? Is it an ereader with extra functionality, or is a smaller, limited tablet? What I love about my kindle is that it provides no distractions. It is just a book, with it's own little bookstore built in. I know that amazon is going to jump into the tablet fray. I only hope they keep a truly dedicated ereader as well.
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Dedicated ereader??
archangel999 25th Apr 2011
@jhuddle Still don't get hauling around yet another device that's only a book - I have Kindle on my phone if I only want to carry it but still have access to my whole Kindle library - I have it from my tablet and/or notebook too if I need more functionality and still have access to the books

But a whole separate device just to read? Can't see the reason to carry around a unitasker
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Well, E-Ink Has Its Advantages
CFWhitman 25th Apr 2011
@archangel999

E-ink devices are easier on the eyes, can be read in direct sunlight, and sport weeks long battery life. So some dedicated readers have their advantages. Of course, the advantages of LCD or LED screens are that they work in the dark, and support color full motion video.

In the future, though, Mirasol displays may change things and produce low-power, full color, and full motion video capable screens. Of course, they will still need external lighting like E-ink.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
dave@... 25th Apr 2011
@jhuddle One big reason rooting the nook as so popular -- its actually a pretty good tablet. No Tegra 2, but as far as Android devices as a whole, it's up there.... and at a good price.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
kah9932 7th May 2011
@archangel999 - But with a Kindle you can only buy/get free books from Amazon and no where else. The Nook allows you to get e-books from just about anywhere you can get e-pub. I love getting books from the Libary or the Gutenberg Project and other free sources. If I love the book I buy it. In addition I like listening to music when I read (not for everyone) but I've used my Nook's (I have a 3G and a color) with laptop speakers at small out door parties. As it stood in it's native form the color Nook allowed you to read documents created in the Microsoft Office product and now with the up grade an an app you can create and edit documents.
In addition you can expand the memory to 32G's
All things a Kindle cannot do
I know a lot of you out there love you Kindle but when Amazon decided to make the device propritory to only the Amazon store they were setting themselves up to fail.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
parabyte 25th Apr 2011
Is Flash a real feature on this thing? I'd think it would be underpowered.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
snoop0x7b 25th Apr 2011
@parabyte It has a Ti OMAP which is the same chip as the DroidX and Droid Pro (Just at a slightly slower 800mhz clock speed). It should be fairly powerful, it has a dedicated GPU + hardware acceleration for the most popular video codecs.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
kah9932 7th May 2011
@parabyte - Yep! and it works darn good
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
sncking 25th Apr 2011
I am running cyanogenmod 7 on my nook. runs great, and I have the nook and kindle apps both.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
wrcousert 25th Apr 2011
@sncking I installed CM7 two days after I bought my Nook Color (had to wait until I found a good price on a Micro SD card). It's great!

I wouldn't waste my time with BN's official upgrade since CM7 is so much better.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
bobg8@... 25th Apr 2011
I hve been waiting for s long for tis update and it's finally here. If I already roote my NOOK can I still download this upate
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
jporter1000 25th Apr 2011
@farwest101 I actually prefer the smaller size.
And if you spend an hour or so at XDA forums and you can be running a version of Honeycomb on your Nook Color with an over-clocked kernel in short order. Pretty nice little tablet without spending the extra $150.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
InvisiTech 25th Apr 2011
Is there anyone from Canada that can comment from this side of the border? i.e. Nook availability?
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
Papamambo 25th Apr 2011
@InvisiTech
To my knowledge, the Nook is only sold in the US. I bought my Sony Reader last year, but was looking at the original Nook (before the Color was released). I realized that I wouldn't be able to use a lot of the functionality in the Nook (3G service etc), because I too live in Canada. That's what made the Sony the better choice for me at the time. I live in Winnipeg, so not too far from Grand Forks, and I know there's a B&N at Columbia Mall, so I plan on picking up a Nook Color when I head down next. If you live in a border town, it may be worth your while to make a quick jaunt over the border to pick one up, as I said before they're not available here.
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Archos
archangel999 25th Apr 2011
This makes Archos's new "cheap" Android tablet DOA
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
dave@... 25th Apr 2011
@archangel999 Don't know about Archos's new tablet. But the old 10" tablet, the Archos 101, runs about $300, includes HDMI out, USB ports (host and target), card slot, WiFi and Bluetooth, 1GHz processor.. not too shabby. The main issue was that, like most Android 2.x tablets, you couldn't get the Google Market (without hacking... not a techie problem, but important to consumers).

Obviously, alternative stores likeB&N and Amazon are solving this problem. And what many people don't realize: many apps, most of the major ones, work just dandy on larger screens. Honeycomb will certainly advance tablet features. But this is not iOS prior to the iPad.... there is no resolution lock-in, even on 2.2.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
BuckeyeTom 25th Apr 2011
I've had the nook since January -- loved it right away and the update makes it great. I was going to root it when things settled a bit more, but now I don't have to. Yea, only apps through B&N, but I use it mostly as an ereader (and mag reader) and it does that very well. And I assume someone will figure out a mini-root to get non-BN apps--like Kindle reader--to load.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
kevinf@... 25th Apr 2011
My wife and I got Nook Colors back in November, anticipating this update and the apps. I'll admit the apps are limited currently, but the flash support works, the native email app works great, and for the first time, I can actually use google docs. I could never get the keyboard to display in version 1.1. So far I've only downloaded the notepad app, which also allows the notes to be indexed and accessible from the library file manager, but that, the google docs capability, and flash support were the three major improvements I've been waiting for. Love it as an ereader, and now it does even more.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
jayohem@... 25th Apr 2011
This looks like an "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" move, which is all right with me.

I followed the directions in February and got a rooty toot Nook Color with features. Except for the power cable, which fell apart, it's just fine. I use my power mat to keep it cooking, and so far all is well, which is a good thing as B&N still doesn't have any replacement cables in stock. ("This item is currently unavailable. Please check back.")

Maybe when I move to Version 1 of the competition's product, I'll try the Nook Color Update or maybe not.
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Message has been deleted.
auntaru Updated - 25th Apr 2011
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Now if B&N would only replace the battery after the warranty runs out.
jnheroy@... 25th Apr 2011
Now if B&N would only replace the battery after the warranty runs out, the Color Nook might be worth getting; but, as of right now, a Color Nook in destined for a land fill once the warranty and the battery die -- no user replaceable battery or replacement battery plan in place. Too bad, I might have bought one. By the wait, Toshiba is coming out with a tablet with a user replaceable battery soon -- the first of it's kind.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
Tech1138 25th Apr 2011
@jnheroy@... Since the manufacturer's warranty won't even start to run out until the end of this year, I'm not sure what your point is. The current warranty covers battery failures.

As for after that expires, you replace the battery when it finally dies just like any other modern electronic device without a "user replaceable battery" - disassemble it , replace the battery, assemble it again - you can try it yourself or pay someone else to do it.
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I think many will no be pleased.....
n5vxl 25th Apr 2011
The limits B&N leave after the upgrade are frustrating. I guess expecting a full access device was expecting too much. I really hope the B&N Ap store gets better.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
shotwell 25th Apr 2011
I have to agree with jhuddle. My wife has an iPad and it's cool, but I have a Kindle and made a conscious choice to go with it rather than spend a bunch more money on a product that does all the other stuff. I like having a dedicated eReader with hundreds of books and magazines on it, being able to hold a charge for weeks at a time, being able to read clearly in bright sunlight, and I like the size and weight of the Kindle. I use it constantly, and can honestly say I read much more because of the Kindle. Alternately, I have a Droid which I used to use for eBook reading, but which I don't any longer. Even though I can get my full Kindle library and more on my Droid, I vastly prefer the Kindle for reading.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
prof.ebral 25th Apr 2011
I am much happier with my Nook classic I think. Cool set of features for an 'eReader' though. I wonder how much this will help B&N break from the slump.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
BigRonW 25th Apr 2011
With a tablet, one of the biggest drains on the battery is simply powering the screen - especially if it's backlit; usually (ceteris paribus) the bigger the screen, the bigger the power-drain. A 10" screen isn't just 10/7 times as big a a 7" one - it's TWO dimensional, not one dimensional making it 100/49 times as big - i.e. roughly twice as big, so twice the power drain, and only half the battery life.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
dave@... 25th Apr 2011
@BigRonW Sure, powering the display is an issue. Though the extra power is largely in the backlight, not the screen itself. And sure, a 10" display may need twice the light for the same illumination. And yet, the iPad is out there with a 10" display, IPS LCD, which is more power hungry than TN (two transistors per subpixel), and yet they rate some of the best battery life in the tablet biz.

It's also important to realize that, other than display, there's no much reason the internals of a 10" tablet need to be larger than a 7" or 5" tablet. So there's more room for batteries. The nook color, for example, has a 14.8Ah battery, while most 10" tablets have 25Ah cells. That's generally more than enough to make up for the backlight.

I'm tying this on a 10" table, a Notion Ink Adam, which has the additional advantage of letting me switch off the backlight entirely and run in reflective mode. A bit marginal in my dimly lit kitchen right now, but it works great on a sunny day. As a reader only, this isn't going to outlast a Kindle or other e-ink device, but it goes and goes on a charge, and can still do color and animation. Not as pretty as the iPad display, but I didn't a table to hunker down in the dark with.. my PC does that just dandy already.

I think we'll know the proper display tech for tablets when we get low power, color, speed, and daylight visibility, all in one.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
tomm@... 25th Apr 2011
So, will the Nook Color be capable of receiving an Android 3.0 update at a later time? Will the processor support it?
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
Tech1138 25th Apr 2011
@tomm@... Honeycomb is already running on it right now if you boot off the microSD or root it. It works surprisingly well considering any new HC tablet has twice the CPU.

I can get it to stutter or hiccup once in a while, but the Xoom even does that.
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It's sounding better all the time..... but I'm still on hold
shawkins 25th Apr 2011
I have no desire to own an iPad. Too much money to justify the little bit of use I have for it. Now a couple hundred bucks for something with Wi-Fi might get my attention. However, I'm going to hold out a little longer to see what the future brings for the Kindle. The competition seems to be heating up.
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RE: Nook Color gets official update to make it a real Android tablet
superfeel 30th Sep
This is one of the most incredible blogs I have read in a very long time. Your blog is great for anyone who wants to understand this subject more. Great stuff; please keep it up!
@ packing machines

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